Game 6: LA vs. RSL

1st Half Grade: C-
The first 20-30 minutes of this game were a thing of beauty. RSL came out and took the game to the Galaxy, scoring twice and nearly netting a third on a couple occasions. Both goals were solid goals too, both with superb service from Javi. The first ended with a gorgeous chest trap to Espi, who settled the ball on the run and beat Cronin to the far side. The second was a perfectly weighted ball that Deuchar headed into the back of the net with purpose. Then came Beckham's first goal. Given a 10 yard cushion by RSL, he neatly settled a pass, used his foot to set it up just right and then rifled what basically became a free kick from 25 yards into the side netting. And both Borchers and Wingert just stood there and watched it happen. Minutes later, Beckham took an actual free kick from around the same distance (but this time straight on net), put it over and around the wall and into the net. Many have been blaming Rimando on this one, but he had his wall there to cover the near post and put himself where he could get to a ball on the far side. When the wall got beat, it was all over. After that, RSL scored a third goal on a gorgeous step over move and pass from Beckerman, who found Deuchar at the far post who put it away. Unfortunately, the assistant ref was on LSD at the time and imagined an RSL player to be offsides when they clearly weren't. After this, RSL seemed deflated and coasted to half, 2-2.


2nd Half Grade: D
What a blah, boring second half. This was the RSL we know and love. Giving up possesion cheaply. Defensive lapses in dangerous areas. Shaky coaching. A complete and total lack of anything resembling finishing. Luckily, Nick Rimando seemed to think it was 2007 all over again and made some superhuman saves including a point blank reaction save of a Donovan rifle shot header from about 2 feet. Amazing. Go watch it if you haven't seen it, quality stuff. RSL had some chances of their own but never really challenged Cronin and never looked able to finish. Findley came in late and looked active out of his...right midfield role??? Did JK not watch the Olympic qulaifying??? The man is a striker and that's all. Get him up front! Yura came in even later and did his usual "completely stall the offense" routine. Cordoba came in with about 2 minutes remaining, much too late to add anything to the midfield. RSL limped it home to a 2-2 tie.


Pros:
-Beltran looks to be a solid pickup (I'm still not sold on the #3 pick) and looks to be a big improvement over Ian Joy.
-The RSL of the first 20 minutes. Now THAT is a team to watch!
-Espindola seemed to provide an instant boost just by being back in the lineup.
-Deuchar finally got another one (two, really). Can he heat up?

Cons:
-Nearly every RSL midfielder disappeared in the 2nd half.
-The first goal. Why would anyone give Beckham that kind of time and space?
-The phantom offsides call that nullified the go ahead goal.
-The complete lack of finishing capability shown in the 2nd half.
-RSL giving away 2 points they easily could have had.

Game grade: D+
RSL showed some flashes of brilliance, but basically handed the win away. And with the way this team plays on the road, RSL needs every point it can get at home...and they just blew two.

Player grades:
Nick Rimando-7 Stood on his head for a couple of those saves.
Tony Beltran-7 MUCH better going forward (and faster) than Joy.
(Robbie Findley 74)-6 Did well considering how poorly utilized he was.
Nat Borchers-4 Grade probably a little harsh, but we know what he's capable of.
Jamison Olave-5 Was solid, but mistake prone. A big version of Matias?
Chris Wingert-5 Back down to Earth for Chris.
Andy Williams-7 Pretty solid, for more than 45 even!
(Matias Cordoba 90)-6 Hard to judge, VERY limited time.
Dema Kovalenko-5 A little too quiet, knock someone's teeth out or something!
Javier Morales-6 Stellar first half, invisible second.
Kyle Beckerman-5 Keeping up his 2008 "Mr. Invisible" routine.
Kenny Deuchar-6 Great 1st half, seemed tired in the second.
Fabian Espindola-6 Brilliant early, useless by the time he came out.
(Yura Movsisyan 79)-3 Came on and was promptly outrun by a 80-minutes-of-fatigue Chris Klein. Seriously.

RSL Man of the Match:
Nick Rimando - Tough choice this week as no one really stood out. It was Javi's to lose, and he did by doing nothing of note in the second half. Nick's huge saves on Vanney and Donovan alone earn him this one.

Assclown of the Match:
TIE! Landon Donovan and the ref who called the offsides on Deuchar's second goal - I hate giving them to refs but that offsides call was SO egregious he earned it. Landycakes earned his AOTM for his near-constant cheap shots after plays. We get it, you're "tough" now...assclown.