Galaxy postscript: Landon Donovan says team should be unbeaten and untied

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Having compiled the best record in Major League Soccer in 2010, even though that did not bring a championship, the Galaxy is unbeaten two games into the 2011 season.

A 1-0 victory over Seattle on March 15 and a 1-1 tie with New England on Sunday makes for a promising beginning, but Galaxy captain Landon Donovan isn’t satisfied.

Even before the weekend’s rain-drenched tie in Carson, Donovan said the team expects to come out on top in every game, no matter the opponent or the competition.

‘We’re accustomed to winning now, and the starting point is to win every time we step on the field,’ he said. ‘We don’t see a reason why we don’t have a chance to win every game. There should be no game we go in thinking, ‘Oh, we’re not going to win this one.’ Not every team can say that.

‘It’s not a pipe dream. A lot of teams in this league go into the season saying, ‘If we make the playoffs, we’ll be happy,’ and that’s not where we’re at. We expect more.’

The Galaxy expected more on Sunday, too, but even though it carried the attack to New England and put the ball in the net four times, only one of the goals was allowed. Two others were ruled out to offside calls and one was overturned on what Donovan insisted was not a foul on goalkeeper Matt Reis, even though one was called by referee Hilario Grajeda.

‘Overall, I think we probably lacked a little bit in our final pass, final touch, final shot,’ Donovan said. ‘If we were a little better, I think we would have won the game.

‘The one that Reis dropped. That was not a foul. I don’t think anybody in here could claim that that was a foul, including Reis. When you see his reaction, it was pretty obvious.

‘We certainly scored enough goals tonight to win the game. Unfortunately, in all sports, it’s not just the other team you’re always playing against, so it makes it difficult sometimes.’

Next up for the Galaxy: Real Salt Lake in Utah on Saturday in a rematch of the 2009 MLS final. ALSO:

Don Garber says MLS is turning its back on FIFA’s presidential election

Chivas Coach Robin Fraser loses the opener but gains a team

--Grahame L. Jones