Portland Timbers 1-1 Los Angeles Galaxy: Valeri Bails Out Portland Late
May 11, 2014; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Timbers midfielder Diego Valeri (8) and Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Landon Donovan (10) battle for the ball at Providence Park. Mandatory Credit: Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports
Bruce Arena’s Los Angeles Galaxy have been making a nasty habit of letting teams off the hook late, and on Sunday at Providence Park in Portland, Ore., that’s exactly what happened. Diego Valeri was the hero for Caleb Porter’s Portland Timbers in their 1-1 draw with the struggling Los Angeles Galaxy, who drop to a disappointing 2-2-3 to fall 13 points off the pace set by the Seattle Sounders.
Here are six things we learned, followed by player ratings, for the match between the Portland Timbers and Los Angeles Galaxy.
1. A scoreless first half
What more needs to be said? There were no goals scored by either team in the first half. Oh yes, there were shots left and right but who’s counting? Nothing to see here, moving right along…
2. A scoreless second half
Even worse was that the next 45 minutes saw more chances taken by both teams and neither team got the breakthrough goal to get their over the top. Risks needed to be taken late, as this match had all the makings of a scoreless draw. Enter stoppage time, and some drama.
3. Robbie Keane continues scoring hotstreak
In the second minute of stoppage time, Donovan Ricketts blows an easy save opportunity to make it 1-0 Los Angeles Galaxy. Robbie Keane scored his fifth goal of the season off an assist from Dan Gargan.
4. Diego Valeri keeps hope alive for Los Angeles
The lead would not last long. In the fifth minute of second half stoppage time, Will Johnson found Diego Valeri on the right side who slotted one past Galaxy goalkeeper Jaime Penedo for his second goal of the season.
5. Once again, the stats don’t matter
The Galaxy dominated a number of stat categories, but dominating match statistics is not what this game is about. It’s also about dominating on the scoresheet, and the Galaxy failed to defend for the entire game.
| Portland Timbers | LA Galaxy | |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Attempts on Goal | 21 |
| 4 | Shots on Target | 5 |
| 2 | Shots off Target | 7 |
| 4 | Blocked Shots | 9 |
| 10 | Corner Kicks | 8 |
| 14 | Fouls | 10 |
| 10 | Open Play Crosses | 24 |
| 1 | Offsides | 0 |
| 1 | First Yellow Cards | 1 |
| 0 | Second Yellow Cards | 0 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 |
| 46 | Duels Won | 45 |
| 50% | Duels Won % | 49% |
| 311 | Total Pass | 398 |
| 77% | Passing Accuracy % | 77% |
| 44.1% | Possession | 55.9% |
6. No record set for Landon Donovan
One thing the MLS Multiplex did get right, aside from Robbie Keane scoring, is no record set for Landon Donovan. Goals are going to come at a premium for LD, who was held in check on Sunday by a Portland side that wasn’t at the top of its form. This was, for all intents and purposes, a glorified pillow fight.
Portland Timbers Player Ratings
Donovan Ricketts 6, Mamadou Danso 7, Pa Modou Kah 7, Michael Harrington NR, Jack Jewsbury 6, Alvas Powell 5, Diego Valeri 9, Diego Chara 4, Ben Zemanski 4, Will Johnson 8, Maximiliano Urruti 5, Gaston Fernandez 4.5, Steve Zakuani 5, Darlington Nagbe 6
Los Angeles Galaxy Player Ratings
Jaime Penedo 5, Dan Gargan 7.5, Leonardo 5, Kofi Opare 4, A.J. DeLaGarza 6, Landon Donovan 6, Baggio Husidic 6, Stefan Ishizaki 6, Juninho 6, Rob Friend 6, Robbie Keane 9, Samuel 4, Gyasi Zardes NR