After a week in which his omission from the U.S. squad for the World Cup was compounded by personal pain with the death of his grandfather, Taylor Twellman was smiling again as his early goal sent the New England Revolution on their way to a dominant 4-0 victory against the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday afternoon at Gillette Stadium.
Twellman put the home side ahead after just five minutes, then the Revolution scored twice from set pieces, from Steve Ralston and Sharlie Joseph, in a five-minute span late in the first half to put the game away. Joseph added a second goal from the penalty area midway through the second half to finish off the Galaxy's misery.
Earlier in the week, Twellman was left off of Bruce Arena's final 23-man squad for Germany 2006. Then on Friday, former Major League Baseball player Jim Delsing, Twellman's grandfather who had a great influence on his life, passed away. But after just five minutes, Twellman was able to celebrate when he opened the Revolution account.
Last year's MLS MVP was on hand to fire into the unguarded Galaxy net after Kevin Hartman deflected Jose Cancela's shot into his path, after Twellman's pass sprung the Uruguayan behind the Galaxy back four.
Twellman's second goal in as many games served to inspire his side which, for the next 20 minutes, laid siege to the visitors goal. In contrast to recent games, Twellman was supported closely by his two strike partners, Cancela and Clint Dempsey, who were both able to find space to turn and attack the nervous-looking Galaxy defense.
Ralston, restored to the starting lineup after missing two games, had a shot blocked and Cobi Jones cleared another effort off the line as the home side looked to take advantage of a host of corners and free kicks.
However, it was a set piece of another kind that almost saw the home side double its lead in the 19th minute, when, from a throw-in on the right, Dempsey took a neat pass from Joseph and fired a shot that beat Hartman but rebounded to safety off the far post.
The loss of starting midfielder Daniel Hernandez to an ankle injury was a setback to Nicol's side however, and his replacement, Tony Lochhead, took some time to settle on the left, a move which saw Ralston switch flanks and Andy Dorman move inside to partner with Joseph.
The adjustment caused a lull in the Revolution's attacking onslaught until the 39th minute when Ralston took a free kick from Cancela that was pulled back to him on the edge of the penalty area and fired a shot that deflected off Tyrone Marshall past Hartman for New England's second goal.
Revolution fans, who had seen their side score just two goals in six hours of play so far this season were in dreamland three minutes later, when the Galaxy's defense was exposed once again by Cancela's quality.
Making just his second start of the season, in a new role as part of the Revolution's three-pronged attack, Cancela picked up another assist when his free kick from the right wing was headed home by Joseph.
One minute later, Cancela was thwarted by a fine last-ditch challenge from Marshall, with the odds on him scoring a goal of his own.
Los Angeles withdrew Marshall, who had been a doubt for the game with a new problem, at the break, putting Joseph Ngwenya at forward alongside Herculez Gomez. It gave Landon Donovan, operating in a playmaking midfield role, a bit more hope of providing some inspiration to a lackluster-looking offense.
Donovan did force Matt Reis into a smart save at his near post from Chris Albright's cross but any thoughts that Los Angeles had of a comeback were finally forgotten in the 69th minute, when Albright fouled Twellman in the box and Joseph fired the resultant penalty past Hartman.
It was New England's biggest-ever victory against the Galaxy, and coupled with the Revolution 1-0 victory at The Home Depot Center on April 1, marked the first time the Eastern Conference club had ever swept their Western rivals in the season series.
Andrew Hush is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
