Associated Press Sports
updated 11:46 p.m. ET Nov. 4, 2012
CARSON, Calif. (AP) - Victor Bernardez scored on a free kick deep into stoppage time Sunday night to lift the San Jose Earthquakes to a 1-0 triumph over the Los Angeles Galaxy in the opener of their Western Conference semifinal series.
The Honduran defender blistered the ball from 31 yards through the Galaxy wall at the top of the box and off goalkeeper Josh Saunders, who was unable to keep it from crossing the goal line.
The second leg in the aggregate series is Wednesday in Santa Clara with the winner in the aggregate series advancing to a home-and-home matchup with the Seattle Sounders or Real Salt Lake for a berth in the Dec. 1 MLS Cup final.
"It's halftime," said San Jose coach Frank Yallop, whose team twice rallied from two-goal deficits to beat L.A. and overcame two disadvantages for a 2-2 draw two weeks ago in the regular-season meetings between the longtime rivals. "It was an even game, they shaded on chances, for sure, but we're going home now. ... We're one up, but 90 minutes of football is a long, long time.
"They're going to throw everything at us to try to get the equalizer and obviously try to go on and win. We know that."
Bernardez, who forced a sprawling save from Saunders on a free kick at the start of the second half, took the kick after Marcelo Sarvas fouled Simon Dawkins, a call the Galaxy disputed. His low shot sneaked through the wall, and Saunders made the initial stop but couldn't corral the spinning ball.
"I'm always looking to score when I take a free kick like that from distance ...," said Bernardez, a Honduran center back. "The important thing is it went it. That's all that really matters."
The Galaxy had more and better chances in an intense affair battled primarily in midfield, but their best opportunity - a Robbie Keane blast from 26 yards in the 86th minute- caromed off the crossbar. L.A. didn't take a shot until the 67th minute -- Sean Franklin firing toward the lower-left corner - and that was the only difficult stop Quakes goalkeeper Jon Busch was forced to make.
"I thought our team played well tonight," Galaxy coach Bruce Arena said. "Obviously, we didn't finish off plays technically in and around the penalty area. It cost us the game. We were in position to get a goal or two tonight for sure. Failed to execute the last pass or shot."
? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
advertisement
More newsGetty ImagesWinners, losers from MLS semis
PST: Real Salt Lake did just about everything right when it came to its opening leg vs. Seattle, but it wasn't the only one happy about the first games. Or unhappy.
PST: Foul or not, we didn't deliver, Donovan says
PST: To many times in the past, L.A. Galaxy players and coaches have found about 17 different things to blame for losses. Field surface, game conditions, scheduling, refereeing ? dependency on foreign oil, concern over declining ratings for The Office ? the whole nine yards.
Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/49688981/ns/sports-soccer/
syracuse basketball chipper jones chipper jones dancing with the stars cast mickael pietrus heart transplant the international
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.