CARSON, Calif. – Did the LA Galaxy help their cause in the Supporters' Shield battle with the Seattle Sounders by letting the lead slip away last weekend in the first of their season-ending home-and-home showdown?
Robbie Keane suggests so while proclaiming all the pressure in Saturday morning's decider in Seattle (2:30 pm ET; NBC) is on the Sounders, who need only a draw to claim their first Shield, the Western Conference title and the top seed for the MLS Cup Playoffs.
After Sunday's 2-2 draw at StubHub Center, the Galaxy (17-6-10) must win at CenturyLink Field to claim their fifth regular-season title and first since 2011, and the Irish forward said they're better in such situations.
“It's a tough place to go, but there's no reason we can't go there and win,” Keane said following Thursday morning's training session at StubHub Center. “No pressure on us. It's theirs to lose … it's theirs to throw away. They're playing in front of 60,000, 70,000 people. The pressure is on them, not us.”
LA won in the first meeting at CenturyLink this season, a 3-0 romp in late July that Keane called “probably our best performance away from home in a good few years” and are approaching the upcoming match with real serenity.
“Got a feeling around the place, there's a nice relaxed feeling, which is good,” the Galaxy captain said. “If it [were] the other way around [with Seattle needing to win], I don't know how we'd go into the game, to be honest with you, if we had won [last weekend's] game. I think we're good when we need to go and win games. I think we're better in that way.
“In terms of [last weekend's] result, it hasn't really changed [anything] because we had to get four points anyway. I think this is probably better for us.”
The Galaxy say it doesn't matter in the playoffs whether they're the No. 1 or 2 seed in the West, that all the prospective opening-round opponents – FC Dallas, Real Salt Lake, Vancouver and Portland – are strong and, Landon Donovan said, “we have faith that we can beat any of these teams in a two-game series.”
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They just want the silverware.
“Listen, [the Sounders] have done, obviously, a great job putting a lot of importance into the [US] Open Cup over the years, but they've struggled [to win titles] in the league and in the playoffs,” Donovan said. “So they're going to have added incentive, and they're going to want to win this.
“But for us, what we do here is we win trophies, and this is a chance on Saturday to win another trophy, and we're going to take it that way.”
The Sounders have never won a league trophy, and that just adds to the pressure on them, Keane said.
“They have it already – I mean the points and the wins [to claim the Shield], they have it,” said LA's captain. “Are they going to go and sit back? I'm not sure. I don't think they're that kind of team, really. They sat back on us [last weekend] for large portions of the game until they went down, 2-nil, but if they get a draw, they win it, so it will be interesting to see how they play.
“We know we have to go and play [attacking soccer], and I think we're better-suited when we know that's the case.”
