CARSON, Calif. (AP) — Dan Kennedy made five recoveries and the new-look Los Angeles Galaxy held Santos Laguna to a 0-0 draw the main leg of the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals on Wednesday night.
In the wake of neglecting to shield its MLS title last season, the Galaxy experienced another program update substantial on star force. Five newcomers were in the beginning lineup, including English defender Ashley Cole and Dutch midfielder Nigel de Jong, and it didn’t take long for that class to demonstrat to itself.
Jelle Van Damme’s header off a corner kick constrained Santos Laguna goalkeeper Agustin Marchesin to make a sensational one-gave save in the opening moment. The Galaxy kept on making risks ahead of schedule, with Robbie Keane slipping behind three shields in the seventeenth minutes however not able to head Steven Gerrard’s go on goal.
“If we had scored a goal it would have been the perfect result, but it is still a good result,” Gerrard said. “We’ve been banging the drum all preseason about being solid defensively and keeping clean sheets, and that’s the basis we can be successful from.”
“Could be worse,” Galaxy manager Bruce Arena said of the result. “For our first time out I thought we played well. … We’re not going to change much between now and Tuesday. In a couple months, we’ll see what kind of team we have.”
