The Sporting Kansas City forward, who is from Lawndale and spent time at Cal State Dominguez Hills, arrived on his old campus having on Friday tinted a one-inch fringe of hair around his head and neck an unnatural shade of gold.
No explanation was offered, but not to worry. Kamara, who, like Beckham wears No. 23, was immeasurably less effective than the Galaxy's roaming midfielder Saturday night in the Galaxy's 4-1 rout at the Home Depot Center.
When the fashion statements of players are worthy of note, the realization sinks in that this was not the most memorable of Major League Soccer games, the lopsided score and Beckham's trademark late free-kick goal notwithstanding.
The first half, for instance, was free of tension or drama. Even the two goals were the result of mistakes, not creative genius.
Kamara did get a talking to from referee Baldomero Toledo for some supposedly overly aggressive play. But perhaps Toledo simply wanted a closer look at his oddly outlined hair.
Beckham did manage a corner kick that teammate Chad Barrett headed straight at goalkeeper Erik Kronberg. But that was about it until Omar Gonzalez's latest defensive miscue.
In the 38th minute, Kansas City midfielder Milos Stojcev sent a left-footed cross into the Galaxy penalty area, with the ball bouncing once as it headed toward Kamara.
Gonzalez stuck out a leg to intercept and instead deflected the ball past goalkeeper Josh Saunders, filling in for Galaxy starter Donovan Ricketts, who fell ill shortly before the game.
Kansas City, forced to play its first 10 games of the season on the road while its stadium is completed and coming in with a 1-4-1 record as a result, hardly deserved its lead. Its offensive enterprise up until the goal had been virtually nonexistent.
The Galaxy's attack was not much better, consisting solely of a shot by forward Miguel Lopez that flew wide and Barrett's header that was saved.
All the same, the teams entered halftime tied, 1-1, because of a clumsy and unnecessary foul by Sporting defender Roger Espinoza one minute before the half ended.
Beckham, making a rare foray into the thick of things, was chopped down in the penalty area by Espinoza, who stuck a foot into Beckham's right thigh. Toledo pointed to the spot, and Landon Donovan scored.
The second half started in brighter fashion, with Donovan scoring his league-high seventh goal of the season in the opening minute after a smart exchange of passes with Barrett while Kansas City's defense slept.
Sporting was again caught out in the 64th minute when Barrett headed the ball forward to Juan Pablo Angel and the Colombian striker, who had just come on as a substitute, scored his second goal of the season with consummate ease.
At 3-1, it was all over, even though Beckham produced an exceptional free kick goal from about 30 yards in the 87th minute that underlined the home team's superiority.
The first-place Galaxy (5-2-5) will play Chivas USA next Saturday in a match that promises to feature a bit more edge and competitiveness.
No comments:
Post a Comment