With the help of an unlikely hero, the Los Angeles Galaxy pounded FC Dallas on Sunday with a final score of 5-1 in Frisco, Texas. No, this time it wasn’t Landon Donovan saving the day, nor Alan “Flash” Gordon. Heck, it wasn’t even David Beckham who stole the spotlight. This time the hero’s name was Edson Buddle who scored three goals to help his team come back to California with the victory.
Chris Klein opened the score in the 25th minute when he took advantage of a precise through ball and beat Dallas goalkeeper Dario Sala, who had a day to forget.
The Buddle show began in the 31st minute when he executed an extraordinary individual play and evaded three defenders. Just inside the box, he shot a bullet in Sala’s right upper corner and gave the Galaxy a 2-0 lead. It was not only Buddle’s first goal of the game, but also the first of the season in his personal count.
Nothing seemed to be going right for Dallas. Just three minutes later, Mexican defender Duilio Davino deviated an intended pass originating from Donovan’s foot. The ball accidentally went in and the own goal not only increased the lead, but it was also directing the game’s route as a massacre was starting to unfold.
To make matters worse for the home team, Buddle scored again in the 39th minute. The goal originated in a corner kick and after a serious of rebounds, the ball ended in Buddle’s foot who calmly tapped it in.
With this goal the Galaxy culminated a 14-minute span where four goals were added. The halftime score was a scandalous 4-o and the game was basically decided.
In the second half FC Dallas tried to react and with a nice header by Ghanaian striker Dominic Oduro in the 54th minute, the locals scored their only goal that sparked some hope.
But that hope completely disappeared when Buddle, who is the front-runner candidate to win “Player of the Week”, culminated his hat trick in the 85th minute after a superb center from Beckham. The header gave Los Angeles the fifth and final goal of the day and the victory.
With this lopsided win, the Galaxy are now in second place in the Western Conference with 11 points and a record of (3-3-2). On the other hand, Dallas falls to fourth place in the same conference with 9 points and a (2-3-3) record.
It was the most goals FC Dallas had received since July 31, when curiously enough the Galaxy beat the Texas team by a final score of 6-5 in the SuperLiga. Unfortunately for them, the score was not as close this time.
Right after a disappointing loss at home against the New York Red Bulls, the Galaxy makes a complete turnaround with this performance and senses some relief.
Beckham hushed the crowd with his passes. Buddle raised his arms and put three fingers up announcing his hat trick. Even Donovan had the luxury of making defenders score own goals. In all aspects, it was Los Angeles all the way. All they have to do is play with the same intelligence and intensity against their next rival to achieve the win.
Next up, the Kansas City Wizards on Saturday at the Home Depot Center. The Wizards are fifth place in the highly competitive Eastern Conference but they have the same points as the Galaxy. With a win, Los Angeles can climb up and grab first place in the weaker Western Conference.
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1 response so far ↓
1 Esther Gutierrez // May 20, 2008 at 11:57 am
Another great article Hun! Love it!
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