After Wednesday’s game against Real Salt Lake, the Los Angeles Galaxy do not play a league match until June 26.
While the Galaxy boast the league’s best record at 10-0-2 and sit with a comfortable margin in the Western Conference table, the last thing players want is to go into this upcoming break with a loss weighing on their minds.
“We’re focused 100 percent on this game and getting a good result,” Galaxy defender Gregg Berhalter said. “We’re going away from home and we are going to stick to a game plan and we’re going to try and get three points out of that game.”
The Galaxy will visit Rio Tinto Stadium and thus will close out their participation against the defending MLS Cup champions. Previously, the teams met at Home Depot Center with the Galaxy claiming a 2-1 win.
Players said if they go into the stadium with the right mindset, good things will happen.
“We’ve got to go in there confident and try to get the win,” defender Omar Gonzalez said. “We’re doing really well together. The whole team knows that if we put the effort in defense we will get our chances on offense. From the forwards to [goalkeeper] Donovan [Ricketts], we’re all doing real well working together and getting in the right spots.”
Like the Galaxy, RSL have sacrificed for the good of the US national team. Robbie Findley is in South Africa along with Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle. And like the Galaxy, RSL have continued to pull out results.
Real Salt Lake pulled out a scoreless draw against DC United which extended their unbeaten run to six games. Alvaro Saborio, MLS’ Player of the Month for May, and Fabian Espindola figure to key the attack while Javier Morales is a dangerous man in the midfield.
“They’re a good team, probably one of the best teams in the league so it’s going to be difficult for us,” Berhalter said. “We just have to go in with the right mindset and that we’re going there to get a result. We have to be a hard team to beat and just keep doing what we’ve been doing.”
One major plus on the Galaxy’s side is their road form. Their six matches away from Home Depot Center this year could not have gone much better: 10 goals scored, zero goals allowed, five wins and one draw.
Perhaps the most eye-popping statistic is their defensive record. Having given up no goals on the road might seem like something to build on. So how does the zero goals allowed on the road factor into the match?
“It doesn’t factor into it,” Berhalter said. “Every game is different and I think that this is just a new challenge for us. We’re going to the game with a clean slate and hoping to keep performing.”
