CARSON, Calif. – The defending MLS Cup champion LA Galaxy return to MLS action Saturday at StubHub Center against the Montreal Impact (7:30 p.m., Time Warner Cable SportsNet, Time Warner Cable Deportes) seemingly reinvigorated for the regular season’s stretch run.
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It’s been almost two weeks since the Galaxy’s last game, a 1-0 loss to the San Jose Earthquakes on Aug. 28 at Avaya Stadium that snapped a four-game winning streak, but the team’s bye week, which happened to coincide with an international break, makes it seem much longer.
“That was a long time ago, huh?” defender A.J. DeLaGarza, back from duty with Guam’s national team, said with a grin. “Two weeks almost. We’ve got to forget about that loss. We got some valuable rest for some guys and hopefully they’re refreshed and mentally and physically ready for the rest of the season.
“Hopefully we have three months left.”
The Galaxy (13-8-7, 46 points) second in the West behind only the Vancouver Whitecaps, take on a Montreal side (9-11-4, 31 points, sixth in the East) that recently received a dramatic boost from former English Premier League legend Didier Drogba, who became the first player in league history to record a hat trick in his first MLS start in last Saturday’s 4-3 victory over the Chicago Fire.
The Galaxy’s Steven Gerrard, himself a former EPL legend at Liverpool, knows what the defense is in for against the 37-year-old who DeLaGarza called “a world-class striker.”
“I know a lot of people on the outside talk about age in this game,” Gerrard said, “but for me it’s only a number. He looked very good and I’m sure he’s going to be aiming to build on that.
“I obviously know him a lot more than some of the players on the team, but they have to be on their game. There’s no doubt about it.”
The Galaxy’s back line will be missing Leonardo, who is suspended for Saturday’s game because of a red card he received in the loss to San Jose, but the defense will welcome back not only DeLaGarza but Omar Gonzalez from the U.S. national team.
Drogba isn’t the only player the Galaxy must be wary of. The Impact also boast Argentinian playmaker Ignacio Piatti, who has eight goals and five assists, and Ghana’s Dominic Oduro, who has seven goals.
Gerrard said he was curious, to say the least, to see how the club responds after its last game.
“I think these are always the toughest times where you’ve got international players being away and we’ve only had a little time to prepare as a team for this game,” he said. “I’m sure Montreal feels the same. But we’re still hearing it from the last game, the last performance, so we need the reaction and we need to bounce back.
“We need these three points.”
Added Robbie Keane, who recently rejoined the club after Ireland’s Euro 2016 qualifying, “Before the San Jose game the run we were on was very, very good, the way we were playing. Hopefully we can have a bit more of that.”
LA GALAXY vs. MONTREAL IMPACT
STUBHUB CENTER, Carson, Calif.
September 12, 2015 (WEEK 28, MLS Game #281)
7:30 p.m. PT (MLS LIVE)
A pair of clubs currently holding down places in the MLS Cup Playoffs hunt meet in an interconference matchup when the LA Galaxy entertain the Montréal Impact at StubHub Center on Saturday evening. The Galaxy sit in second place in the Western Conference, two points out of the top spot, returning to action following a 1-0 loss at the San Jose Earthquakes two weekends ago. The Impact pulled into sixth place in the Eastern Conference and the final postseason position, following a dramatic come-from-behind 4-3 win against the Chicago Fire at Stade Saputo last weekend.
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- Didier Drogba made an impact in his first MLS and Montréal Impact start in a big way, scoring a hat trick – including the game-tying and winning goals four minutes apart midway through the second half – leading his new club back for a 4-3 win Saturday evening at Stade Saputo.
- The Galaxy saw their four-game winning run put to an end in their last match, falling 1-0 to the San Jose Earthquakes on Aug. 28 at Avaya Stadium.
- The teams reached a 2-2 draw in their only meeting a year ago, the first match ever between the teams at Stade Saputo. The teams played to a 1-1 draw in their first meeting, May 12, 2012 at Olympic Stadium in Montréal.
- The Galaxy claimed a 1-0 victory in 2013 at StubHub Center in their only encounter in Carson.
REFEREE: Mark Geiger. AR1 (bench): Frank Anderson; AR2 (opposite): Marco Arruda; 4th: Kevin Stott
MLS Career: 142 games; FC/gm: 26.6; Y/gm: 3.5; R: 34; pens: 44
SUSPENDED: LA: Leonardo (through Sept. 13) … MTL: Laurent Ciman (through Sept. 16)
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: LA: Baggio Husidic … MTL: Marco Donadel, Dominic Oduro
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: LA: Juninho, Mika Vayrynen, Omar Gonzalez, A.J. DeLaGarza, Gyasi Zardes, Robbie Rogers … MTL: Nigel Reo-Coker, Calum Mallace, Bakary Soumare, Andres Romero
DISABLED LIST: LA: Brian Perk (season-ending injury) … MTL: Cameron Porter, Kenny Cooper (season-ending injury)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (3 meetings): Galaxy 1 win, 4 goals … Impact 0 wins, 3 goals … Ties 2
AT LA (1 meeting): Galaxy 1 win, 1 goal … Impact 0 wins, 0 goals … Ties 0
LAST YEAR (MLS)
9/10: MTL 2, LA 2 (Di Vaio 28; Piatti 43 – Zardes 59; Gordon 64)
- This is the only league meeting between the teams this season.
- The teams reached a 2-2 draw in their only meeting a year ago, the first match ever between the teams atStade Saputo. The teams played to a 1-1 draw in their first meeting, May 12, 2012 at Olympic Stadium in Montréal.
- The Galaxy claimed a 1-0 victory in 2013 at StubHub Center in their only encounter in Carson.
- Coaches record: Bruce Arena vs. MTL: P3 W1 L0 D2 … Mauro Biello vs. LA: first game
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