Galaxy Keeps Streak Alive With Win Over MetroStars
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Winning weird.
That’s what the Galaxy was up to Saturday before 16,711 at Giants Stadium, where it defeated the New York/New Jersey MetroStars, 1-0, to remain undefeated seven games into the Major League Soccer season.
“It was a weird game,” said Galaxy defender Greg Vanney, who contributed to the bizarre afternoon by having his penalty kick saved by MetroStar goalkeeper Mike Ammann.
“There wasn’t really any rhythm, the game was super slow. It’s like nobody really wanted to win. It was one of the weirdest games I’ve ever played in.
“But sometimes you go on the road and you have to win ugly. We picked up the three points and made Kansas City have to win to stay in first place.”
And that’s what the Wizards (6-0-1) did by thumping the Colorado Rapids, 5-0, keeping them ahead of the Galaxy (5-0-2).
The Galaxy’s goal was scored in the dying seconds of the first half, when Simon Elliott volleyed in a cross from Ezra Hendrickson that Clint Mathis redirected into his path with a glancing header. But it was Vanney’s second-half penalty kick that was the postgame talking point in the Galaxy locker room.
The kick was awarded in the 83rd minute when Ammann fouled Sasha Victorine, upending him in the penalty area after Mauricio Cienfuegos had sprung Victorine free with a clever reverse pass.
The MetroStars protested referee Brian Hall’s call, with Ammann’s dissent loud enough to earn the goalkeeper a yellow card. But the angry red welts on Victorine’s shin showed that Hall had made the correct decision.
“He [Ammann] came with his feet first and got me with his cleats,” Victorine said.
Vanney took the kick, but instead of going low to the keeper’s right as he usually does, he fired the ball high to his left. Ammann made the save by tipping the ball around the post, only the second time in 22 attempts over five seasons that a MetroStar goalkeeper has stopped a penalty kick.
“It happens, I guess,” Vanney said. “You take enough and eventually you miss one. He [Ammann] was jumping around on the line as I was stepping up to the ball, so it was hard for me to get a read.
“Maybe I second-guessed myself. I should have just stuck with the shot I always take.”
The MetroStars took heart from the escape, and attacked with renewed vigor for the final 10 minutes, but could not break through for the tying goal.
Midfielder Tab Ramos, who made his first appearance in more than nine months in the second half, showed flashes of skill, but Lothar Matthaeus and the rest of the MetroStars (2-5-0) were flat.
“I look at the [MetroStar] players on the field and I think there are some players who can play,” Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid said. “Sometimes it doesn’t seem like they’re on the same page with each other and that causes problems.”
Octavio Zambrano, the former Galaxy coach now in charge of the MetroStars, has been without his preferred starting lineup all season, but he is confident the team will improve.
“I can’t wait to play the Galaxy with my full team,” he said.
The first half ended in dramatic fashion, with the MetroStars coming within inches of scoring in the final minute and the Galaxy managing to do so with seconds remaining.
The near miss occurred when the MetroStars went on a fast break after clearing a Galaxy corner kick. Colombian forward Alex Comas set Mark Chung free with the goal yawning in front of him and only goalkeeper Kevin Hartman to beat.
To Hartman’s immense relief, Chung’s shot caromed off the right post and the Galaxy immediately launched a swift counterattack, courtesy of Cobi Jones.
Jones found Hendrickson, who took advantage when MetroStar defender Orlando Perez slipped and fell in the right corner, giving Hendrickson time to cross the ball into the goalmouth.
Mathis deflected the ball and it fell to Elliott, whose shot from 12 yards was in the back of the net before Amman had time to react.
That amounted to a two-goal turnaround within one minute. Weird, like the rest of the game.
Other MLS games
After dropping two games on the road, the Dallas Burn returned home and moved back into a tie for the Central Division lead by edging the Columbus Crew, 2-1, before 15,277. . . . The Miami Fusion ended its scoreless drought at 457 minutes but allowed the New England Revolution to pull even with 21 minutes left as the Eastern Division co-leaders tied, 1-1, before 13,172 at Foxboro, Mass. . . . Abdul Conteh’s goal in the 69th minute gave the San Jose Earthquakes a 2-2 tie with Washington D.C. United before 13,717 at San Jose.
