Galaxy Puts Another Opponent in the Tank

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — “The Tank” is what they call him in his native Ecuador. Or, more correctly, “El Tanque.”

Either way, the nickname fits. Los Angeles Galaxy striker Eduardo Hurtado demolished the New York/New Jersey MetroStars almost single-handed Sunday, scoring three goals and assisting on another in a resounding 4-0 victory.

By the game’s end, there were tank tracks all over Giants Stadium, where 53,250 fans were left with no doubt as to why the Galaxy is 10-0 while the Metro-Stars are 4-7.

The game between Major League Soccer’s best and worst teams was a mismatch almost from the opening whistle.

Hurtado and teammate Guillermo Jara combined to put the Galaxy ahead, 1-0, after barely 14 minutes and 2-0 after 26. By halftime, New York/New Jersey fans were booing the home team. It got worse.

Twenty minutes into the second half, referee Kevin Terry ruled that forward Giovanni Savarerse had not been fouled in the penalty area and declined loud appeals for a penalty kick by the MetroStars.

New York/New Jersey defender Nicola Caricola became so incensed that he rushed at Terry, bumping him with his chest. Out came the red card and off went Caricola, leaving the MetroStars a man short for the final 25 minutes

That pushed certain segments in the crowd over the edge, and the game was delayed five minutes while plastic bottles, paper cups and other debris rained onto all four corners of the field.

Of course, this season, fans at Giants Stadium have become used to seeing garbage on the field.

Not that there is anything Coach Carlos Queiroz can do about it. The MetroStars simply drafted poorly and are paying the price. Former Coach Eddie Firmani was eased out after a 3-5 start. Queiroz is now 1-2 and checking Air Portugal flight schedules.

“When you lose in soccer, 4-0, there are few words to say,” the former Portuguese national team coach said afterward. “Unless it is to congratulate the other team. They deserved it. They played a beautiful match.”

Sunday’s game marked the end of a difficult trip that saw the Galaxy win three games in nine days, increasing its already imposing lead in the Western Conference and underlining its superiority.

“We are a happy-go-lucky bunch,” Coach Lothar Osiander told the Boston Globe midway through the trip. “Mostly lucky.”

But it is far more than good fortune that has kept the team unbeaten. Unlike other MLS clubs that have struggled to find the right mix on the field, Los Angeles discovered it almost immediately. The results are obvious--the Galaxy looks and plays like a team, rather than 11 players in search of a ball.

Sunday’s performance was the team’s best yet, despite the absence of four starters, including winger Cobi Jones and sweeper Robin Fraser. New York/New Jersey, to be fair, was also missing its only two worthwhile players, midfielders Tab Ramos and Roberto Donadoni.

But it is doubtful even they would have made a difference.

Los Angeles took the lead in the 14th minute on a well-executed play involving Mauricio Cienfuegos, Jara and Hurtado.

Cienfuegos chested the ball down at midfield and passed to Jara just outside and to the right of the penalty area. The former University of San Diego forward headed the ball into open space for Hurtado to run onto and power past Tony Meola, the MetroStars’ beleaguered keeper.

“I saw Hurtado coming through,” said Jara, who filled in admirably for Jones. “I figured all I had to do was get it down on the ground to him and he would do the rest.”

Hurtado did and Meola had no chance. For all his faults, though, Meola still can bring off the dramatic save. He needs to with a defense that makes a sieve look solid. If not for his acrobatics Sunday, the score would have been 8-0.

As it was, it soon became 2-0 when Jara again found “El Tanque,” this time to the left of the net, and Hurtado fired a shot into the upper right corner.

“We’ve been talking about how great it would be to go home 10-0,” said Jara.

Hurtado’s third goal came on a penalty kick after Brad Wilson, filling in well for Jorge Salcedo in midfield while Salcedo filled in superbly for Fraser at sweeper, was upended in the penalty area. The goal was Hurtado’s seventh of the season and the hat trick was a Galaxy first.

He missed a couple of other clear chances, then provided the crossing pass from the right that Ante Razov headed in for the final goal. The former UCLA forward immediately leaped into Hurtado’s arms in celebration of his first MLS goal.

For Hurtado, the celebration was more subdued. “I didn’t let them down,” he said afterward of the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Ecuadorean fans who made their presence known with flags and banners. “I came to play and I let them know it. It was definitely my best game of the year so far.”

For Galaxy opponents down the road, those last two words might be worth pondering. “El Tanque” is not through yet.