Zlatan Ibrahimovic helped the Galaxy pull to within three points of Nico Loidero and The Seattle Sounders
By Ivan Yeo
It has certainly been an interesting September for the Galaxy.
Heading into Sunday’s crucial showdown with the Seattle Sounders, the Galaxy were mired in a seven-match winless streak that had put them behind in the Western Conference playoff race. That winless streak saw then-head coach Sigi Schmid leave his post after the sixth match, a 6-2 loss at the hands of Real Salt Lake, and Dominic Kinnear assume the position of trying to salvage the season for the Galaxy.
Despite all the turbulence surrounding the organization, the Galaxy showed on Sunday evening that all is not lost as far as reaching the playoffs are concerned. Due to goals by Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Ola Kamara and Emmanuel Boateng, the Galaxy got ahead early and never looked back, as they climbed to within striking distance of a playoff spot with a 3-0 win over the Sounders at StubHub Center.
“When you win you always feel good. That’s what the game is about, to win,” Ibrahimovic said. “We could finally get the win, but we got it in a good way also. We scored three goals. We played good. We were organized. The team had a good stability during the whole game.”
With the win, the Galaxy moved ahead of Vancouver, who lost 2-1 to FC Dallas, for the seventh spot in the west and are not just three points back of Seattle for the sixth and final playoff spot.
“It puts us back in the conversation, and that was the message before the game when we were talking,” Kinnear said. “Let’s not worry about what other teams are doing, let’s try and get ourselves back into it.”
The Galaxy got the break it needed starting in the ninth minute. Kamara played a ball to Ibrahimovic inside the penalty area, Ibrahimovic then played a weighted ball for Kamara, who was trailed by Brad Smith. Smith fell and ended up bringing down Kamara from behind and referee Jose Carlos Rivero immediately whistled for the penalty spot. A minute later, Ibrahimovic buried the penalty with relative ease to get the Galaxy going in the match.
The Galaxy stretched its lead in the 40th minute. Ibrahimovic played a ball to Alessandrini, who timed his run just right to get behind the Sounders backline into the penalty area. Alessandrini crossed into the six-yard box, Kamara charged in and one-timed a ball for the goal far post. It did take a while for the goal to be made official, as Rivero had a discussion about video review to see if Alessandrini may have been in an offside position during the early part of the play, but after a brief discussion, Rivero allowed the goad to stand.
The Galaxy were somewhat gifted a third goal in the 52nd minute. Sebastian Lletget switched a ball from right to left to Alessandrini, who took a touch, then broke for the penalty area. Sounders defender Kevin Leerdam went to ground to try and dispossess Alessandrini, but Leerdam instead sent the ball off Alessandrini and forward towards goal. Roman Torres still had an opportunity to make a play on the ball, but Torres made a mess of the clearance attempt, the ball went into the six and Boateng took a sliding shot that crossed the goal line before being cleared out by Torres, This time, the referee did not need video review, as he immediately signaled goal.
“I think today was probably our best performance,” Galaxy defender Ashley Cole said. “We played well, we moved the ball well, and we defended well. I think it was the perfect game and the prefect result for us, it was what we needed.”
The Galaxy now prepare for another big match on Saturday night, as they face the Vancouver Whitecaps in a match that will prove crucial in further extending the playoff hopes of both squads. Ibrahimovic certainly knows the importance Saturday’s match will bring.
“I think every game is a final,” Ibrahimovic said. “We need to win if we want to go further. We still have a chance and we will do everything to take care of the situation we are in. As long as we have a chance we will go for it.”
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