Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Welcome to Telstra Stadium for the Hyundai Club Challenge

Kickoff is about ten minutes away so we're here and ready to go.

The crowd is continuing to pour in from all directions and the stadium should be at capacity in time for kickoff.

The Ruud Gullit coaching era is soon to begin and his club will be looking to add a second piece of silverware in as many games following the Copa Minnesota earlier this month.

Flashbulbs are popping off around the stadium as the players came out of the tunnel and begin to take the field. Captains David Beckham and Tony Popovic come together for the opening coin toss.

And we're ready to go.

The Sydney lineup will consist of Clint Bolton in goal, Popovic, Iain Frfe, Nikolas Tsattalios, Ruben Zadkovich, Brendan Santalab, Mark Milligan, Adam Biddle, Ufuk Talay, Alex Brosque and Juninho.

First Minute - Landon has the game's opening shot, taking a layoff from Edson only for his shot to be saved by Bolton.

4 - Pavon whips a dangerous cross in for Buddle but Bolton claims the cross.

Galaxy having the better of the play with Pavon, Klein and Albright finding some joy down the right flank.

6 - Long ball from the back nearly creates a chance for Sydney's top scorer Alex Brosque, only for the linesman to flag for offside.

7 - Pavon collects a loose pass along the backline and fires a low shot which Bolton holds.

9 - Juninho bursts through the middle and is able to get the ball to Brosque who turns quickly and hits a left footed shot that clips the top of the crossbar.

13 - Brosque gets in behind and the flag stays down, but Veris recovers to poke the ball away.

14 - Juninho corner from the right wing is headed clear by Harmse that starts a counterattack with Beckham finding Pavon on the left flank with Bolton saving again from Carlos.

Both sets of forwards, Buddle and Pavon as well as Brosque and Juninho are able to find some space up front.

17 - Landon fires high with his left from 23 yards after a quick one touch move in the center of the field.

19 - Clint wins a freekick on the left flank about 30 yards out. Beckham whips the ball in and Bolton bobbles but holds on.

20 - That starts a quick counterattack, with Juninho cutting an angled ball through the defense for Brosque who slots it underneath Cannon, putting Sydney up 1-0.

21 - Becks tries to answer straight away with a curling shot from the top of the box, which Bolton saves and holds.

23 - Talay fires hard from 35 yards but it's right at Cannon and he parries it away before Harmse clears from danger.

26 - Brosque scores again, sliding in behind the defense. Veris was able to poke the ball away, but only off the post, leaving the Brosque with the simplest of finishes. 2-0 Sydney.

27- Beckham goes down after a Zadkovich stumbles into him and is slow to get up.

28 - Zadkovich scores again as Juninho puts him through and his right footed shot deflects off Cannon's hands and into the net. 3-0 Sydney.

31 - Harmse is the first player to go in referee Mark Sheild's book earning a yellow card for a foul on Juninho, leading to some pushing and shoving.

32 - Landon is booked as well as the referee says that he is not 10 yards back in the wall...even tough its fairly obvious he is at least 12 yards away.

35- Beckham places a left wing corner kick into the box, but Bolton punches it away.

37 - Mark Rudan comes on for Mark Milligan in a tactical switch for Sydney.

38- Rudan makes himself instantly useful, heading away a left wing corner.

40 - Buddle and Pavon combine on a one two but the return pass to Buddle is just too far.

42 - Klein fires high from long range.

Becks appears to have shaken off his ankle injury and is moving freely in the center of the park.

45 - Galaxy pull one back as Becks fires a freekick home from 23 yards out. Bolton got a hand to the shot, which was set up by a foul on Pavon, but could not keep it out. 3-1 Sydney.

Very odd Hyundai inflatables are brought out at the half. This could be interesting... turned out not to be.

Halftime subs were Cronin, Tudela and Vagenas on for Cannon, Albright and Pavon.

Internet issues shut us down for 30 minutes or so and we're now in the 73rd minute with the score 4-2 Sydney.

How'd we get there?

Landon picked off a loose ball in the attacking third and sent Buddle in alone, allowing him to score with his right in the 48th minute. The lead was back up to two goals a few minutes later as substitute Robbie Middleby scored.

Landon keeps pushing forward as he is in a more attacking role now.

Harmse is hit in the 75th minute by Adam Biddle and the referee chooses to give both players yellows, leading to a red for Harmse.

Edson has been cramping for the last 20 minutes and has come off, leaving LA with 9 against 11 for the last 10 minutes.

Sydney gets a fifth as Iain Fyfe collects a bobble from Cronin and slots home from close range, making it 5-2.

LA is fatigued but Sydney keeps pushing forward and Landon catches them on a counter. Klein's long ball from teh back finds Donovan who rounds the keeper and slots home with his left, making the score 5-3.

That is the final kick of the match as LA fall 5-3 to Sydney FC.

The fans will go home happy after what was a fantastic display of attacking football. The crowd of 80,295 are still cheering long after the final whistle as David is being interviewed on the pitch prior to the trophy presentation.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Will you be able to post game highlights please

we want to see the G's goals and player ratings etc

Ben

Robb said...

Hard luck guys. Best of luck for the match against the Phoenix. All of us in Wellington are excited, and while we're cheering for the 'nix, we're looking forward to seeing Los Angeles take to the field as well. Best of luck.

jake said...

We learned a valuable lesson. Keep Klein!

Anonymous said...

... we have a long way to go, but i see the positives... the attack looked good with Beckham, Donovan, Mathis playing exquisite, Pavon was good at times too... but our defense need work ASAP gullit.. also for being a preseason game we could of tied this game 3-3, but we fell thanks to two goalkeeper howlers... Cannon, you had a shocker.

Anonymous said...

Someone please give Harmse a slap on the wrist. Surely he knows it's not nice to stomp on people while they lay on the ground. Tsk tsk

Anonymous said...

Sydney FC provided quite the challenge for our LA Galaxy. As well as it should... As well as it was to be expected. Soccer (Futbol) is a revered, practiced, and 'proud' sport & past-time in many countries around the world. I, for one, am happy that AEG & LA Galaxy get these eye-opening, international opportunities to play friendlies in these other parts of the world. Our LA Galaxy guys MUST... MUST... take this sport a LOT more seriously - with passion, with pride, with personal excellence. Otherwise - LA Galaxy will keep getting their "tails & feathers" handed to them.

I sincerely hope that Ruud Gullit, Cobi Jones, Trevor James, Alexi Lalas, and Paul Bravo presistently drive this fact into our LA Galaxy players. Believe it or not - we are being graded by the international community... and, YES... we have to care & take responsibility to make our LA Galaxy team stronger, faster, more superior, and more resilient.

Love the game... PLAY HARD!