LA Galaxy Sporting Kansas City player ratings

Conventional wisdom says the MLS season isn’t a sprint, but a marathon.

Actually, the season is more like white water rafting. Like a marathon, it can be a long grueling exercise, but there are also times when you have to forget about paddling and simply go with the current, because the current is ultimately dictating where the raft is heading.

With the Galaxy facing the fittest team in the league on the road in scorching heat and SKC desperate for points, Bruce’s men were up against one strong current.

So Bruce made some wise decisions, resting a banged up Dos Santos who probably wouldn’t have been effective in this type of game, giving Alan Gordon another start, and picking the perfect time to insert Landon Donovan into the match.

Excellent!

Alan Gordon: Gordo is catching fire! With four starts in the past five games and goals in consecutive matches vs. Sporting KC and Orlando City, Gordon is rounding into form at the right time for LA.

Jelle Van Damme: Saved a sure goal for SKC with a sliding block on a Feilhaber shot from point-blank range. Not as involved in the attack, but given the circumstances you could hardly blame the Belgian for not pushing up more.

Good:

Sebastian Lletget: Every match Lletget looks more natural in the center of the pitch. His instinctive outside the boot pass to Boateng that began the sequence for Gordo’s header was a thing to beauty.

Brian Rowe: Strong game despite conceding twice. His quick reactions were crucial in thwarting the likes of Dom Dwyer on more than one occasion.

Raul Mendiola: Someone else greatly benefitting from playing time, Mendiola had a fantastic sequence in the first half when he stripped Dwyer of the ball at the top of the area, collected the ball after it pinged around to the Homegrown Player and instantly rifled a pass to Gordo that successfully jump started a counter-attack.

As Matt Doyle says , “Play your kids”.

Ok:

Emmanuel Boateng: Did well to stay composed on the left flank and calmly float a measured cross to Gordo for LA’s first tally. Like many of his peers, Boateng struggled to make more of an impact in the attack.

Robbie Rogers: A mixed performance. Fell asleep and was beaten by Jacob Peterson on SKC’s first goal, but his surging run upfield led to LD’s equalizer.

Ashley Cole: Brad Friedel was singing the English muffin’s praises throughout the broadcast, and with good reason. However, Cole was caught out of position on SKC’s second.

Daniel Steres: More or less solid.

Poor:

Jeff Larentowicz: Another so-so performance from Big Red. Really seems to struggle against more athletic sides.

Robbie Keane: Not enough touches on the ball, and didn’t look dangerous enough when he did receive service.

Subs:

Landon Donovan: So, do they erect the statue of Donovan now, or wait until the Galaxy move to another stadium?

Rafael Garcia & Baggio Husidic: In tandem the duo helped kill off the match.