By Alex Baker
(Carson, CA) – The LA Galaxy punched their ticket through to the 2012 MLS playoffs with a fairly comprehensive 4-2 home win over Toronto FC.
LA controlled the match almost from the opening whistle and took the lead after Swedish midfielder Christian Wilhelmsson was brought down on the edge of the area and they were awarded a free kick. Brazilian attacking sensation Juninho stepped up and curled a ball between the far post and TFC keeper Freddy Hall to make it 1-0 in the 11th minute.
Juninho doubled the Galaxy’s lead in the 33rd minute when he received the ball in midfield and fired a shot from 40 yards out that soared over the TFC defense and left Hall with no chance as it nestled in the back of the net.
The Galaxy scored again just three minutes later when Mike Magee laid the ball back for Robbie Keane. The Irishman swerved through three Toronto defenders and fired a shot that deflected off Hall’s glove before floating into the back of the net to make it 3-0 in the 36th.
But TFC were not out yet and struck back almost immediately when Jeremy Hall threw the ball in and Terry Dunfield headed it in towards goal where it was deflected in by LA midfielder Marcelo Sarvas to make it 3-1 in the 38th.
The Canadian side really made things interesting when they netted a second in the 86th minute of play. Quincy Amarikwa lofted a ball in from the edge of the sixth that Josh Saunders was unable to deal with. Luis Silva ghosted in the slotted it home to make it 3-2.
But even with the game balanced on a knife’s edge, the Galaxy continued to press for more. They found their reward in the 92nd minute of play when Robbie Keane received a pass from Landon Donovan on the top of the box and angled a shot between Hall and the near post to settle the score at 4-2 Galaxy.
The win was the Galaxy’s forth in a row and effectively secured them a spot in the MLS playoffs
The loss marked TFC’s tenth straight loss in a row in MLS play.
LA now rank second in the MLS Western Conference standings while Toronto sit at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
