Los Angeles Galaxy won their second game of the week on Wednesday night. They were also able to keep a clean sheet for the second time in a row. In their second game of CONCACAF group stage, LA Galaxy beat Puerto Rico Islanders 4-0. So far, they have outscored their opponents 9-2. The last time these two met was in 2010. Puerto Rico won 5-3 on aggregate so LA wanted to win this match, not only to stay at the top of the group, but also for revenge.
When I first saw the starting lineup, I was a little skeptical. The starting lineup was basically LA’s reserve squad. In fact, LA’s captain was Pat Noonan, a player who doesn’t get much playing time in MLS, but starts most reserve games. LA supporters knew Robbie Keane would miss the match, he had been sent off in the last game. David Beckham was ill and Landon Donovan was injured. The rest of the usual starting eleven were being rested for LA’s game against Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday.
LA got off to a good start. Tommy Meyer scored LA’s first goal of the night, a header off a Hector Jimenez corner. This would be the only goal for either team in the first half. LA led 1-0 at HT. LA doubled their lead less than 3 mins after second half started. 17 year old Jack McBean made a great pass to 18 year old Jose Villarreal, who scored his first CCL goal of his young career. Later on in the game, McBean would score a goal of his own along with Michael Stephens, who scored with less than 10 minutes to go in the match.
While the squad may have been very young and less experienced than last week’s starting lineup, they were able to prove themselves against Puerto Rico. They also showed that Coach Bruce Arena made the right choice by starting them. The next game for LA is Saturday, at home, against Vancouver Whitecaps. This time, the majority of the usual starters will be available to play.
(image courtesy of Robert Mora/LA Galaxy)
