The StubHub Center has not been kind to Eastern Conference teams this season.
Robbie Keane’s brace ensured the Red Bulls would not break the trend in Los Angeles, as the Galaxy cruised to a 4-0 win on Sunday night. West coast beats east coast, Pac was better than Biggie, etc.
Keane and Landon Donovan showed why the Galaxy are such a menace on the counter attack just six minutes into the match. Donovan’s ridiculous pace and patience conspired to set up Keane’s cheeky chip shot to open scoring. From there on, the Red Bulls’ decision to sit back and wait for the inevitable did them in.
In his final MLS season, the second most famous LD in LA (Larry David is a formidable foe) tied Steve Ralston for the all-time assist lead (135) in league history. With four games remaining Donovan is on the cusp of yet another record in what has been a remarkable career.
“I'm proud of it,” said Donovan following the game, via MLSSoccer.com. “To get an assist record, you have to have a lot of people scoring goals, so it's not just putting the ball in the right place, it's people finishing, and they scored three very good goals tonight, which helped.”
Keane’s scored 17 goals this season and the emergence of Gyasi Zardes makes the Galaxy that much more dangerous. Once again, Donovan is being surrounded by elite talent. That’s why Bruce Arena’s squad remains in the hunt for the Supporters’ Shield. They have to be considered the favourites for that crown at this point.
Toronto FC will attempt to do what Philadelphia, New England, DC and New York could not on Saturday night: Get a result at the Hub.
Whitecaps show resolve
It was looking very grim for the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Earlier on Saturday their Canadian friends in Toronto did the Caps a favour, beating the Portland Timbers at BMO Field, which helped close the playoff-race gap between the two teams.
Things started poorly against Real Salt Lake. Pedro Morales missed a penalty just before halftime. Nat Borchers then put the visitors ahead 12 minutes into the second half.
It looked like Carl Robinson’s club wouldn’t be able to capitalize on Portland’s misfortune, but back came Morales.
Vancouver’s MVP made amends from the penalty spot five minutes after Borchers’ tally. The Chilean star went on to score the game winning goal in the 78th minute. What a difference a few minutes makes.
The win moves the Whitecaps back into the fifth and final playoff spot in the West. Pay the good fortune forward fellas.
A thriller in Kansas City
How muddied is the playoff picture in the East? We’re talking day four of a rain drenched music festival. Shoes were ruined long ago.
New England’s thrilling 3-2 win over Sporting Kansas City on Friday has closed the gap even tighter in the East, with only five points separating second from sixth.
Toronto’s game in hand remains huge going forward.
Goal of the week
We’re all probably in agreement that Keane’s ridiculous chip shot is the goal of the week. But in the interest of spreading the love around, we’ll select another beautiful marker from the same game.
Gyasi Zardes finished off a 16 pass sequence to seal the Galaxy’s win over the Red Bulls.
You can watch the entire build up to the goal here. That’s the sort of play that’s hard to replicate on the training ground.
