FRISCO, Texas -- After a tough 2-1 loss to the New York Red Bulls at The Home Depot Center last Saturday, the Los Angeles Galaxy went back to work. Sunday afternoon, all that work paid off as LA had four-goal edge by the 39-minute mark and strolled to a 5-1 victory against FC Dallas at Pizza Hut Park.
Edson Buddle led the visitors with a hat trick while L.A.'s other goals came from Chris Klein and an own goal from FCD defender Duilio Davino, who deflected a Landon Donovan cross past goalkeeper Dario Sala.
"I think that the team played excellent," Galaxy head coach Ruud Gullit said. "The gameplan worked. The key for us was David (Beckham) going outside and we also got Alvaro (Pires) back, which was important. Putting them in the right positions made it very difficult for them to play their game. We could play our game and I think the first half was excellent. It boosted our confidence."
With Alan Gordon out with a hamstring injury, Buddle got the chance to return to the lineup and it was an opportunity that he took advantage of. Coming into the game, while the Galaxy led the league with 14 goals scored, just three players had contributed to that total: Donovan (eight), Beckham and Alan Gordon (three each)
"Edson did really well for us today and it was great for us," Gullit said. "Many people think that only David and Landon can score for us. But last week, it was Gordon and today it was Edson. That means that we have various players now who can score goals and that's good."
Gullit rolled out a modified formation that looked more like a 4-5-1, a free-flowing setup that gave Beckham and Donovan a great deal of freedom. The tactical switch gave the Hoops a great deal of trouble all day.
"He (Beckham) had a lot of freedom and played more on top," Gullit said. "I think that worked very well because they didn't know what to do with him. He did a lot of sneaking in behind the fullbacks. That creates problems for the opposition, so we tried to do things that would make his game better than before. We worked hard on that in training and I think today was a good exhibition of that."
In the 75th minute, Beckham was tackled hard by FCD defender Adrian Serioux, who was summarily sent off by referee Baldomero Toledo. After the infraction, Beckham rose to his feet and gave Serioux a shove.
"No, (it wasn't an overreaction on my part) because it was a terrible tackle," Beckham said. "I could've broken my leg. I think that was a bad tackle personally. He told me, 'Welcome baby, welcome.' These tackles happen in soccer and we don't want them in soccer but this is a man's game. You have to get up, play on and get on with the game. We did after that."
After starting his first two games of the season, Buddle started for a third consecutive week in the 2-2 draw against Real Salt Lake. But a hamstring injury forced him off the field after just 12 minutes, which kept him out of last weekend's loss to New York. He returned to the team with a vengeance.
"Today, we were able to find each other early and move the ball well," he said. "We played a little bit differently today as far as our formation. We used that very well today and want to continue that on the road, which is tough. They just wanted me to stay busy, active and in motion. If I did that, they told me that the ball would always seem to find me."
Gullit was also pleased with how well his team defended as a whole. Coming into the week's matches, the Galaxy had allowed 15 goals, tied with Chivas USA for the most in the league through seven weeks.
"You start defending up front," he said. "If you make mistakes up front and don't track back, then you will give up goals. I think it was a better overall performance from the team to defend and was a compliment to the team. They worked very hard but it all starts up front. We forced them to make mistakes and when we had the ball, we had the composure."
With the win, the Galaxy now move into second place in the Western Conference with 11 points, just one behind first-place Colorado. The loss dropped FC Dallas from second to fourth place in the table with nine points, one behind the Houston Dynamo.
"I think it was an important game for us, especially after we lost the last one at home," Beckham said. "We came into this game refreshed and ready for it. We organized all week and prepared all week for this game because we knew how good they were and how they played.
"I think we started off well. In the first half especially, we played some good football and kept the ball well. The two saves from Steve Cronin just before we scored our goal were very important because we've had games where we've played well but haven't been able to get a goal. So, it was important that we kept a clean sheet and then we broke away for the goal. Overall, it was a good game for us."
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