Los Angeles Galaxy vs. FC Dallas: Live Blog

May 21, 2014; Carson, CA, USA; Los Angeles Galaxy fans react during the game against FC Dallas at StubHub Center. The Galaxy defeated FC Dallas 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Bruce Arena’s Los Angeles Galaxy and Oscar Pareja’s FC Dallas clash in a big matchup tonight at StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. A victory for the Galaxy will put them in an excellent position to qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs. As for FC Dallas, a win for them tonight will keep them above the red line.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PT/10:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by MLS LIVE. The Live Blog begins at 5:30 p.m. PT/8:30 p.m. ET. Keep it right here on the MLS Multiplex for continuing coverage of the 2014 Major League Soccer season.

Refresh the screen for updates!

T-120: Welcome to the Live Blog between the Los Angeles Galaxy and FC Dallas, live from the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. I am Jo-Ryan Salazar, co-editor of the MLS Multiplex alongside Sean Maslin. This is a big matchup tonight, more so for Los Angeles, as a win will surely put them in position to clinch a playoff spot.

Here is the preview from MLSSoccer.com.

REFEREE: Kevin Stott. SAR (bench): Jeremy Hanson; JAR (opposite): Eduardo Mariscal; 4th: Alejandro Mariscal
MLS Career: 256 games; FC/gm: 25.5; Y/gm: 3.3; R: 62; pens: 63

SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: DAL: Blas Perez
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: LA: Baggio Husidic, A.J. DeLaGarza, Alan Gordon, Omar Gonzalez, Juninho, Marcelo Sarvas … DAL: Fabian Castillo, Matt Hedges, Je-Vaughn Watson, Victor Ulloa, Adam Moffat
DISABLED LIST: DAL: Hendry Thomas (season-ending injury)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none

HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (61 meetings): Galaxy 30 wins (1 shootout), 109 goals … FC Dallas 20 wins (1 shootout), 81 goals… Ties 11
AT LA (31 meetings): Galaxy 22 wins (1 shootout), 64 goals … FC Dallas 5 wins (1 shootout), 30 goals … Ties 4
FUTURE MATCH: 10/12: FC Dallas vs. LA Galaxy, 6 p.m. CT

The LA Galaxy extended their undefeated streak to seven games, reaching a 1-1 draw with the San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday afternoon at Buck Shaw Stadium. The Galaxy sit in second place in the Western Conference with 51 points from 28 games.

FC Dallas put an end to their brief two-game losing slide, defeating Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Saturday evening at Toyota Stadium. FC Dallas sit in fourth place in the Western Conference with 45 points from 28 games.

T-90: Earlier this week, Seattle defeated Philadelphia 3-1 in the U.S. Open Cup final. D.C. United defeated Waterhouse FC 2-1, Portland defeated Olimpia 4-2, Montreal defeated New York 1 and Sporting Kansas City defeated Saprissa 3-1 in CONCACAF Champions League play.

T-88: Yesterday, Real Salt Lake routed the Colorado Rapids 5-1. Earlier today, Portland shut out the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-0. Some more scores forthcoming.

T-65: A final from PPL Park…Philadelphia Union drew scoreless with the Houston Dynamo. Also a final from Red Bull Arena and it’s a shocker: New York Red Bulls 4, Seattle Sounders 1. Other live scores…Columbus Crew 1, New England Revolution 0…Montreal Impact 1, San Jose Earthquakes 0…Chicago Fire 2, D.C. United 1.

T-60: We are now an hour away from kickoff. Want to sound off on the game? Post away in the comments below!

T-56: Final scores…at Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio…Columbus Crew 1, New England Revolution 0. At Stade Saputo in Montreal, Que., the Montreal Impact shut out the San Jose Earthquakes 2-0. At halftime, the Chicago Fire are leading D.C. United 2-1.

T-53: “The teams at the top of the West still have to play each other a couple of times,” Galaxy forward Alan Gordon told LAGalaxy.com’s Larry Morgan. “I think it will be decided when we face each other. I don’t think we won or lost the Supporters’ Shield race yet.

“There’s still a lot to play for and we’re looking forward to this game (Saturday). We have Seattle down the road, and those will be important games for us.”

T-50: This week, MLS introduced their new identity for next season onward.

“Our league has changed a lot since its inception and I know that the logo has changed a bit, but I think that this is extremely representative of our sport and where we’re going,” Galaxy President Chris Klein told LA Galaxy Insider. “I think that ‘MLS NEXT’ is extremely appropriate for the sport in this country. We’re entering a new generation and this represents what we stand for—club, country and community. That’s something that all the clubs can get behind.”

T-35: Both teams go through warmups. D.C. has equalized against Chicago. It’s now 2-2 at Toyota Park. Lineups coming.

T-34: Lineups, etc.

Lineup

Bench

Officials

T-20: This blog will also give you occasional updates of the USL Pro semi between the LA Galaxy II and Sacramento Republic, so be sure to keep an eye out for that. D.C. now lead the Chicago Fire, 3-2, at Toyota Park.

T-13: Check out this infographic from the FC Dallas site.

T-12: Both teams wrap up warmups.

T-11: What a goal festival at Toyota Park. It’s now 3-3 between the Chicago Fire and D.C. United.

T-5: This is weird, but it looks like I do not see the Angel City Brigade in the bleachers. No Angel City Brigade banner. Hmmm…

T-3: Odds from Oddschecker…

Los Angeles 5/11
Draw 9/2
FC Dallas 8

T-0: Both teams reenter the pitch to the MLS Anthem by Audiobrain. I stand corrected. ACB is here after all.

National anthem by Collette Lush.

FIRST HALF START: 7:38 P.M. PT/10:38 P.M. ET

1′ – We’re underway. Final score from Toyota Park…Chicago Fire 3, D.C. United 3.

2′ – A bit of a naughty chip attempt from Robbie Keane on Raul Fernandez, the Peruvian dynamo between the pipes.  Keane again, and Fernandez is there to make the collection, easing the ball into his hands. Well, for FC Dallas, it’s all a matter of picking the right poison  to put the home team to sleep. Can they do it? Jaime Penedo resets.

3′ – Robbie Keane is trying to be the hero early. I am not sure whether that is wise. The cross from Landon Donovan to Gyasi Zardes is cleared. Zardes wins a corner for Donovan.

4′ – The Zardes header misses. Here’s Ryan Hollingshead, of Wake Forest. Back come LA. The cross is cleared.

5′ – Victor Ulloa plays it forward. Robbie Rogers. Je-Vaughn Watson concedes corner number two for Donovan.

6′ – That misses Gonzalez, and it will be a goal kick to Fernandez. Keane. Donovan, and the cross is intercepted by Watson.

7′ – Big collision there involving Zardes. Good tempo to this match so far.

8′ – Kellyn Acosta receives the “don’t argue” from Landon Donovan. Here’s A.J. DeLaGarza.

9′ – Keane, and the feed to Zardes is wasted.

10′ – Here’s Watson to play this forward. An even match so far.

11′ – Tesho Akindele with his first big chance of the night. Wide right.

12′ – Michel with the pick. Jaime Penedo with the collection.

13′ – Watson plays it forward, but as far as Gonzalez. Michel wins another duel. Now here’s Keane. Throw-in, Acosta.

14′ – Handball. Landon tried to do too much right there.

15′ – Penedo swoops to collect. Is it possible, tonight, that goals will come at a premium? Dallas win a restart.

16′ – And advantage is played to FC Dallas. Nonetheless, they waste it and it’s a throw-in to the Galaxy.

17′ – Here’s Fernandez. Gonzalez wins that duel, and here’s DeLaGarza. If young Luca was playing this a la FIFA 15 in heaven, he upped the difficulty level a bit.

18′ – A couple of sweeping challenges there from FC Dallas. Way to win the ball, those visitors.

19′ – Throw-in, Dallas. Here come LA. Through ball for Keane is picked off. Not enough pace.

20′ – Twenty minute in, no score.

21′ – There’s Gonzalez to sweep and tackle. LA need to be wary of the counter from Dallas, it is dangerous, with a big capital D.

22′ – No one in white to receive that Dan Gargan cross. Goal kick, Penedo.

23′ – Yellow card 23 Kellyn Acosta
FC Dallas

24′ – Nope. Mistimed the overlap run right there. Another chance for Blas Perez misses. He wanted to get the assist there. No dice.

25′ – Bad touch for Husidic. Here’s Zach Loyd, a fixture on the FC Dallas first team. Back to Penedo. Too much thinking from Gargan.

26′ – Keane to Donovan! Zardes, over the bar! Incredible. The Galaxy were poor with their finishing last week, and if they think they are going to win the MLS Cup with this form, they have another thing coming.

27′ – Donovan. Too long for Zardes. And now here is Ulloa again.

28′ – Rogers watches that go out for a throw. LA’s finishing touch has been insipid tonight. Definitely not their performance against Colorado, that’s for sure.

29′ – Again, as I said before, this is “Pick your Poison” time for FC Dallas, and so far, they are doing so, but at the same time, they are minding the likes of Zardes as we speak.

30′ – Michel has been huge in the midfield tonight for FC Dallas. His defensive awareness is the reason FCD are in this.

31′ – Not sure why Donovan was Keane’s first option; Zardes was open on the right side.

32′ – Throw-in, Los Angeles. Gonzalez to DeLaGarza. A blind attempt from Juninho.

33′ – Throw-in, Galaxy, again. And this will be a corner to Donovan. Number three, I think. Cleared. Meanwhile, LA II leads Sacramento Republic 1-0 in the USL Pro semis.

34′ – Fernandez to play this forward. We may be looking at a scoreless first half here. Still time, though.

35′ – Juninho is shaken up, but he gets up. He’ll be feeling that. No, he is not fine. He will need to be subbed…

36′ – …Or at least get some spray. Good sportsmanship from Andres Escobar.

Yellow card 28 Victor Ulloa
FC Dallas

37′ – Juninho does get up and will at least see the rest of this half off.

38′ – Penedo collects. That limp from Juninho is not a good sign. Donovan wins a throw.

39′ – I’m not sure “shoot first, pass later” is wise for Robbie Keane. Collection for Raul Fernandez. Compact football from FC Dallas at this juncture.

40′ – Here is a dangerous set piece chance for the visitors, from about 25 yards out. Headed away.

41′ – I reckon Stefan Ishizaki is going to have to get out there to replace Juninho in the second half.

42′ – Yellow card 3 Moises Hernandez
FC Dallas

Lucky he didn’t receive a red there. Studs-up challenge. The set piece is cleared.

43′ – Acosta looked to be out, but he keeps it inbounds. Donovan can’t find anybody on that through ball.

44′ – Escobar with the dribbling ability. Galaxy sweep. Watson with the speed to shrug off Keane.

45′ – Another stop from Watson. Two minutes additional time.

45′ + 1′ – Cosmo having fun with some of the fans in the stands…

45′ + 2′ – Meanwhile, here comes Dallas with a throw. A chance to nick one before the break. Halftime, then. Cleared.

HALFTIME
Los Angeles Galaxy 0
FC Dallas 0

Team Statistics

Charlie Rugg has made it a brace for the Galaxy II against Sacramento Republic. It’s halftime at Bonney Field…and it’s 2-0 Los Angeles Galaxy II. If LosDos prevail, they will host the USL PRO Championship Game against the Harrisburg City Islanders.

SECOND HALF START: 8:41 P.M. PT/11:41 P.M. ET

46′ – Here we go with the second half.

47′ – Once again, the Galaxy are piling on the pressure, but FC Dallas are holding firm defensively. Let’s see if they can keep it up.

48′ – Kevin Stott sees something he doesn’t like and awards a free kick to Loyd.

49′ – Michel. No dice for Ryan Hollingshead. Zardes. Baggio Husidic. Je-Vaughn Watson clears.

50′ – Free kick for Donovan from 20 yards out. Marcelo Sarvas holds sway, and he stumbles as that set piece misses.

51′ – Andres Escobar tries a shot but Robbie Rogers clears. Throw-in, Dallas.

52′ – Watson again with the clearance. Could he be man of the match for the visitors? Stay tuned on the Plex.

53′ – Good idea there, but Husidic’s cross was easily read by Fernandez. The transition. Dallas were looking for a penalty.

54′ – GOAL! FC Dallas 7 Blas Perez
Now, we did say that Blas Perez was going to score in this match, so tick that prediction off. Good finish, and that’s what we talked about: FC Dallas picking their poison.

55′ – Substitution FC Dallas
IN 10 Mauro Diaz
OUT 12 Ryan Hollingshead

56′ – A chance for the Galaxy misses, and now LA need to apply some pressure.

57′ – Free kick now for Michel from 30 yards out.

58′ – The free kick is blocked, and here come Los Angeles. More solid defending from Dallas.

59′ – Escobar wins a throw, it seems. And here is Moises Hernandez to take it.

60′ – Another chance for Robbie Keane is high and out. This does not look like it will be the Galaxy’s night tonight.

61′ – Michel has been amazing so far, and there is another clearance from him.

62′ – Escobar misses wide left.

Substitution Los Angeles Galaxy
IN 24 Stefan Ishizaki
OUT 6 Baggio Husidic

GOAL! Los Angeles Galaxy 7 Robbie Keane
Game on here at the StubHub Center.

63′ – Landon Donovan tried to get another one through but it’s easily saved by Raul Fernandez.

64′ – FC Dallas’s next set piece opportunity is from 20 yards out, directly in front.

65′ – Blocked. LA tried to set up a transition but were whistled. Keane tried to be a hero there but failed. Goal kick, Hernandez.

66′ – Near-successful pickpocket attempt from Dallas.

67′ – Stefan Ishizaki is going to feel that one tomorrow. What a shot he took from Tesho Akindele.

68′ – That pass misses Zardes, and FC Dallas try the transition and were clamoring for advantage.

69′ – Ishizaki again nearly cashed in. Wow, FC Dallas are under the pump right now.

Yellow card 4 Omar Gonzalez
Los Angeles Galaxy

70′ – A bit of a reprieve there with the caution to Gonzalez. It’s been that type of game. And Perez is getting marked. This could get real ugly. A battle between two Western Conference powers. As advertised.

71′ – Good clearance, and LA almost brought through but Donovan was offsides.

72′ – Foul in the box by Dallas, and LA get a break themselves. Anybody’s game through 72.

73′ – Here come the Galaxy. A clearance from Zach Loyd.

74′ – Bodies are colliding late in this match.

Yellow card 8 Marcelo Sarvas
Los Angeles Galaxy

75′ – Substitution FC Dallas
IN 6 Adam Moffat
OUT 13 Tesho Akindele

Substitution Los Angeles Galaxy
IN 9 Alan Gordon
OUT 11 Gyasi Zardes

76′ – Gordon will be sliding up top alongside Keane. Can the target forward deliver in the clutch late?

77′ – Insipid first touch from Gordon, and Donovan isn’t faring any better either.

78′ – Back to Penedo to play this forward. The offside trap didn’t work for Gordon.

79′ – Loyd easily wins that race for the ball with too much pace. Fernandez hoofs it forward. Restart, LA.

80′ – Rogers’s cross is picked off. Here’s Ishizaki. Tried to find Gordon.

81′ – 22,863 in attendance tonight. Another over 20K crowd. Typical.

82′ – Robbie Keane wins a corner. And we have a FC Dallas player shaken down.

83′ – Substitution FC Dallas
IN 5 Jair Benitez
OUT 10 Mauro Diaz

Set piece is saved by Fernandez.

84′ – GOAL! Los Angeles Galaxy 9 Alan Gordon
And…of course…

85′ – Well, that’s sure to fire them up, the Galaxy faithful. But LA won’t be satisfied with that lead.

86′ – Meanwhile, at Bonney Field, we have ourselves a game. It’s now 2-1 Los Angeles Galaxy II after Sacramento Republic’s Rodrigo Lopez scores on a penalty.

87′ – Too long from Omar Gonzalez there. Easily collected by Fernandez.

88′ – Advantage, FC Dallas. A surprise.

89′  – Corner, Ishizaki. Will he take this short? Or will he gamble? Short it is. And some clock-melting tactics.

90′ – Yellow Card 10 Landon Donovan
Los Angeles Galaxy

90 ‘ + 1′ – Four minutes. Los Angeles have decided to do some “tiki-taco,” also known as Hot Potato.

90′ + 2′ – Corner, LA. This will be taken short.

90′ + 3′ – Michel. Omar Gonzalez with the reach. A.J. Delagarza with the clearance.

90′ + 4’ – A flying karate chop from Stefan Ishizaki. It’s been that type of night for LA. Here’s the last chance saloon. That’s it!

FINAL
LOS ANGELES GALAXY 2
FC DALLAS 1

Team Statistics

Goals and Assists

Assisted By: Andrés Escobar

62′

Robbie Keane

Assisted By: Gyasi Zardes

84′

Alan Gordon

Assisted By: Robbie Keane

Disciplinary

Reason: Off the ball foul

35′

Victor Ulloa

Reason: Off the ball foul

42′

Moises Hernandez

Reason: Foul

69′

Omar González

Reason: Foul

74′

Marcelo Sarvas

Reason: Foul

90′

Landon Donovan

Reason: Foul

Just wanted to let you know that it’s tied late in Sacramento, 2-2. Stay tuned for a report on that match as well as this match here on the MLS Multiplex. Thanks for following this Live Blog.