PENALTY KICK BLUES Donovan's PK lifts Galaxy over Red Bulls, who miss another penalty in Open Cup elimination
Jozy Altidore missed a penalty kick in the first half. Linda Cuttone/Sports Vue Images
Carson, Calif. -- The Red Bulls' inability to convert penalty kicks cost them dearly in their Lamar Hunt/U.S. Open Cup play-in defeat to the Los Angeles Galaxy Tuesday night.
Ironically, the Galaxy's Landon Donovan converted his penalty attempt in the 93rd minute to help seal the Red Bulls' fate in a 3-1 extra-time loss at The Home Depot Center.
It was the first time the Red Bulls had suffered defeat this season. They have bolted to a 3-0-2 start and are in second place in the MLS Eastern Conference.
Donovan beat goalkeeper Jon Conway with a chip shot down the middle after defender Jeff Parke fouled Peter Vagenas in the penalty area a minute prior to give the hosts a 1-0 advantage.
Kyle Martino gave the Galaxy some breathing room in the 103rd minute, converting a diving header. Donovan started the build up and played a ball wide left to Santino Quaranta. Quaranta took a touch and sent in a ball to the near post that Martino headed underneath the crossbar.
The Galaxy needed that goal because Colombian striker Juan Pablo Angel, who made his Red Bulls debut, scored off a brilliant, 20-yard free kick for his first goal in the 109th minute. Angel, who had replaced Jozy Altidore in the 62nd minute, fired a hard, curling kick around the defensive wall and past goalkeeper Steve Cronin.
“He was at the top of the box a close-range free kick,” Cronin was quoted by LASoccerNews.com. “He hit it pretty close down the middle, so I didn’t make a full dive on it, then it hit a deflection and went right in the corner. Fortunately for them, it deflected. At that point, I was ready to face anything. I felt invincible tonight. But the deflection got me. I’ll take the win, though.”
Cronin was magnificent, stopping 14 shots in 100 minutes of action.
“I must say that it’s one of the best performances I’ve seen from one of my goalkeepers,” Galaxy coach Frank Yallop told the website. “Full credit to Steve. He deserves it tonight. I don’t know how many shots he saved, but he made a few fantastic, world-class saves.”
Added Donovan: “Clearly, they should have scored. But this guy was great. He made the difference.”
L.A. added a third goal in the 120th minute. Peter Vagenas sprung Donovan free down the right side on a counter attack, and the U.S. National Team captain slipped a pass to a streaking Quaranta, who converted from eight yards.
"Overall I was very pleased with the effort our guys showed," Red Bulls coach Bruce Arena said. "I thought we created a number of chances but just didn't do a good enough job of finishing. Give credit to LA. Cronin was outstanding for them in goal."
The Red Bulls could have put the game away earlier, but they missed a first-half penalty kick as Altidore had his 13th-minute attempt saved by Cronin.
Altidore gathered the loose ball, beat Ty Harden at the top of the penalty area and then tried to dribble around Cronin. Cronin dived in for the ball but took out Altidore and referee Ramon Hernandez pointed to the spot. The 17-year-old stepped up but Cronin guessed correctly and made the save diving to his left.
“It wasn’t real good," Arena said about the PK.
Counting the pre-season, the Red Bulls have missed four consecutive PKs, which is rare at the professional level. Clint Mathis had his try saved in the 1-0 win over the Houston Dynamo April 21 while Claudio Reyna and Dave van den Bergh missed their attempts during exhibition matches.
The Red Bulls tried desperately to equalize. Seth Stammler’s shot was saved by Cronin in the 106th minute as was Angel’s attempt in the 107th minute.
“As soon as I saved it – there had been a couple of times where there was pressure on me as soon as I saved it and I had to hold it,” Cronin told LASoccerNews.com. “That one I didn’t hold, and it was in the second half of overtime. First thing that went through my head was, 'No - I’m not going out like this.' ”
The game ended with both sides playing with 10 men due to ejections. L.A.'s Cobi Jones was red-carded for violent conduct in the 54th minute and the Red Bulls' Dema Kovalenko was awarded his second yellow card of the match after fouling Donovan, a second-half sub, in the 73rd minute.
The Red Bulls lost Hunter Freeman after the right fullback went down with an undetermined injury in the 32nd minute. He was replaced by Stammler a minute later.
Except for Angel's free kick, Cronin was virtually invincible. He stopped Mathis on several occasions, including a leaping save that denied the Red Bull forward's head shot in the 42nd minute.
“It’s kind of a blur at this point,” Cronin said. “New York is a real strong team, very organized. We knew that. We played them in preseason and I think they’re a much stronger team now than they were then. They gained some things going forward. But our team dug in."
So, it's back to just MLS competition for the Red Bulls, who host the Colorado Rapids at Giants Stadium at 3 p.m. Sunday.
“We wanted to win this competition," defender Todd Dunivant said. "We wouldn’t have flown all the way out here to take a loss. We are disappointed we are out of it so early but we have to focus on what we have now, and you have to take that as a positive. The club is still looking for its first championship and the Open Cup would have been nice. We will have to set our sights on the MLS Cup now.”
