Across The Pond
Following his captaincy of the England side against Trinidad and Tobago last week, David Beckham flew back home to LA in time to feature for the Galaxy as they took on the Colorado Rapids. It seemed to be no coincidence that Galaxy turned round their fortunes with the inclusion of Beckham in their side as they went on to beat Colorado 3-2.
After a recent goal scoring flourish, it was Beckham's turn to be provider. A dangerous ball in from the right was followed by a scramble in the box before the ball broke loose to Alvaro Pires who slotted home from close range. It is these sort of balls that Galaxy had missed in recent weeks and look a very different team with Beckham in the side.
Galaxy then went 2-0 up after 31 minutes after an excellent finish by Edson Buddle from an acute angle. With Colorado trying to force an equaliser, it left them wide open at the back. This gave LA the opportunity to hit Colorado on the break and score with relative ease. However it wasn't all good news for LA with Alan Gordon being dismissed just before half time. Gordon retaliated to Argentine defender Facundo Erpen who was also dismissed for his involvement in the fracas.
With both teams now down to ten men, it was LA Galaxy who seemed to adjust better to being a man short and came out after half time all guns blazing. On 50 minutes, Ely Allen slotted home from the edge of the area to give LA a three goal cushion. At 3-0 it seemed to be inevitable that the Galaxy would take all three points and move to the top of the Western Standings, however it wasn't as comfortable as they would have hoped. In the last 20 minutes, the rapids scored twice making a very nervy finish to the game. Nevertheless, Galaxy did take all three points and moved to the top of the Western Standings.
Up next for Beckham and the Galaxy is a trip to face fellow Californians, the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday 14th June.
Following his injury, Danny Dichio was only fit enough to make the substitutes bench for Toronto on Saturday as the Reds took on Houston Dynamo. Without their top marksman, Toronto have struggled to find goals in his absence; Saturday was no different. Despite going in at the break all square, Toronto collapsed in the second half and found themselves 3-0 down with just twenty minutes to go and leaving little time to respond. Danny Dichio came on as a substitute in a bid to even things up but was unable to make the desired impact. Toronto did find the net through Jeff Cunningham but was merely a consolation.
On Saturday, Toronto welcome the visit of the Colorado Rapids who will also be looking to bounce back following their defeat to the LA Galaxy.
In other MLS news, the whereabouts of Brian McBride still remains to be seen. It seems that Chicago Fire is his desired destination but it is Toronto F.C. that have made space available within their roster for the player. Whether or not McBride will occupy that space is another matter.