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Draw Leaves Galaxy, Crew Disappointed
An injury-time strike by Eddie Lewis salvaged a home draw for the Los Angeles Galaxy against the Columbus Crew. Neither team was pleased with a share of the spoils.
May 18, 2009 1:48:55 AM
Perhaps returning to the scene of their MLS Cup triumph was a confidence booster for the Columbus Crew, but whatever the reason, the visitors played very well, leaving them rather dissatisfied with the 1-1 result.
“It was a great strike by Eddie Lewis,” said Crew coach Robert Warzycha of the equalizing strike by the Galaxy defender. “We thought we were going to get three points, but we got one. If someone had told us before the game that we’d get a point, we probably would have been happy. But again, we are disappointed after the game.”
The Crew were left feeling frustrated because of a solid performance in the first half that had everything going their way but a goal, mostly because Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts kept denying one.
LA coach Bruce Arena didn’t mince words.
“We wasted 45 minutes today,” Arena said of the first half. “Our second half was better.”
“We were out-competed in most positions on the field,” said Arena about the opening period. He dismissed the weather as a factor, calling the heat “an excuse.”
While Galaxy teammates such a Chris Klein praised goalkeeper Ricketts, saying “He’s been keeping us in games all year,” Warzycha wanted better from his Crew players.
“He was in the right place at the right time,” said Warzycha of Ricketts. “But we could have done better with our finishing.”
Arena praised the defending champions.
“I give Columbus a lot of credit.”
For all of the Crew’s good work, however, it was a bobble by Galaxy player Tony Sanneh (subbing for a hamstring-injured Sean Franklin) that led to the opening goal.
“Tony shouldn’t lose that ball,” said Arena bluntly. “He understands exactly the mistake he made. I don’t want to dwell on it. Schelotto made an excellent play, too.”
Sanneh agreed.
“I made a bad decision,” said the defender. “I’m not going to blame it on rust.”
The Galaxy have played from behind in most of their matches this year, but have fought back to draw seven times. The team record for draws in a season is ten.
“It’s not too unfamiliar,” said Mike Magee. “We fought back and got a tie.”
The Galaxy got a bit of a late advantage when Crew defender Danny O’Rourke was dismissed after two yellow cards in the space of four minutes.
Warzycha didn’t join the recent parade of MLS coaches blaming the referees and instead focused on what his player could have done better.
“The red card wasn’t necessary because Landon wasn’t going towards the goal; he was moving towards the flag,” Warzycha pointed out. “I think we should stay on our feet and deal with that. We gave the referee a chance to call a foul and he did.”
Soon after, Lewis got the chance to give himself a nice present on his 35th birthday when the ball popped out in his direction from an attempted clearance.
“I just wanted to make sure that I hit it well,” said Lewis, who was successful in powering the ball into the back of the net to snatch the three points away from Columbus.
“He’s got great technique,” praised Klein. “What a great goal.”
Andrea Canales, Goal.com
“It was a great strike by Eddie Lewis,” said Crew coach Robert Warzycha of the equalizing strike by the Galaxy defender. “We thought we were going to get three points, but we got one. If someone had told us before the game that we’d get a point, we probably would have been happy. But again, we are disappointed after the game.”
The Crew were left feeling frustrated because of a solid performance in the first half that had everything going their way but a goal, mostly because Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts kept denying one.
LA coach Bruce Arena didn’t mince words.
“We wasted 45 minutes today,” Arena said of the first half. “Our second half was better.”
“We were out-competed in most positions on the field,” said Arena about the opening period. He dismissed the weather as a factor, calling the heat “an excuse.”
While Galaxy teammates such a Chris Klein praised goalkeeper Ricketts, saying “He’s been keeping us in games all year,” Warzycha wanted better from his Crew players.
“He was in the right place at the right time,” said Warzycha of Ricketts. “But we could have done better with our finishing.”
Arena praised the defending champions.
“I give Columbus a lot of credit.”
For all of the Crew’s good work, however, it was a bobble by Galaxy player Tony Sanneh (subbing for a hamstring-injured Sean Franklin) that led to the opening goal.
“Tony shouldn’t lose that ball,” said Arena bluntly. “He understands exactly the mistake he made. I don’t want to dwell on it. Schelotto made an excellent play, too.”
Sanneh agreed.
“I made a bad decision,” said the defender. “I’m not going to blame it on rust.”
The Galaxy have played from behind in most of their matches this year, but have fought back to draw seven times. The team record for draws in a season is ten.
“It’s not too unfamiliar,” said Mike Magee. “We fought back and got a tie.”
The Galaxy got a bit of a late advantage when Crew defender Danny O’Rourke was dismissed after two yellow cards in the space of four minutes.
Warzycha didn’t join the recent parade of MLS coaches blaming the referees and instead focused on what his player could have done better.
“The red card wasn’t necessary because Landon wasn’t going towards the goal; he was moving towards the flag,” Warzycha pointed out. “I think we should stay on our feet and deal with that. We gave the referee a chance to call a foul and he did.”
Soon after, Lewis got the chance to give himself a nice present on his 35th birthday when the ball popped out in his direction from an attempted clearance.
“I just wanted to make sure that I hit it well,” said Lewis, who was successful in powering the ball into the back of the net to snatch the three points away from Columbus.
“He’s got great technique,” praised Klein. “What a great goal.”
Andrea Canales, Goal.com
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