LA Galaxy midfielder Juninho was named to the MLS Team of the Week for week 1, scoring two goals over two matches during First Kick week. Both of the goals for Juninho came from outside the box, and under similar conditions. His strong strikes were the game winner and equalizer, respectively, as the Galaxy defeated Seattle and drew with New England. Those two goals put Juninho in a four way tie atop the Golden Boot table, in good company with the inspirational Charlie Davies; the new DC striker returning to a city where he was severely injured in a car accident years ago.
↵After Sunday’s match, the always quotable Landon Donovan came out with this gem:
↵↵↵“They had no intention of winning the game. That’s how we knew they were going to play, that’s how Steve Nicol-coached teams play, and give them credit, they did what they set out to do.â€
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A quote like this puts Juninho’s goal in greater context. New England were able to push across a goal in the third minute from a set piece, and played the rest of the game as conservative as possible. The Revs only had two more shots the rest of the match, and only one of those shots on goal. The Galaxy had two goals called back as a result of offsides, and one after the keeper was fouled on a rebound. This bend not break policy made the game difficult to watch, especially since it could be argued the Galaxy still did enough to win.
↵The Galaxy go to face Real Salt Lake on Saturday, where they haven’t won since April 29, 2006. This includes a 1-0 loss last year on June 9, 2010, the Galaxy’s first loss that year.