SANDY, Utah – LA Galaxy Insider Adam Serrano’s Three Points to the Galaxy’s scoreless draw with Real Salt Lake. The two teams will face off in the second leg of their Western Conference Semifinal on Nov. 9 at StubHub Center.
PENEDO KEEPS THE GALAXY IN THE SERIES WITH STELLAR SHOWING
If the LA Galaxy are to advance from their Western Conference Semifinal series, they’ll owe their success to Jaime Penedo’s brilliant goalkeeping performance in Saturday’s scoreless draw.
As Salt Lake sought to pressure the Galaxy from the start, Penedo was frequently called into action to keep the home side at bay as the Panamanian goalkeeper made six stunning saves on the night. Although each of Penedo’s saves were highlight-reel worthy, no stop was more impressive than his swinging one-handed palm save on Javier Morales in the game’s dying moments.
But it wasn’t just the saves that made Penedo’s performance special as his willingness to come off his line to gather crosses helped the Galaxy slow down the home side’s dangerous attack.
ROUGH-AND-TUMBLE GAME DUE TO OFFICATING AND WIND
Blustery conditions and inconsistent officiating from referee Silviu Petrescu proved responsible for turning Saturday’s match between two of the best offenses in MLS into an overly physical stalemate.
With the Canadian referee allowing both teams to indulge in rough play, the game became increasingly chippy with Peterscu dishing out four yellow cards (two apiece) and whistling 35 fouls (24 for LA and 11 for RSL) by the end of the match. Peterscu drew the ire of both sides after the match as Joao Plata’s attempt in the 23rd minute and Gyasi Zardes’ shot less than 10 minutes later were both judged to be offside despite video replays revealing the contrary.
The wind—which at times reached speeds nearing 40 mph.— did not help matters as both teams were unable to play balls into the air as the blustery conditions caused routine crosses to twist and turn resulting in repeated turnovers for each team.
JOB SIMPLE FOR LA: WIN AND ADVANCE
The arithmetic is easy for the LA Galaxy heading into the second leg of their series with Real Salt Lake: win and LA will be playing in their sixth Western Conference final in seven years.
With the implement of the new away goals tiebreaker, the Galaxy will need a victory over RSL next Sunday to punch a ticket to the next round. Although that promises to be daunting task against the Claret-and-Cobalt, the Galaxy have enjoyed plenty of success at home this season, notching a 12-1-4 record at StubHub Center.
But the team to inflict that lone blemish on the Galaxy’s otherwise sterling home record? None other than Jeff Cassar’s Salt Lake side who earned a 1-0 victory over LA in the season opener back in March.
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog at LAGalaxy.com/Insider and contact him at LAGalaxyInsider@Gmail.com.
