Edson Buddle got his first start for the LA Galaxy since the 2012 season.
LA 0 : 1 Vancouver
By Ivan Yeo
There are times in a season as long as MLS that players are going to miss time.
Whether it’s injuries, national team callups, personal reasons, or other reasons, you can always expect players to be in and out of a gameday roster for certain stretches of the season. The Los Angeles Galaxy are certainly not immune to such scenarios, and the absences are starting to affect the team, most notably on Saturday night, as they lost at home to the Vancouver Whitecaps 1-0 in a match in which it did not register a shot on goal.
“It’s been a bit of a patchwork job in the first half of the season,” Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena said of the makeshift lineups. “That’s unfortunate, but that’s the way it goes. No excuses, but we’re a little bit short-handed in a lot of spots on the field and it shows with some of our quality.”
Arena has certainly had his workout shuffling the lineups weekly. Robbie Keane missed nearly two months with a groin injury, which he has since returned from but is clearly trying to get his match fitness back.
Another striker, Gyasi Zardes is currently with the U.S. National team on its two-match odyssey of Europe (Zardes tallied in the U.S. win over the Netherlands on Friday) and Bradford Jamieson IV is with the U.S. Under-20 side in the Under-20 World Cup. Others such as Jose Villarreal, A.J. DeLaGarza, Dan Gargan and Robbie Rogers are also out with injuries, and the team’s makeshift lineups have obviously had its effects, and Saturday’s loss to Vancouver has become the flashpoint for such inconsistenty.
“Of course it’s tough when you have to change every game, but I thought they guys fought really hard up there.” Galaxy midfielder Stefan Ishizaki said of the rotating lineups.
With Zardes out, Arena turned to a familiar player to pair alongside Keane, who was making his first start since returning from that groin injury, as veteran Edson Buddle got the start at forward. Keane and Buddle are familiar with each other, as the two were paired up numerous times during the 2012 season. Buddle had LA’s best scoring chance in the first half, as he fired a volley, but was off target. Buddle played 60 minutes before giving way to Alan Gordon.
“It’s going to take Edson some time too, he’s missed most of the first half of the season,” Arena said of Buddle’s fitness.
Still, there appears to be light at the end of the tunnel for LA. Keane should round back into form shortly, Zardes and Jamieson will return from international duty, the aforementioned injured players will eventually heal up and return to the lineup, and oh, there is this guy named Steven Gerrard, who arrives in July, and to say he would add a spark to the Galaxy midfield would be an understatement.
Nevertheless, things should get better for LA once July rolls around. At least one player isn’t sweating the Galaxy’s up-and-down season.
“We’re still in there, so it’s no crisis,” Keane said. “So as long as we’re there, and everybody gets fit, more minutes that people get on the field, and all the players that come in, I think you’ll see a different Galaxy side.”
