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Galaxy become tie fighters in draw against Wizards
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Credit: (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
For the Los Angeles Galaxy, there is no obstacle too large or too small that stands between them and their seeming purpose in life: racking up draw after draw. Call it their Manifest Destiny. And for the ninth time in 11th games this season, the Galaxy found a way to reach their goal, coming from behind to earn a 1-1 draw with the Kansas City Wizards.
In the first half, the Galaxy (1-1-9) seemed determined to avoid taking the lead, lest the Wizards (4-4-4) not score and ruin their plans for scoring equity. Despite controlling possession for the vast majority of the first half, the Galaxy were unable to find the net. Their best chance came when Alan Gordon flashed across the goal to find an Eddie Lewis cross, only to flick his shot to an open goal off the crossbar. Landon Donovan had a good chance at the rebound, but his header went just over goal.
Gordon wasted another golden opportunity in the second half, when Dema Kovalenko (having his best game of the season) found him with a cross right in front of the net. But Gordon needlessly rushed the shot and blasted it over the net.
"Alan probably got two, three, four good goal scoring opportunities," said Galaxy coach Bruce Arena after the match. "That's the positive. The negative part is that he didn't put them away, and that's the job of a forward."
The Galaxy ran into adversity soon after, as Gregg Berhalter picked up a straight red card in the 58th minute when he grabbed the Wizards' Claudio Lopez to break up a one-on-one chance just outside of the penalty area. It was Berhalter's second red card of the season. From his perspective, Arena questioned the call.
"For me, that's not a penalty," he said. "I saw some other calls in other games that I didn't think were penalties either."
The Galaxy were able to play productively for a long stretch while down a man, thanks to a lackluster Wizards midfield. But they were finally caught out in the 85th minute when Roger Espinoza struck a cross that found Herculez Gomez for a diving header that went wide, but right to the foot of Davy Arnaud, who buried it past a helpless Donovan Ricketts.
But this the Galaxy, and their quest for another draw would not be denied. Edson Buddle (who came on as a replacement for Alan Gordon in the second half to a chorus of cheers) showed what classy finishing is all about in the 87th minute, as Landon Donovan slotted him through, and he confidently fired a shot that Kevin Hartman could only get a fingertip on.
So while Wizards coach Curt Onalfo was bemoaning that the result felt "like a loss," Arena strode into the press conference practically beaming, praising the improvement of his team - hardly what you expect from a coach whose team almost lost at home.
"We're a good team," he said. "The only thing we don't have yet are wins."
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