May 11, 2016
Earl Gardner/Philly Soccer Page
The Galaxy thrashed the Union, 4-1, at PPL Park in 2013 in LA's most recent trip to Chester.
The Philadelphia Union's brief history is not rife with meaningful moments against the LA Galaxy.
Chief among them is Michael Farfan's game-winning goal on Independence Day in 2012. The MLS community was collectively gobsmacked by the 95th minute, one-hop curler, and the brilliant backheel assist from the much-maligned Lionard Pajoy.
And that may not have even been the high-point of the game.
The Union's opening goal was arguably more impressive, with a slicing and dicing Farfan squaring from the endline for Jack McInerney, who expertly pulled off a far-post flick with a defender breathing down his neck.
It was one of the most bizarre and unexpected performances in Union history, as a team that finished the season in 15th place beat Robbie Keane, Landon Donovan, and Omar Gonzalez on their home turf.
Union competitiveness against the Galaxy probably crested in that game, and it hasn't been close since then. In the last three games, LA has come out a winner 4-1 (twice) and 5-1, and only one of those games was truly competitive. The 2013 home game was tied up at the half, then Philly shipped three second-half goals in an eventual blowout.
"We want to challenge ourselves against the best teams," manager Jim Curtin told reporters ahead of Wednesday night's game. "Right now, they’re playing better than anyone in our league, Colorado aside, they’re playing well also. Attacking wise, the Galaxy is a tough matchup, so we want to see just how much we have raised the bar. I think we’ve raised it a lot; I think the players believe that, too. The 90 minutes is your test, that’s when you get to show the strides that we’ve made. So, yeah, everybody’s anxiously awaiting the game. It’ll be a big match. Again, a team that we respect a great deal that’s coming and playing as well as anybody, so we’ll need to be up to the test."
The first games against the Galaxy were generally more competitive and entertaining than recent matchups.
The 2010 road trip to LA was not one of those, however. Philly conceded three first-half goals, one just 45 seconds into the game, then Stefani Migliorani was sent off for this bit of behavior:
The silver lining in that 3-1 loss was the first goal of Jack McInerney's professional career.
The 2010 return trip was much more enjoyable, and it was the only time David Beckham played for the Galaxy at PPL Park. "Becks" did appear in the 2012 All-Star Game, but this was his only "competitive" match in Chester during his six-year MLS career.
By this time, Justin Mapp and Sheanon Williams were in the fold, and Chris Seitz had been benched for Brad Knighton. Expansion Philadelphia had started to show some positive signs, with a road win in New England, and a pair of home shutouts against Chicago and Chivas USA.
Beckham assisted Edson Buddle's first half goal, which turned out to be the only tally of the game. Sebastien Le Toux was denied on an excellent backheel effort by Donovan Ricketts, and the Galaxy held on for a 1-0 win at PPL Park.
The 2011 matchups were entertaining affairs, with a much-improved Union team showing a lot more fight.
It started in week three, April 2, when the unbeaten Zolos went out to the Home Depot Center. It was a rough game that featured eight yellow cards, two reds, and another game-winning Beckham assist.
Chris Birchall was sent off after an off-the-ball incident with Carlos Ruiz, and McInerney was similarly ejected when he struck Chad Barrett in a stoppage-time tangle up.
Despite playing with 10 men for 37 minutes, the Galaxy hung on for another 1-0 win.
The 2011 return leg featured a then-record crowd of 19,178 fans at PPL Park and took place just five weeks after the road loss in Los Angeles.
Philly had gone 2-1-1 since that game, and found themselves close to the top of the Eastern Conference standings with an overall record of 4-2-1.
Landon Donovan scored in the 24th minute and Union chances were lacking. Faryd Mondragon stopped a Birchall breakaway, but it looked like the Galaxy's staunch 2011 defense would hang on for a third straight 1-0 against the Union.
Enter Danny Mwanga as a second half sub.
The sophomore striker was assertive on the left flank and gave Sean Franklin immediate trouble. A gangbusting run down the sideline re-energized the crowd, and a short time later, Mwanga pounced on a bad back pass to equalize.
To this day, that's the only draw the Union have earned against the Galaxy. Philly has struggled to an overall 1-6-1 record against LA since the inaugural 2010 season.
The Union have never hosted the Galaxy on a weekend.
Never.
Jim Curtin was asked why the Union are always relegated to weeknight games against LA and offered a diplomatic answer.
"The scheduling, I don’t know, I don’t have an answer for that," Curtin said. "Would you like to play the Galaxy in July in Philadelphia when kids are off school and families can kind of plan around it? Sure, that would be better. We don’t get a lot of say in the exact dates, when West Coast teams come in. Obviously, everybody gets excited by Gerrard, Keane, those big names coming to our stadium, and you want them to be here. I think it’s an important match for us early in the season, everybody should come out Wednesday night. But, in terms of the scheduling I can’t really speak to that because I don’t know, I don’t have the answer as to why they get put on a Wednesday."
When MLS went to the unbalanced schedule in 2012, it cut down on the amount of coast-to-coast road trips that each team makes in one season. Instead of playing each other twice a year, the Union and Galaxy now only see each other once during a campaign.
That means Los Angeles only makes four to five east coast trips per season, which limits the amount of times you match up the Galaxy with Toronto, Montreal or New York - teams that have more star power and generate more national interest than the Union.
This season, the Galaxy play Chicago and Philly on Wednesdays, with games against TFC, Montreal, and NYC on Saturdays.
It's all about marketing in MLS, and right now the Union doesn't have a Giovinco, Drogba, or Pirlo to headline a primetime slot against the best team in the league.
Major League Soccer isn't going to use a Saturday night slot on a Union/Galaxy game, but that might change over time if the Union can turn the corner after a couple of bad seasons.
