MatchDay Preview: LA to put MLS-best record on line in Portland

JELD-WEN FIELD, Portland, Ore.
7:43 p.m. PT (ESPN2/Deportes/3.com; 750 AM The Game, La Pantera 940 AM)
August 3, 2011 (WEEK 21; MLS Game 203)

The LA Galaxy play the second game of their Pacific Northwest swing when they take on the Portland Timbers on Wednesday night at Jeld-Wen Field on ESPN2. The Timbers are in the second game of a two-game homestand, coming off a 2-2 draw with Toronto FC last weekend. The Galaxy started their road trip in impressive style, a 4-0 victory against Vancouver Whitecaps FC at Empire Field.

HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME: Galaxy 1 win, 3 goals …Timbers 0 wins, 0 goals … 0 ties

• Landon Donovan scored twice, including the second of two goals in the opening seven minutes, as the Galaxy rolled to a 3-0 victory in the first meeting between the clubs, April 23 at The Home Depot Center.
• Coaches record: Bruce Arena v POR: P1 W1 L0 T0 … John Spencer vs. LA: P1 W0 L1 T0

LAST MEETING (MLS)
4/23: LA 3, POR 0 (Barrett 3; Donovan 7, 67)

• Just four minutes into the match, Chad Barrett had put the Galaxy ahead. Landon Donovan found Barrett near the top of the penalty area, and he controlled the ball with his shoulder, knocked it down in front of him and ripped a shot from just outside the area past Troy Perkins.
• Four minutes later, LA doubled their lead. Portland’s Rodney Wallace grabbed Donovan inside the area and the Galaxy were awarded a penalty kick. Donovan easily converted, notching his first goal of the season.
• The Galaxy finished off the match in the 67th minute. Juan Pablo Angel skirted past a Timbers defender, raced towards the end line and pulled back a ball to the center of the box where Donovan hammered a header into the back of the net for his second on the night.
• LA GALAXY (4-2-3-1): Donovan Ricketts - Sean Franklin, Omar Gonzalez, A.J. DeLaGarza, Todd Dunivant - Mike Magee, Juninho (Michael Stephens 78), David Beckham - Miguel Lopez (Juan Pablo Angel 46), Landon Donovan (Paolo Cardozo 74) - Chad Barrett.
• PORTLAND TIMBERS (4-1-3-2): Troy Perkins - Steve Purdy, Eric Brunner, Mamadou Danso, Rodney Wallace - James Marcelin (Diego Chara 46) - Jeremy Hall (Darlington Nagbe 59), Jack Jewsbury, Kalif Alhassan (Sal Zizzo 73) - Jorge Perlaza, Kenny Cooper.

PORTLAND TIMBERS
The Portland Timbers raced to a lead but couldn’t hold on, reaching a 2-2 draw with Toronto FC on Saturday evening at JELD-WEN Field. The Timbers have 22 points from 20 games, sitting in eighth place in the Western Conference.

LAST MATCH

• The Timbers opened the lead midway through the first half. Sal Zizzo flicked the ball to Diego Chara in the midfield, and he quickly found Eddie Johnson, who let fly from outside the area with a shot that beat a diving Stefan Frei.
• Portland made it 2-0 12 minutes after the halftime restart when Jack Jewsbury converted from the spot after Chara was dragged down by Toronto defender Andy Iro in the box.
• Toronto's first goal came in the 71st minute when Peri Marosevic -- making his TFC debut -- pounced on a loose ball well outside the area and let fly with a shot that took a slight deflection on its way to goal.
• Eleven minutes later, TFC completed its unlikely comeback when Plata sent a cross into the box that Koevermans right-footed past a diving Troy Perkins for his second MLS goal.
• Timbers coach John Spencer made four changes to the team that fell 1-0 to the Columbus Crew at Crew Stadium. David Horst and Mike Chabala came into the back four for Mamadou Danso and Rodney Wallace, Sal Zizzo came into the midfield for James Marcelin, and Eddie Johnson started up top for Jorge Perlaza.
• PORTLAND TIMBERS--Troy Perkins, Lovel Palmer, David Horst, Eric Brunner, Mike Chabala, Sal Zizzo, Kalif Alhassan (Kenny Cooper 74), Jack Jewsbury, Diego Chara, Darlington Nagbe (Jorge Perlaza 82), Eddie Johnson.

TEAM NEWS

• The Timbers are now winless in their six games at JELD-WEN Field, going 0-4-2 at home after winning their first five MLS home games on the trot.
  
• “I told the guys in the locker room that you can only keep papering up the cracks for so long. Individually and collectively you have to stand up and be a man and at times we did stand up and at times we weren't there to be seen,” said Timbers head coach John Spencer. “They came back into the game and got a couple goals. It was a bitterly, bitterly disappointing end to the game."
  
• The Timbers have conceded 10 goals in the final 15 minutes of games, level with Vancouver Whitecaps FC and the San Jose Earthquakes for the most in MLS. They have allowed 21 goals in the second half, two behind Vancouver and Toronto for most in MLS.
  
• "Everybody is trying to drive forward and get that goal and get a log of timber. At times you've got to try to put your foot on the ball, knock it back, keep the ball, get them to run instead of trying to go and score,” Spencer said. “You don't need to score the third one and the fourth one when you're 2-nil up. I think it's inexperience and a lack of maturing, not as people, but as professional soccer players."
  
• Eddie Johnson made just his second MLS start, and scored his first league goal. He had previously started July 2 vs. Kansas City.
  
• Jorge Perlaza was out of the Portland starting lineup for the first time in league play this season, coming on for the final 82 minutes. One-time strike partner Kenny Cooper came off the substitutes’ bench for a fifth consecutive contest.
  
• “I think offensively, you score two goals, we need to win,” said midfielder Sal Zizzo. “Defensively, it's not just our back four, it's defensively as a team. It's pressuring the ball from the goalie all the way up to the forwards and we've got to do a better job with that."
  
• The Timbers welcome the LA Galaxy to JELD-WEN Field before heading back out on the road for three consecutive games – a Galaxy team that eased to a 3-0 win against Portland in April behind two goals from Landon Donovan.
  
• “The best player in the country played ever so well tonight and so Landon's coming (to Portland). Everybody talks about David (Beckham), everybody talks about Thierry Henry, I worry about Landon Donovan because he's the best American player by a mile," Spencer said.

LA GALAXY
The LA Galaxy ran their undefeated streak to 14 games in impressive fashion, starting a Pacific Northwest swing with a 4-0 win against Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Saturday afternoon at Empire Field. The Galaxy have 45 points from 23 games on the season, leading the Western Conference.

LAST MATCH

• The Galaxy finally broke through just after the hour mark. Sean Franklin's ball over the top sent Landon Donovan in alone on goal, and he coolly finished with a left-footed shot across his body inside the right post.
• Donovan doubled the Galaxy lead in the 75th minute with a well-placed penalty kick past Cannon, who went the right way but not in time. Referee Baldomero Toledo gave the penalty for a handball from left fullback Jordan Harvey.
• Franklin made the score 3-0 in the 80th minute. Todd Dunivant set Donovan free down the left flank and he drove a low ball across the face of goal which Franklin bundled over the line with a sliding finish.
• LA made it 4-0 in the final minute when a cross from the left wasn't cleared and Adam Cristman was free to nod a header over Cannon from close range.
• Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena made three changes to the team that claimed a 1-0 win against the Columbus Crew at The Home Depot Center, Omar Gonzalez, Michael Stephens and Mike Magee came into the team for Jovan Kirovski, Miguel Lopez and the suspended David Beckham.
• LA GALAXY--Josh Saunders, A.J. DeLaGarza, Omar Gonzalez, Gregg Berhalter, Todd Dunivant, Sean Franklin, Landon Donovan (Miguel Lopez 85), Juninho, Michael Stephens (Dan Keat 85), Juan Pablo Angel (Adam Cristman 67), Mike Magee.

TEAM NEWS

• The Galaxy extended their unbeaten streak to 14 games in the win against Vancouver, one away from the club record set twice previously, first 1997-98, then 2009-10.
  
• Landon Donovan scored two goals in a game for the third time this season, hitting for a brace in LA’s 4-0 win at Vancouver on Saturday.
  
• Donovan’s two-goal night vs. Vancouver pulled him into a tie for the third-most goals in MLS league play all-time, 114 goals along with Ante Razov.
  
• “We had a good start in the second half. I thought they were dangerous and they have a lot of good players. Their defence played well and kept the game in front of us, but we capitalized on our counter attacks.”
  
• “I thought Landon was quiet in the first half, in the second half I thought he was real loud."
  
• Vancouver did a good job of attacking, but I think we also did a good job of attacking. The two teams clearly wanted to win the game. Our fault in the first half was not being clinical in front of the goal but once we were in the second half, we were able to pull away.”
  
• The LA Galaxy return to league play after a weekend away, stretching their undefeated streak to 13 games in their last league game, a 1-0 win against the Columbus Crew on July 20 at The Home Depot Center. The Galaxy have 42 points from 22 games on the season, leading the Western Conference.
  

REFEREE: Mark Kadlecik. SAR (bench): Paul Scott; JAR (opposite): Mike Kampmeinert; 4th: Ricardo Salazar
MLS Career: 9 games; FC/gm: 23.3; Y/gm: 3.6; R: 3; pens: 2

Sports Medicine Oregon INJURY REPORT: PORTLAND TIMBERS – OUT: DF Kevin Goldthwaite (L knee ACL rupture); FW Spencer Thompson (R knee); PROBABLE: FW Bright Dike (R Achilles rupture); DF Jeremy Hall (groin soreness); GK Troy Perkins (R hip soreness); FW Jorge Perlaza (R calf strain) … LA GALAXY – OUT: DF Sean Alvarado (R knee surgery); DF Leonardo (R knee surgery); GK Donovan Ricketts (L ulna fracture); QUESTIONABLE: FW Chad Barrett (R knee sprain); MF David Beckham (back spasms); MF Jovan Kirovski (L ankle sprain); PROBABLE: DF Omar Gonzalez (nose fracture)

INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: POR: Diego Chara, Rodney Wallace … LA: Juninho
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: POR: James Marcelin, Lovel Palmer