Gerrard delights fans in MLS debut
Former Liverpool captain scores one goal and helps Keane get a hat trick.
GALAXY 5, SAN JOSE 2
Steven Gerrard was well aware in whose footsteps he was following when he joined the Galaxy last week.
In his introductory news conference, the former Liverpool captain paid tribute to former players David Beckham and Landon Donovan. Then he thanked former teammate Robbie Keane for welcoming him to Major League Soccer.
But on Friday, with Keane at his side and Beckham and Donovan looking on from a luxury box, Gerrard outdid them all.
Playing before a sold- out StubHub Center in his MLS debut, Gerrard scored one goal and helped Keane to a hat trick by setting up two others, leading the Galaxy to a 5- 2 win over the San Jose Earthquakes that lifted the team into the Western Conference lead for the first time since the season’s opening weekend.
“Robbie and Stevie looked like they had played together,” Galaxy Coach Bruce Arena said. “That’s why we brought Stevie over here.”
It’s also why the Galaxy moved Gerrard out of his customary midfield role against San Jose, using him as a withdrawn forward behind Keane. The new formation didn’t exactly get off to a fast start, though, with a couple of San Jose counterattacks ending in a pair of Quincy Amarikwa goals midway through the first half.
San Jose hadn’t scored on a counterattack all season. Nor had it lost when scoring first.
Keane and Gerrard quickly set about rewriting that second stat, evening the score before the intermission with the f irst two of f ive unanswered goals.
Keane’s came f irst, in the 30th minute on a penalty kick earned by Gerrard, who took a Tommy Thompson elbow to the head to draw the foul.
Gerrard got the second himself seven minutes later, curling a shot around Earthquake keeper David Bingham and into the far corner to even the score.
“We showed a lot of character coming back from two goals [ down],” Keane said. “When Stevie scored, it really energized the team and the supporters.”
And Gerrard could have had more, hitting the crossbar with a free kick midway through the second half, then having a goal in the 79th minute disallowed when Bingham tripped Baggio Husidic in the penalty area.
So Keane scored twice instead, netting what proved to be the game- winner 19 minutes into the second half when he redirected a low Gerrard free kick past Bingham. He then followed the foul on Husidic with his second penaltykick goal of the night.
Not bad from a guy who spent most of the day throwing up.
“My wife said I wasn’t going to play, at 2 p. m.,” Keane said. “I was lying in bed.”
So Gerrard, who played 19 games with Keane at Liverpool, helped pick him up, first carpooling to the game with Keane, then helping the Galaxy captain to his second hat trick in as many MLS starts.
“I was pretty pleased to get the goal, and I was even more pleased for Robbie to get the hat trick,” Gerrard said. “When you play with good players, it’s easy to connect. Robbie and I were on the same wavelength.”
Gerrard eventually left to a huge ovation, just before Sebastian Lletget closed out the scoring in stoppage time, giving the Galaxy 20 goals in its last five games.
For Gerrard, it was a debut he didn’t want to see end.
“Bruce started shouting at about 60 minutes [ to come out], but I just stared ahead and pretended I didn’t hear him,” said Gerrard, who played 87 minutes.
Messi, Neymar to skip friendly
Four- time world player of the year Lionel Messi and Brazilian standout Neymar were both left off the Barcelona roster for July friendlies in the U. S., including Tuesday’s exhibition against the Galaxy at the Rose Bowl.
Among those who will be in uniform are striker Luis Suarez, midfielders Andres Iniesta and Ivan Rakitic, and defenders Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba.
kevin. baxter@ latimes. com Staff writer Greg Hadley contributed to this report.