The Official Site of Landon Donovan

Mon, Jul 19th 2010, 16:14

Donovan and Buddle score as Galaxy win 2-1

The Los Angeles Galaxy became the latest team to snatch all three points from a trip to RFK Stadium on Sunday night, as strikes from Edson Buddle and Landon Donovan gave the Californians a 2-1 victory over luckless D.C. United.

Paced by the hard running of teenager Andy Najar and new striker Pablo Hernandez, United fought gamely but could not overcome the gulf in quality between themselves and the league’s frontrunners, who now own an impressive 6-2-2 record away from the Home Depot Center.

Donovan and Buddle were given a far friendlier welcome than usual by the RFK crowd, as the home fans saluted their World Cup efforts with rousing applause during pregame introductions.

It didn’t take long for Donovan to threaten Troy Perkins’ goal. In the first 60 seconds, LA’s No. 10 curled an instinctive shot over the crossbar after the D.C. goalkeeper muffed his take of a Galaxy cross.

United’s Santino Quaranta created havoc in the Galaxy penalty box with an in-swinging free kick a few minutes later, but no one in a black jersey could apply the final touch. That opportunity marked one of the home side’s few dangerous forays forward in the early going as the Galaxy edged the midfield battle and kept the ball well.

Buddle looked sure to score in the 22nd minute, when he beat a diving Perkins to Sean Franklin’s low near-post cross. The striker, however, could not corral the deflected ball in time as Julius Jones tracked back to block Buddle’s angled shot towards the empty net.
United came close moments later when Clyde Simms blocked a Galaxy clearance and chased the loose ball into the L.A. box, clipping his half-volley high and wide of Donovan Ricketts’ goal.

The visitors broke through seven minutes before halftime on a strike that was well-earned by Buddle, albeit with a healthy dollop of luck.
Franklin hit a centering pass behind his teammate’s run, allowing a backtracking Stephen King to arrive first. King’s clearance, though, was perfectly read by Buddle and the LA man took it back into his own path and advanced into the United box. Dejan Jakovic slid in to block the U.S. international’s first shot but couldn’t rise quickly enough to keep him from striking the rebound through Perkins’ legs for a 1-0 Galaxy advantage.