Like finding a diamond in the rough, the LA Galaxy may have just found their missing piece.
The LA Galaxy may have noticed a bright spot hidden within the Galaxy bench. With the Galaxy down 3-0 at the half of Tuesday’s CONCACAF match with Club Tijuana, head coach Bruce Arena made a lineup change – bringing in recent addition Rob Friend for Brazilian forward Samuel.
Although the Galaxy’s comeback attempt fell short, what happened over the 45 minutes Friend was on the field is something that may pay dividends over the course of the year.
Friend is a 6-foot-5 forward who requires the opposing team to pay extra attention – drawing the extra man and opening up the field. With players like Robbie Keane and Landon Donovan, who have a magnetic attraction with the back of the net, this extra room on the field can result in wins.
In 2013, the Galaxy had 14 games result in either a draw or a 1-goal loss. The talent level is evident for the Galaxy, but adding a big body is going to free up someone on the outside or over the middle and give LA better looks at the net and at a higher rate. It’s similar to the NBA, when you have a player come in that requires a double team, someone undoubtedly is open on the wing every single time. Instead of creating shots towards the rim – in this case – it opens up the field.
In Tuesday’s CONCACAF match, LA was down 3-0 without Friend on the field, but scored two goals in the second half and had a chance to win in the 4-2 loss.
In 2014, the stakes are high for the Los Angeles Galaxy. Anyone who mentions MLS or discusses the 2014 season considers the Galaxy to be the favorite to win it all. Last season fell short of their third consecutive MLS Cup because of inconsistent play.
One week the Galaxy was rolling putting up four or five goals, the next week they were getting shutout. An MLS season is a dog fight and it truly encompasses the phrase of being a marathon not a sprint, but this season the Galaxy already failed the first test – a 1-0 loss to Real Salt Lake back on March 8.
The fire and anger from a Western Conference elimination just a year ago should of alone catapulted the Galaxy to a win.
Fortunately for the Galaxy all they can do is grow and get their mistakes out early on and as fate would have it LA has another shot at redemption this Saturday. In their second MLS regular season game the Galaxy hit the road to face – once again – Real Salt Lake. This rivalry has escalated quickly and is sure to entertain throughout the year, but as has been mentioned before – to beat someone is great, but to have to mental edge over a team is what wins championships.
Come Saturday afternoon on the road, the Galaxy have their work cut out for them but it is a necessary obstacle.
Galaxy (0-1-0) @ Real Salt Lake (1-0-1) Saturday at 1
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