The LA Galaxy walked out of Colorado with a point against the Rapids. Moments after Marcelo Sarvas scored the opening goal for the Galaxy, an equalizer was let in and that's how the match finished. Sarvas' goal was unassisted, and unfortunately the rest of the match impact picture is fairly bleak.
Sarvas' rocket in the tenth minute put the Galaxy up 0-1 on the road. Robbie Keane had received a pass, dribbled sloppily in the box then taken a left footed shot that was blocked, and Sarvas was in jus the right position to smash home the rebound with his right foot into the top far corner. Sarvas also earned four fouls, and all that was good for a Match Impact Rating of 78.1.
No one else on the club finished higher than eleven in match impact rating. Juninho finished with a 10.5 and David Beckham finished with a 10.3. Each earned a foul, as did Landon Donovan who finished with a 9.75. They were the only players to earn fouls. Juninho, Magee, Donovan, and Keane all had shots on target.
Magee and Donovan both earned yellow cards. Sarvas committed three fouls and Donovan two. Ultimately it seems Mike Magee and Robbie Keane ultimately had no impact on the match, as Keane finished with a 0.25 rating and Magee with 0.
Magee was Bruce Arena's second substitution, bringing in Edson Buddle, so Arena noticed Magee wasn't having a good match. Unfortunately, Arena had to use his first substitution in the thirty fourth minute after A.J. DeLaGarza left the match with a left knee sprain (early diagnosis). He saved his last substitution to take out Beckham when he felt Beckham was gassed.
If we're looking for who had the biggest impact on the match after Marcelo Sarvas, look no further an A.J. DeLaGarza. The Galaxy had already surrendered the equalizer, but with Tommy Meyer on the backline the Galaxy had to play more defensively as a whole. It also took away a substitution, and that one he ended up making traded replacement level for replacement level.
Edson Buddle doesn't work well with Robbie Keane. When they're up top together it's often occupying the same quadrant, making both players out of position. Bringing Buddle in was more about putting Landon Donovan in the midfield to keep the team from conceding a match winner. Arena then brought in Michael Stephens lest the Galaxy give up an extra time goal.
That means all three substitutions were made with defense in mind, even though Buddle was one of the substitutions. The Galaxy playing defensively on the road is nothing new, and with Real Salt Lake and Seattle coming to The Home Depot Center in October, taking a point on the road isn't the worst thing, regardless of opponent.
Match Impact Rating is graciously given to LAG Confidential by Patrick Johnson.