The Dynamo can’t stop Giovani dos Santos and the Galaxy in a 4-1 loss.
Dos Santos helps Los Angeles erase early deficit with first of two goals
For a moment Friday night, it looked like the Dynamo were going to leave a month of disappointment behind them.
But that’s it. Just for that moment.
The Dynamo scored in the first minute but soon after found themselves hosting the season awakening for Los Angeles Galaxy forward Giovani dos Santos at BBVA Compass Stadium. Dos Santos had two goals and a key pass on a third goal in the first half to lead the Galaxy to a 4-1 victory.
The Dynamo (1-3-2) have lost three of their last four matches. They have not won since March 12.
The Dynamo have looked like a quality team for some parts of each of the first five games. On Friday, however, the bottom fell out. Coach Owen Coyle said if he could have used 11 substitutes at halftime, he would have.
Changes to come
“Sometimes you have six or seven players who play to their level and some a little bit below,” Coyle said. “It’s fair to say that (tonight) none of them got to the standard they’re capable of. … There will be changes. I’m not going to sit through that. I don’t think our fans are deserving of that level of performance.”
Coyle hinted that those changes most likely will come on defense. The attack has been promising, but the defense has not. The Dynamo have conceded as many goals (13) as they have produced.
With a strong Galaxy side providing the oppo- sition Friday, the Dynamo found it difficult for all of the last 89 minutes.
“These things happen even to very good teams over the course of a season,” midfielder Andrew Wenger said. “It’s a long season, but we haven’t proven over the course of 90 minutes that we’re a very good team yet. We can’t let ourselves off the hook for this one.”
Dos Santos got the Galaxy off the hook for conceding an opening-minute goal by delivering a stirring performance. The Mexican international missed three of the Galaxy’s first five games with a quadriceps injury. He did not have a goal or assist over 109 minutes in two games.
It did not take long for that to change Friday.
In the fourth minute, the Galaxy (3-1-2) played a long ball to the center of the field that got through a crowd of players and into the box. Dos Santos was all alone and hit a left-footed shot past goalkeeper Joe Willis to even the game.
Dos Santos scored again in the 31st minute to give the Galaxy a 3-1 lead that they took into halftime.
Horst’s header scores
As frustrating as the majority of the match was for the Dynamo, the first minute was divine.
Giles Barnes took it deep into Galaxy territory off the kickoff and won a corner kick. Chaco Maidana played short to Wenger, who stopped it for Maidana. Maidana passed to Alex Lima at the top left of the box.
Lima curled a cross to the far post that defender David Horst finished with a powerful header for his second goal of the season.
The Dynamo hit the road for a pair of matches, beginning April 23 at Columbus. The Crew are the league’s only winless team entering this weekend.