The Official Site of Landon Donovan

Mon, Nov 23rd 2009, 08:10

Galaxy fall in PK's

After a match that couldn’t be decided in regulation time, perhaps it was fitting that the penalty kick shootout would also need a little bit extra. Goalkeeper Nick Rimando made two saves and Robbie Russell buried the winning kick in the seventh round of the penalty kick shootout, and Real Salt Lake won the first trophy in club history, defeating the Los Angeles Galaxy 5-4 after a 1-1 draw.

Penalty kicks became necessary after the two teams finished 120 minutes deadlocked. Galaxy midfielder Mike Magee converted in the first half to put a capstone on a period of Los Angeles dominance, while Robbie Findley did the same for Real Salt Lake in the second half.

The title is the first in Real Salt Lake history, while Los Angeles fell in their sixth MLS Cup appearance.

Los Angeles made two changes from the team that took the field against Houston in the Western Conference Championship. Chris Klein and Dema Kovalenko were dropped from the lineup at the last minute for Chris Birchall and Jovan Kirovski. Real Salt Lake came out with the same lineup that bested Chicago in the other final, with Yura Movsisyan retaining his spot in the starting lineup ahead of Fabian Espindola. Will Johnson, who was suffering from food poisoning, found himself in RSL coach Jason Kreis’ starting XI.

Both teams came out conservatively, with neither team committing players forward in attack. LA’s Birchall sat just in front of the back four in a holding midfield role.

The first half-chance came in the ninth minute, with the Galaxy’s Todd Dunivant crossing from the left in the vicinity of Buddle, but the forward’s headed ball didn’t threaten the goal.

Will Johnson picked up the first yellow card for impeding Landon Donovan’s progress in the 14th minute. Just a few seconds later, RSL’s Argentinean playmaker, Javier Morales, got caught on the business end of an aggressive David Beckham tackle and came up holding his left knee. After coming off the field for treatment, Morales attempted to play through but could not continue.

Kreis was forced to use a valuable substitution early, bringing in Clint Mathis in the 22nd minute. With Morales out, Los Angeles started to assert its will on the game.

Kirovski found some space from an Edson Buddle pass in the 25th minute, lashing a volley towards Nick Rimando’s goal. After blocking the initial shot, Rimando was able to gobble up the rebound to keep the game scoreless.

On the other end, Real Salt Lake created their first real danger through the speedy Robbie Findley. The striker challenged Gregg Berhalter in a one-on-one situation, but the LA’s veteran defender escorted the ball over the end line. However, Findley’s speed caused the Galaxy defense real worry. Los Angeles tried to negate RSL’s speed with a high defensive line, drawing Findley offside three times in the first half alone.

In the 28th minute, a Los Angeles corner kick bounced in the six-yard box before rebounding over the goal, with Omar Gonzalez getting the last touch. The first clear-cut scoring chance came in the 36th minute off a well-executed LA counterattack. Donovan fed a streaking Mike Magee on the left side. As he breached the RSL penalty area, the Galaxy midfielder took a touch and sizzled a low drive past Rimando’s far post.

Los Angeles continued to press with Donovan’s volley from an extremely tight angle going into the stands on the north side of the stadium. Another potentially dangerous situation was diffused by an offside call against Edson Buddle.

By this time RSL was reeling and perhaps unsurprisingly, the first goal final came in the 41st minute. With RSL’s defense scrambling, Beckham played wide to Donovan. Given time to survey the field, Donovan lifted a gentle cross to Magee, who finished neatly at the far post.

RSL attempted to answer back before halftime. Andy Williams served in an enticing free kick to the far post after Beckerman was fouled. Nat Borchers, fighting off Berhalter, headed the ball directly into the hands of Donovan Ricketts, but at least RSL had answered. In the last notable play of first-half stoppage time, Movsisyan controlled and volleyed high as RSL showed a fighting spirit going into halftime.

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