In the waning moments of the San Jose Earthquakes' 2-1 victory Saturday, the Los Angeles Galaxy had what seemed like its entire team camped in front of San Jose's goal. "The ball was around our [6-yard box] for what seemed like five minutes," Earthquakes defender Chris Leitch said. "Guys were falling all over each other."

The Galaxy, which has lost two in a row after a 10-match unbeaten streak, dumped balls into the penalty pox throughout the match in hopes of taking advantage of its tall lineup. "Once it went 2-0 they wanted to make it ugly," San Jose goalkeeper Joe Cannon said. Los Angeles goalie Donovan Ricketts "was kicking it from San Francisco and still getting it in the box."

Earthquakes coach Frank Yallop sees improvement in his squad, in luck if not in performance. "That scramble would have gone in four or five weeks ago," he said, referring to the Galaxy's sustained threat in the 88th minute. San Jose is 2-1-1 in its past four matches and has a bye next week. That should allow Jason Hernandez and Arturo Alvarez enough time to heal for a July 3 match at Real Salt Lake. And Trinidad and Tobago striker Cornell Glen is expected to have his visa issues sorted out by then.

 

Read the original story...