Los Angeles Galaxy vs. San Jose Earthquakes: Rating Robbie Keane’s Performance

By this point in the 2013 Major League Soccer season, Los Angeles Galaxy forward Robbie Keane has gotten used to the fact that his team is not good, period. They have made losing matches an obscene art form that can only be perfected by those goalkeepers who can’t goalkeep, by those defenders who can’t defend, and by attackers who can’t finish if their paychecks depended on it.

Jun 29, 2013; Palo Alto, CA, USA; San Jose Earthquakes midfielder Sam Cronin (4) battles with Los Angeles Galaxy forward Robbie Keane (7) during the second half at Stanford Stadium. San Jose Earthquakes defeated Los Angeles Galaxy 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The Galaxy, to put it in more non-vulgar terms, elected to be effiminate in the last 30 minutes of the game, including stoppage time, and saw their clothes get torn to pieces—figuratively, of course—eliciting a high-pitched scream of embarrassment in their 3-2 defeat to the San Jose Earthquakes at Stanford Stadium on the campus of Stanford University in Palo Alto, California.

And all Keane could do was put a hand on his paln and say to himself, “It’s deja vu all over again, and my team is blushing from head to toe. This never gets old, laddies!”

In terms of distribution, Keane was solid, with two assists on goals to Marcelo Sarvas and Hector Jimenez. He had 27 successful passes to eight unsuccessful ones, hjad six key passes and a through ball. Defensively, Keane had six receoveries, two interceptions and two clearances.

Keano had one shot on target and one shot off target, and in general had a number of opportunities on goal. For the most part, Robbie Keane had a good game.

However, the reason why Robbie Keane is not going to get a good score is not because of his performance but the effort of his teammates, the outcome, and the opponent. In these player ratings, the scores get really skewed if the opponent is a rival of San Jose’s caliber.

There are a number of factors that add into why Robbie Keane gets the score he gets. No. 1: San Jose won the game with 10 men. No. 2: San Jose won the game with two goals in as many minutes. No. 3: San Jose won this in stoppage time.

No. 4: the Galaxy could not finish their chances. And finally, Reason No. 5: Keane is the captain, and it’s his job to find a way to win against their rivals, not lose against them.

The result, the way it played out and the big picture impacted Robbie Keane’s rating. There will be those who will say that Keane is not at fault for the Galaxy losing to San Jose. The View from Avalon counters with three simple words: Guilt By Association.

Rating: 4/10