LAG 2-1 CLB: Playoffs in Sight?

LA Galaxy posted their 3rd successive win on Sep-30 with a 2-1 away win over playoff rivals Columbus Crew to move within 6 points of 8th-placed Chicago Fire for the final playoff spot with 4 games to go.

More details on their 2 matches (& wins) last week at:
LA continues to build momentum (KC red cards helped LA make late playoff push)
Galaxy battle back to win third straight (LA still kept their playoff dreams alive)

With that, LA concluded their crazy September programme (of 8-games) with 4 wins, 1 draw & 3 losses:
2007-09-01 Salt Lake-- (H) 1 - 2 L
2007-09-08 Colorado--- (H) 3 - 1 W
2007-09-14 Chivas USA- (A) 0 - 3 L
2007-09-16 Houston---- (H) 1 - 3 L
2007-09-19 Salt Lake-- (A) 2 - 2 D
2007-09-23 Dallas----- (H) 2 - 1 W
2007-09-27 Kansas City (A) 1 - 0 W
2007-09-30 Columbus--- (A) 2 - 1 W

Their 4 remaining games will be:
2007-10-07 Houston---- (A)
2007-10-13 Toronto FC- (H)
2007-10-18 New York--- (H)
2007-10-21 Chicago---- (A)

Out of these 4 fixtures, apart from the end-of-season game against Chicago which is a must-win, LA seem to have more hope against the already-eliminated Toronto & struggling New York. The Houston tie may not yield too much return I guess...

MLS Overall Table for the week ended on Oct-1st, 2007:
1 D.C. United- 27 16 5 6 53 - 30 53 (+23)
2 New England- 27 14 7 6 46 - 36 49 (+10)
3 Houston----- 27 14 6 7 41 - 21 48 (+20)
4 Chivas USA-- 26 14 6 6 42 - 24 48 (+18)
5 Dallas----- 27 12 4 11 34 - 41 40 (-7)
6 New York--- 27 11 6 10 43 - 41 39 (+2)
7 Kansas City 27 10 6 11 41 - 42 36 (-1)
8 Chicago----- 27 8 9 10 28 - 35 33 (-7)
9 Columbus--- 27 7 10 10 32 - 37 31 (-5)
10 Colorado--- 27 7 8 12 26 - 32 29 (-6)
11 Los Angeles 26 7 6 13 33 - 44 27 (-11)
12 Salt Lake-- 27 5 9 13 28 - 41 24 (-13)
13 Toronto FC- 26 5 6 15 20 - 43 21 (-23)

Projected Finish for MLS 2007 base on the table above:
1 D.C. United- 30 18 6 6 59 - 33 60 26
2 New England- 30 16 8 6 51 - 40 56 11
3 Houston----- 30 16 7 7 46 - 23 55 23
4 Chivas USA-- 30 16 7 7 48 - 28 55 20
5 New York--- 30 12 7 11 48 - 46 43 2
6 Dallas----- 30 13 4 13 38 - 46 43 -8
7 Kansas City 30 11 7 12 46 - 47 40 -1
8 Chicago---- 30 9 10 11 31 - 39 37 -8
9 Columbus--- 30 8 11 11 36 - 41 35 -5
10 Colorado--- 30 8 9 13 29 - 36 33 -7
11 Los Angeles 30 8 7 15 38 - 51 31 -13
12 Salt Lake- 30 6 10 14 31 - 46 28 -15
13 Toronto FC- 30 6 7 17 23 - 50 25 -27

LAG is now projected to finish 11th in 2007, although their sights will be firmly set on 8th for now...

Various Reports on Beckham's Activities in the USA

MLSNet.Com:
Beckham says he'll play Wednesday
Galaxy get repeat shot at D.C. United (Beckham expected to provide more this time around)

TodayOnline.Com:
Beckham looks to play half a game in Superliga semi-final
MLS won't ruin Beckham - England boss
Beckham eyes transatlantic marathon
Beckham starts but Galaxy fall to Red Bulls
Beckham-mania hits the Big Apple
Beckham unfazed by time zone tripping
Beckham's trans-Atlantic heroics can't save Galaxy
Becks won't turn US on to football: Fergie
Beckham trains with Galaxy

ZaoBao.Com:
贝哥脚伤缺席 全场球迷大失所望
贝克汉姆亮相赛创收视纪录
贝哥将横跨欧美出战
贝哥旋风席卷纽约
美国职业足球大联赛 贝哥被踢倒 当场破口大骂
贝哥年尾到纽西兰踢友谊赛
贝哥将唱奥运中文歌
贝克汉姆伤愈回返银河训练

SoccerNet.Com
Beckham draws 66,000 as Galaxy lose thriller
Beckham: Long commute won't hurt play Thursday
Galaxy trounced by Chivas 3-0 in Super Clasico
Los Angeles Galaxy admit to Beckham travel fears
Beckham plays full match, gets feisty in L.A. loss
Galaxy's season all but over
Beckham won't play in Colorado on Sunday
Tired Beckham ruled out of Colorado match
Minus Beckham, Galaxy fall to Rapids
Various causes for the Galaxy debacle
Beckham flies back to UK to be with sick father

Wikipedia
David Beckham: LA Galaxy Era

LAG 2-1 FCD: Out of Bottom...

LA Galaxy has restored some pride with a win (2-1 vs FCD on Sep-23) & a draw (2-2 vs RSL on Sep-20) from the 2 matches played last week, as well as climbing out of bottom place in MLS for the first time since Aug-29.

Details at:
MLSNet.Com: RSL dominate match, settle for tie (Club outplays LA for first 70 minutes) &
MLSNet.Com: LA comes from behind to get win (Club gets first come from behind win).

MLS Overall Table for the week ended on Sep-24, 2007:
# Team-------- P- W- D L GF - GA Pts GD
1 D.C. United- 26 15 5 6 49 - 29 50 (+20)
2 Chivas USA-- 25 14 5 6 41 - 23 47 (+18)
3 New England- 26 13 7 6 45 - 36 46 (+9)
4 Houston----- 26 13 6 7 38 - 21 45 (+17)
5 Dallas----- 26 12 4 10 34 - 38 40 (-4)
6 New York--- 26 11 5 10 41 - 39 38 (+2)
7 Kansas City 26 10 6 10 41 - 41 36 (+0)
8 Chicago----- 26 8 8 10 27 - 34 32 (-7)
9 Columbus---- 26 7 10 9 31 - 35 31 (-4)
10 Colorado--- 26 7 8 11 26 - 31 29 (-5)
11 Salt Lake-- 26 5 8 13 26 - 39 23 (-13)
12 Los Angeles 24 5 6 13 30 - 43 21 (-13)
13 Toronto FC- 25 5 6 14 19 - 39 21 (-20)

Projected Finish for MLS 2007 base on the table above:
# Team-------- P- W- D L- GF - GA Pts GD
1 D.C. United- 30 17 6 7 57 - 33 57 24
2 Chivas USA-- 30 17 6 7 49 - 28 57 21
3 New England- 30 15 8 7 52 - 42 53 10
4 Houston----- 30 15 7 8 44 - 24 52 20
5 Dallas----- 30 14 5 11 39 - 44 47 -5
6 New York--- 30 13 6 11 47 - 45 45 2
7 Kansas City 30 12 7 11 47 - 47 43 0
8 Columbus--- 30 8 12 10 36 - 40 36 -4
9 Chicago----- 30 9 9 12 31 - 39 36 -8
10 Colorado--- 30 8 9 13 30 - 36 33 -6
11 Salt Lake-- 30 6 9 15 30 - 45 27 -15
12 Los Angeles 30 6 8 16 38 - 54 26 -16
13 Toronto FC- 30 6 7 17 23 - 47 25 -24

LAG is now projected to finish 2nd bottom in 2007, as RSL won & TFC lost over the weekends. It now has just 2 more games left in September, away to KCW on Sep-27 & CLB on Sep-30.

Out of these 2 fixtures, there seemed to be more hope vs KCW, per past results & curent form (at least LA won some since 2001), as compared to vs CLB (LA has not won any since 2001).

LAG 1-3 HOU: Back to Earth again...

The mini optimism LA Galaxy has enjoyed after the 3-1 win over Colorado on Sep-9 was sadly short-lived, as it promptly crashed to successive defeats against Chivas & Houston in the week after. Details at:
MLSNet.Com: Chivas USA continue impressive play (Club takes season series for first time) &
MLSNet.Com: Dynamo roll over Galaxy (Houston Dynamo will defend their MLS Cup).

MLS Overall Table for the week ended on Sep-17, 2007:
# Team-------- P- W- D L GF - GA Pts GD
1 D.C. United- 25 15 4 6 48 - 28 49 (+20)
2 Houston----- 26 13 6 7 38 - 21 45 (+17)
3 New England- 25 13 6 6 43 - 34 45 (+9)
4 Chivas USA-- 24 13 5 6 39 - 22 44 (+17)
5 Dallas------ 24 12 3 9 32 - 35 39 (-3)
6 New York--- 25 11 4 10 39 - 37 37 (+2)
7 Kansas City- 25 10 6 9 40 - 39 36 (+1)
8 Chicago----- 24 8 6 10 25 - 32 30 (-7)
9 Colorado---- 25 7 8 10 26 - 30 29 (-4)
10 Columbus--- 25 6 10 9 29 - 34 28 (-5)
11 Toronto FC- 24 5 6 13 18 - 37 21 (-19)
12 Salt Lake-- 24 4 7 13 23 - 37 19 (-14)
13 Los Angeles 22 4 5 13 26 - 40 17 (-14)

Projected Finish for MLS 2007 base on the table above:
# Team-------- P- W- D L- GF - GA Pts GD
1 D.C. United- 30 18 5 07 58 - 34 59 24
2 New England- 30 16 7 07 52 - 41 55 11
3 Chivas USA-- 30 16 6 08 49 - 28 54 21
4 Houston----- 30 15 7 08 44 - 24 52 20
5 Dallas------ 30 15 4 11 40 - 44 49 -4
6 New York---- 30 13 5 12 47 - 44 44 3
7 Kansas City- 30 12 7 11 48 - 47 43 1
8 Chicago----- 30 10 8 12 31 - 40 38 -9
9 Colorado---- 30 8 10 12 31 - 36 34 -5
10 Columbus--- 30 7 12 11 35 - 41 33 -6
11 Toronto FC- 30 6 08 16 23 - 46 26 -23
12 Salt Lake-- 30 5 09 16 29 - 46 24 -17
13 Los Angeles 30 5 07 18 35 - 55 22 -20

With these latest setbacks, LAG is again projected to finish bottom in 2007, as RSL overtake after a 0-0 draw with Toronto on 15-Sep.

4 more games to go for LAG in September, next-up is none other than RSL on Sep-16. Both teams are quite evenly-matched since 2005, but RSL has won 2-1 when they last met on Sep-1. LAG will almost certainly finish bottom if it loses this one...

Can it salvage some pride (at least a draw if not a win) by then?

LAG 3-1 COL: A win at last!!

The LA Galaxy has finally won a game (without David Beckham somemore) by beating Colorado Rapids 3-1 at home on Sep-9, ending a run of 6 straight defeats. Details at MLSNet.Com: Galaxy get freeing win over Rapids (Victory snaps long winless streak in league games).

MLS Overall Table for the week ended on Sep-10, 2007:
# Team-------- P- W- D L GF - GA Pts GD
1 D.C. United- 24 14 4 06 46 - 27 46 (+19)
2 Houston----- 25 12 6 07 35 - 20 42 (+15)
3 New England- 24 12 6 06 39 - 32 42 (+7)
4 Chivas USA-- 22 12 4 06 35 - 21 40 (+14)
5 Dallas------ 23 12 3 08 30 - 31 39 (-1)
6 New York---- 24 11 3 10 37 - 35 36 (+2)
7 Kansas City- 24 9 06 09 37 - 37 33 (+0)
8 Chicago----- 23 8 05 10 23 - 30 29 (-7)
9 Columbus---- 24 6 10 08 27 - 31 28 (-4)
10 Colorado--- 24 7 07 10 25 - 29 28 (-4)
11 Toronto FC- 23 5 05 13 18 - 37 20 (-19)
12 Salt Lake-- 22 4 06 12 22 - 35 18 (-13)
13 Los Angeles 20 4 05 11 25 - 34 17 (-9)

Projected Finish for MLS 2007 base on the table above:
# Team-------- P- W- D L- GF - GA Pts GD
1 D.C. United- 30 18 5 07 58 - 34 59 24
2 Chivas USA-- 30 16 5 09 48 - 29 53 19
3 New England- 30 15 8 07 49 - 40 53 9
4 Dallas------ 30 16 4 10 39 - 40 52 -1
5 Houston----- 30 14 7 09 42 - 24 49 18
6 New York---- 30 14 4 12 46 - 44 46 2
7 Kansas City- 30 11 8 11 46 - 46 41 0
8 Columbus---- 30 8 13 09 34 - 39 37 -5
9 Chicago----- 30 10 7 13 30 - 39 37 -9
10 Colorado--- 30 9 09 12 31 - 36 36 -5
11 Toronto FC- 30 7 07 16 23 - 48 28 -25
12 Los Angeles 30 6 08 16 38 - 51 26 -13
13 Salt Lake-- 30 5 08 17 30 - 48 23 -18

With this win, LAG at least avoided the tag of "Worst Team in MLS History" & improved its projected finish to 2nd-from-bottom as compared to the last post, though they are still rooted at last place for now & quite far-far-away from the 8th & final playoff spot.

6 more games to go for LAG in September, next-up is Chivas USA on Sep-13. Although LAG has won most of their games against Chivas since 2005, they were well-beaten 0-3 when they last met on Aug-23. This is going to be another crucial clash for them...

LAG 1-2 RSL: Disastrous Season Continues

Finishing bottom in MLS 2007 now seem to be the forgone conclusion for LA Galaxy after it suffered another crucial defeat to Real Salt Lake (who's 2nd bottom) on Sep-1, having taken a 1-goal lead but ended-up losing 1-2.

Why is it a forgone conclusion? Simple:
LAG has now lost 6 league games in a row, with 7 more games to go in Sep (practically a game every 3/4 days), things don't really look up; while RSL has won 3 out of the last 5 & is really hitting form towards the end of the season. The Sep-1 victory is also RSL's very first away win this season (how ironic that it came against LAG).

MLS Overall Table for the week ended on Sep-2, 2007:
# Team-------- P- W- D L GF - GA Pts GD
1 D.C. United- 22 13 3 6 40 - 23 42 (+17)
2 New England- 23 12 6 5 37 - 28 42 (+9)
3 Houston----- 24 11 6 7 31 - 17 39 (+14)
4 Chivas USA-- 20 11 3 6 30 - 19 36 (+11)
5 New York---- 23 11 3 9 37 - 32 36 (+5)
6 Dallas------ 22 11 3 8 28 - 31 36 (-3)
7 Kansas City- 24 9 06 9 37 - 37 33 (+0)
8 Colorado---- 23 7 07 9 24 - 26 28 (-2)
9 Columbus---- 23 6 10 7 27 - 30 28 (-3)
10 Chicago---- 22 7 5 10 22 - 30 26 (-8)
11 Toronto FC- 22 5 5 12 18 - 35 20 (-17)
12 Salt Lake-- 21 4 6 11 19 - 31 18 (-12)
13 Los Angeles 19 3 5 11 22 - 33 14 (-11)

Projected Finish for MLS 2007 base on the table above:
# Team-------- P- W- D L- GF - GA Pts GD
1 D.C. United- 30 18 4 08 55 - 31 58 24
2 Chivas USA-- 30 17 5 08 45 - 29 56 16
3 New England- 30 16 8 06 48 - 37 56 11
4 Houston----- 30 14 8 08 39 - 21 50 18
5 Dallas------ 30 15 4 11 38 - 42 49 -4
6 New York---- 30 14 4 12 48 - 42 46 6
7 Kansas City- 30 11 8 11 46 - 46 41 0
8 Columbus---- 30 8 13 09 35 - 39 37 -4
9 Chicago----- 30 10 7 13 30 - 41 37 -11
10 Colorado--- 30 09 9 12 31 - 34 36 -3
11 Toronto FC- 30 07 7 16 25 - 48 28 -23
12 Salt Lake-- 30 06 9 15 27 - 44 27 -17
13 Los Angeles 30 05 8 17 35 - 52 23 -17

With 11 games left in this season, LAG must now try to salvage some pride by picking-up at least 2 more points to avoid the tag of "Worst Team in MLS History", currently held by the 2001 Tampa Bay Mutiny who had 14 points from 27 games back then.

This is also posted on KallangRoar.Com: LAG 1-2 RSL: Disastrous Season Continues.

LAG must beat RSL on Sep-1

In order to avoid finishing last overall in 2007, let alone reaching the now-seem-beyond-reach playoffs, LAG simply has to beat RSL on the Sep-1 MLS game to stand any chance...

September will be a very tough month for LAG, who not only has to play 8 games(!) during this period, but also need to cope with the absence of David Beckham for about 6 weeks...

More coverage of this on SoccerNet / TodayOnline:
Beckham's absence a crushing blow for the Galaxy
Beckham could miss 6 weeks with sprained knee
Galaxy could lose Beckham for extended period
Beckham faces up to two months out
Last-place Galaxy can't afford another Beckham injury