The return of David Beckham to Major League Soccer might have grabbed the headlines, but the real story is that the LA Galaxy (6-3-9) have won four straight MLS games for the first time since September-October 2007 and is fighting for a playoff berth. The Galaxy had not won at New York since 2000.
The Galaxy opened the scoring in the 3rd minute when Alecko Eskandarian’s left-footed volley beat Red Bulls goalkeeper Danny Cepero. Landon Donovan doubled the score in the 31st minute and Eddie Lewis gave LA a three goal cushion before half-time.
Juan Pablo Angel had an 87th-minute penalty kick and failed to convert one in the 90th for the Red Bulls (2-14-4), who would be a lock for relegation if the MLS had relegation. They dropped to 0-9-2 in the league and 0-10-2 overall since beating San Jose on May 8.
Beckham for the most part was non-existent in the game. This was his first club match since the Serie A ended on May 31, and is obviously struggling with a lack of match fitness.
More worrying to Major League Soocer has be the crowd in New York last night. Los Angeles drew 66,237 for its 5-4 loss at the Red Bulls two years ago, the largest soccer crowd at Giants Stadium for a U.S. league game in 27 years. Attendance dropped to 46,754 for last year’s 2-2 tie and fell by 50 percent to 23,238 Thursday. Eleven of 36 sections in lower deck were covered with navy tarp, and there were only a handful of people in the second deck and none at all in the third.