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Donovan helps Galaxy escape with tie against Red Bulls

Jul 20, 2008 - 3:31 AM By Simon Lewis PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- Los Angeles Galaxy captain David Beckham praised the character of his team for their late comeback to avoid defeat against the New York Red Bulls on Saturday night.

Landon Donovan rescued a point and nearly grabbed a winner for the Galaxy in a 2-2 tie at Giants Stadium, his cross in the 92nd minute from the left drifting into the far corner of the goal after L.A. striker Edson Buddle and the Red Bulls defense all missed the centering pass.

Until that point the Red Bulls had looked set to steal the show from visiting superstar Beckham and his teammates for the second year in a row after a great individual second-half goal from Red Bulls captain Juan Pablo Angel gave the home side a 2-1 lead.

With Venezuelan international midfielder Jorge Rojas pulling the strings on his debut with flashes of creativity, the Red Bulls had looked in control heading into injury time but the Galaxy, to Beckham's delight, did not give up the chase for an equalizer.

"There were chances for both teams but we showed a lot of character," Beckham said. "We were disappointed to go in 1-1 at halftime because they scored through our sloppy play.

"Then we came out second half, they got a goal but we kept on battling and we didn't look as if we were going to get a goal but we did in the end. It showed the character in the team, especially when we're not playing as well as we can, to come back. So overall, maybe a draw was fair tonight."

In front of an Major League Soccer season high 46,754 fans, and 12 months after the home side had edged the same visitors 5-4, the Galaxy hit back in the 92nd minute when Donovan curled in a right-footed cross from the left that missed numerous heads, including Buddle's, and carried all the way into the corner of the net.

"It was a cross, of course," Galaxy coach Ruud Gullit said. "But he kicked it so well, if Edson had touched it, it would have gone in as well. So the keeper didn't know what to do. Just the quality of the play itself made it difficult for the goalkeeper."

At 2-2, the visitors sensed victory and very nearly snatched it when Beckham sent in a cross from the right that found Donovan at the back post. Donovan ripped a left-footed shot that hit the foot of the Red Bulls upright in the waning moments of the match.

With both the best offense and the worst defense in MLS, the Galaxy drew first blood in the 28th minute, when Beckham, from close to the center circle, picked out Buddle on the left with a great pass. Buddle advanced into the Red Bulls penalty area, twisting and turning van den Bergh and then crossing for Carlos Ruiz to head home from inside the six-yard box.

The goal opened up the game considerably and the Red Bulls response came six minutes later, van den Bergh making amends for being dumped by Buddle. The midfielder picked up a delightful pass which Rojas sent from left to right behind his standing leg, and hammered the ball past the diving Cronin's outstretched right hand and into the bottom corner of the goal.

Los Angeles came right back with Klein overlapping Beckham down the right and crossing for Donovan to volley left-footed from the back post over the bar.

Van den Bergh continued the New York momentum in the second half, firing a shot from the left that forced Cronin to tip over the bar in the 55th minute and then crossing three minutes later only for Seth Stammler to fire over from point-blank range.

Again the Red Bulls atoned, and in some style as Angel received the ball from Rojas in the 71st minute and produced some brilliant footwork to round two Galaxy defenders. He cut in from the left and then curled the ball home with the outside of his boot and give the home side the lead.

It should have been enough, but Donovan and the Galaxy had other ideas.

"It's a very disappointed locker room," Red Bulls coach Juan Carlos Osorio said. "I think we created enough chances to win the game and the next one but unfortunately that wasn't the case. I'm optimistic, though, because there was good play at times, but we need to keep improving. Only time will tell if it's okay to get one point out of a game we should have won."