Homestand Ends on Sour Note with 2-0 loss to Red Bulls

LA Galaxy 0, New York Red Bulls 2
Friday, September 24, 2010
The Home Depot Center – Carson, Calif.

Scoring Summary:
NY – Dane Richards 3 (Unassisted) 36’
NY – Juan Pablo Angel 13 (Penalty Kick) 60’

Misconduct Summary:
LA – A.J. DeLaGarza (Yellow Card) 56’
LA – Yohance Marshall (Yellow Card) 59’
LA – David Beckham (Yellow Card) 87’

Lineups:
LA Galaxy: Donovan Ricketts; Sean Franklin, Yohance Marshall, Leonardo (A.J. DeLaGarza 46’), Todd Dunivant; Dema Kovalenko (Tristan Bowen 76’), David Beckham, Juninho, Landon Donovan©; Jovan Kirovski (Eddie Lewis 67’), Edson Buddle.

Subs Not Used: Josh Saunders, Alex Cazumba, Chris Birchall, Mike Magee.

New York Red Bulls: Bouna Coundoul; Carey Talley (Mike Petke 40’), Carlos Mendes, Tim Ream, Roy Miller; Rafael Marquez (Carl Robinson 69’), Tony Tschani (Salou Ibrahim 71’), Dane Richards, Mehdi Ballouchy, Joel Lindpere; Juan Pablo Angel©.

Subs Not Used: Greg Sutton, Austin Da Luz, Danleigh Borman, Sinisa Ubiparipovic.
Notes:
• Despite the loss, the Galaxy remain in first place in the Western Conference and all of MLS with a 15-6-5 record for 50 points. They remain three points ahead of Real Salt Lake for first place, with RSL hosting Colorado on Saturday.
• Tonight’s game was the third and final game of the Galaxy’s three game homestand. They finished 2-1-0 in those three games, taking six of a possible nine points.
• Bruce Arena made two changes to the team that came from behind to defeat D.C. United 2-1 at The Home Depot Center on Saturday night. Leonardo returned to the starting XI in central defense in place of the suspended Omar Gonzalez, while David Beckham made his first start of the season in midfield, replacing Alex Cazumba, who began the game on the bench.
• Joining Cazumba on the bench was A.J. DeLaGarza, who had not dressed for either of the last two games because of a left knee strain.
• While the club welcomed DeLaGarza back to the lineup, they were once again without defender Gregg Berhalter and A.J. DeLaGarza, who missed his sixth straight game with a neck strain, though Berhalter did return to training earlier this week.
• This was the first time in all competitions that the Galaxy had used the central defense pairing of Yohance Marshall and Leonardo.
• After missing last weekend’s game with left quad fatigue, Leonardo played the opening 45 minutes before being replaced by A.J. DeLaGarza.
• David Beckham played the full 90 minutes for the Galaxy after making his first start of the season. This was Beckham’s first start in a Galaxy uniform since MLS Cup 2009 in Seattle on November 22, 2009.
• Dane Richards gave the Red Bulls a 1-0 lead in the 36th minute. That was the fifth time in the last six games that the Galaxy allowed the opening goal.
• LA is now 1-6-2 when allowing the game’s opening goals.
• Juan Pablo Angel doubled the New York lead in the 60th with a penalty kick for his 13th goal of the season. Only the Galaxy’s Edson Buddle has more goals than Angel with 14.
• The penalty kick was Angel’s third attempt against the Galaxy in the last three meetings. He scored on two of the three and had one saved by Donovan Ricketts at Giants Stadium last season.
• Angel’s penalty kick, which was came from a Yohance Marshall foul on Dane Richards, was the first penalty given up by the Galaxy this season.
• The Galaxy have now allowed a goal in eight straight regular season home games, dating back to May 15. LA has kept a clean sheet in just three of their 13 home games so far this season.
• This was the eighth time this season that the Galaxy were shutout, with three of those coming at home.
• Of the eight times that LA was shutout this season, six have come against Eastern Conference opposition.
• Juninho was not booked in the game, meaning that he is eligible to play in the Galaxy’s next game against Chivas USA on September 3. He remains one caution away from a mandatory one game suspension for yellow card accumulation.
• This was the final game of the season between the Galaxy and New York. The two teams split the season series, with LA winning 1-0 at Red Bull Arena on August 14.
• New York’s win snapped a four-game unbeaten streak for LA against the Red Bulls dating back to the 2008 season.
• The attendance for today’s game was a sellout crowd of 27,000. This was the Galaxy’s second sellout of the season.
• The Galaxy are back in action on Sunday, October 3 when they play the second and final leg of the Honda SuperClasico against Chivas USA at The Home Depot Center. That game kicks off at 5 p.m. (PT) and can be seen live on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes.
• For more about today’s game, please visit www.lagalaxy.com.