Late Goal Is the Icing for Califf
The bruised ribs and angry red scratches on both sides of Danny Califf’s neck told only part of the tale Saturday night.
His wide grin told much more.
Califf, the Galaxy’s U.S. Olympic team defender, spent 89 minutes keeping the Tampa Bay Mutiny’s most dangerous striker, Mamadou Diallo of Senegal, off the scoreboard. He succeeded.
The other minute?
That was when Califf, a 20-year-old rookie from Orange, scored the first goal of his Major League Soccer career, heading in a corner kick from Greg Vanney for the winner as the Galaxy defeated the Mutiny, 2-1, in front of 14,603 at the Rose Bowl.
Califf’s reaction was to sprint to the corner flag and slap it twice before being mobbed by teammates.
“With his speed and size, he’s an imposing force,” Califf said of Diallo, who came into the game with a league-high 12 goals to his credit and a reputation as being difficult to mark.
“My goal was just to keep him in front of me, not to let him get the ball, turn and run, because that’s where his strength is. Robin [Fraser, the Galaxy captain] helped me out and gave me good cover.”
And the scratches?
“He was pretty upset,” Califf said of Diallo’s reaction to essentially being taken out of the game by some excellent defensive play.
It was Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid’s decision to match Califf against the 6-foot-2 Senegalese striker.
“We thought Califf would have the size to play against him,” Schmid said. “I thought Danny could match him in the air. I thought Danny did a good job of being patient.
“When he was with me with the under-20s [U.S. national team] Danny always showed a very good ability to mark fast players. He has good timing, and when he marks a fast player, I just think he concentrates better.
“As a result of that, he was focused on the game, he didn’t give Diallo a chance to run at him with the ball, and he was always there and got the ball. I don’t think we could have asked for more from him.”
It wasn’t only Califf who enjoyed a fine game, the Galaxy as as whole playing its best game in weeks. True, forwards Cobi Jones and Luis Hernandez didn’t score, but they showed on several occasions that with time they will develop into a dangerous partnership up front.
“We created more [scoring] chances than we have probably in the last five weeks put together,” Schmid said. “As long as we can build upon that, we’ll get better and better.
“They [the new players, including Hernandez] are starting to understand the system we’re playing. Now, it’s a matter of timing. A couple of times Cobi and Luis just missed each other. It’s just a matter of fine-tuning.”
The most finely tuned Galaxy player this year has been New Zealand midfielder Simon Elliott, who scored his third goal of the season Saturday night with a crackling free kick in the ninth minute.
Mauricio Cienfuegos faked taking the kick but stepped over the ball. Vanney did the same, and Mutiny goalkeeper Scott Garlick bought the second fake, moving to one side to intercept the ball.
That left him out of position when Vanney stepped over the ball and Elliott hammered a shot into the upper right corner.
“It was just a bit of variety, really,” Elliott said. “Cien is well known for his free-kick prowess and Vanney’s got a cannon[-like shot]. We just thought we’d throw something else in the mix and give them a bit of a surprise. It came off, so it was good.”
Not so good is the fact that Elliott will sit out the next three games. If the sprained ankle he suffered late in Saturday’s game does not interfere with his plans, he will leave Los Angeles today to play for New Zealand in the Oceania Nations Cup.
Elliott, a defensive midfielder, not only scored a goal but did an equally good job marking Tampa Bay playmaker Carlos Valderrama, who grew increasingly frustrated as the game wore on.
“He’s obviously still a very, very good player,” Elliott said. “I think the key tonight was to deny him the ball or make him play back when he did get it.”
The loss left the Mutiny (8-7) only 1-5 on the road and puts Coach Tim Hankinson’s job back on the line. Bill Manning, Tampa Bay’s general manager, had demanded an improvement away from home, and the Mutiny’s latest loss will not help his cause.
The Galaxy, meanwhile, is 7-3-6 and heading in the right direction once again as it prepares to play the Chicago Fire on Wednesday night at the Rose Bowl.
