CARSON, Calif. – Robbie Keane scored a pair of goals and assisted another as the LA Galaxy blanked their USLPRO affiliate club LA Galaxy II 3-0 at StubHub Center.
Just a week after returning to full training, the Galaxy captain scored twice in the first half and set up a goal for Samuel in the 69th minute to seal the win for the first team in the inaugural White vs. Blue match.
Keane wasted no time getting on the scoreboard as he collected a header from Leonardo and then launched a shot from over 40 yards that caught Galaxy II goalkeeper Cody Laurendi off his line. The Irishman appeared far sharper than he did in LA’s scrimmage against UCLA on Wednesday as he pulled the strings as the Galaxy turned the screws on their USL counterparts.
LA’s first team nearly found the back of the net five minutes later when Gyasi Zardes saw his close-range effort saved by Laurendi. The Galaxy II ‘keeper came up big again in the 17th minute when he came off his line to stop a pair of chances by Landon Donovan and Gyasi Zardes.
The Galaxy captain was not to be denied however in the 24th minute as Landon Donovan earned a penalty kick after being taken down by Bradley Diallo. Keane calmly slotted his effort past Laurendi to complete the brace.
Galaxy II almost tallied in the waning moments of the first half as LA Homegrown Player Jack McBean trotted up field and launched a shot that ricocheted off both posts.
At the start of the second half, the USL PRO side began to have greater success against their MLS counterparts and came close to getting on the score sheet in the 56th minute. After being taken down in the penalty area, Travis Bowen saw his right-footed penalty saved by a diving Brian Perk to keep the shutout for the first team.
Keane capped off a stellar night in the 69th minute when he carved open the Galaxy II defense before laying a pass off to a waiting Donovan, who dished it to Samuel for the easy tap in. The Irishman was substituted just moments later, completing his longest appearance of the preseason.
Despite the deficit, Galaxy II continued to push forward but could not break down the LA rearguard. They came close again in the 76th minute when Maxwell Griffin saw his header saved by Galaxy goalkeeper Brian Rowe.
With their victory over their USL PRO affiliate, the Galaxy are now 5-1-1 this preseason ahead of their March 8 MLS regular season opener against Real Salt Lake at StubHub Center.
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog at LAGalaxy.com/Insider and contact him at LAGalaxyInsider@Gmail.com
STATS:
LA GALAXY 3 – LA GALAXY II 0
LA: 2’: 7-Robbie Keane (Assisted by 22-Leonardo), 24’: 7-Robbie Keane (PK), 68’: 9-Samuel (Assisted by 10-Landon Donovan, 7-Robbie Keane)
LAGII: None
LA Galaxy : 1-Brian Perk (62’: 12-Brian Rowe); 4-Omar Gonzalez, 7-Robbie Keane (70’ 6-Baggio Husidic), 8-Marcelo Sarvas (62’: 24-Stefan Ishizaki), 10-Landon Donovan, 11 Gyasi Zardes (77’: 30-Chandler Hoffman), 16-Rob Friend (46’: 9-Samuel), 19-Juninho (77’: 34-Kenny Walker), 20-A.J. DeLaGarza, 22-Leonardo (70’: 28-Kofi Opare), 26-James Riley (70’: 33-Dan Gargan)
DNP: 21-Tommy Meyer, 31-Kyle Venter, 35-Greg Cochrane, 17-Bryan Gaul, 27-Charlie Rugg
Head Coach: Bruce Arena
LA Galaxy II: 41-Cody Laurendi, 36-Oscar Sorto (46’: 37-Matheau Hall), 44-Daniel Steres (77’: 62-Elijah Martin), 53-Bradley Diallo (57’: 43-Logan Emory), 55-Jason Bli (46’: 49-Eder Arreola), 58- Aleksandar Djokovic (46’: 56-Laurent Courtois), 48-Dragen Stojkov (51’: 57-Alejandro Covarrubias), 25-Rafael Garcia (55’: 72-Lee Nishanian), 38-Bradford Jamieson IV (46’: 50-Travis Bowen), 32-Jack McBean (46’: 63-Maxwell Griffin), 40- Raul Mendiola (65’: 45-Adonis Amaya)
DNP: 64- Nicholas Shackelford, 68-Josh Cohen, 66-Joe Franco, 65-Jaime Villarreal, 45-Aaron Lombardi
Head Coach: Curt Onalfo
Booked:
LA – None
LAGII – 59’: 50- Travis Bowen
Sent off / Expulsado:
LA – None
LAGII – None
Statistics/Estadísticas |
LA |
LAGII |
|---|---|---|
<p>Shots/Tiros Totales</p> |
<p>13</p> |
<p>13</p> |
<p>Saves/Atajadas</p> |
<p>4</p> |
<p>3</p> |
<p>Corners/Tiros de Esquina</p> |
<p>2</p> |
<p>7</p> |
<p>Fouls/Faltas</p> |
<p>11</p> |
<p>12</p> |
<p>Offside/Fuera de Lugar</p> |
<p>3</p> |
<p>7</p> |
<p>Shots on Goal/Tiros a Puerta</p> |
<p>6</p> |
<p>4</p> |
