Cronin masterful in Galaxy victory
Landon Donovan and Kyle Martino scored in the first overtime period while Santino Quaranta scored at the very tail end of the extra 30-minute period to seal the win. Juan Pablo Angel was responsible for the lone blemish on Cronin's night, scoring a cracking free kick from 22 yards out.
But none of that would have happened if Cronin hadn't made 10 saves in regulation, then added another four in extra time.
"It's really kind of a blur at this point," said a laughing Cronin, who appeared to be in disbelief of his own performance. "As far as my performance goes I'm thankful for [Galaxy head coach] Frank [Yallop] for giving me these opportunities and I'm glad my team's behind me."
Cronin was willing to share the credit with his teammates, but it was really his efforts that kept the Galaxy alive through the first half and much of the second. Los Angeles didn't manage a single shot on goal in the first half, while New York peppered Cronin's net, forcing him into five saves in the opening 45 minutes.
"I think from the beginning they were a really strong team and well organized. We knew that coming in," Cronin said. "I think all around everyone dug in and gave a great defensive effort. 3-1 doesn't really tell the tale of the game or anything but I think it was a good win."
Yallop decided to start a younger lineup and rest some of his regular starters in advance of Saturday's league game against the New England Revolution. The move showed, as New York was all over Los Angeles from the outset.
Cronin himself almost made a deadly error of his own when he pulled down Jozy Altidore in the box to give New York a penalty kick in the first half. Altidore took his own penalty, but Cronin atoned for his mistake immediately by saving the attempt. According to Cronin, it was an earlier save that he had made that gave him the confidence on the night.
"What made me confident was the first one -- Dema (Kovalenko) hit a side volley. I think from there that's what gave me confidence," said Cronin. "PKs are out of the flow of the game. It's a different circumstance. Confidence for me comes from saves that come from the course of the game."
Cronin made plenty of those tonight too, constantly frustrating the New York attack. Very few of his saves were of the routine variety, as Cronin was forced to go vertical on more than one occasion, and made a number of fingertip saves at well. Yallop had the highest of praise for his backup 'keeper after the game.
"It's one of the best performances I've seen from one of my goalkeepers," said Yallop. "Full credit to Steve -- he deserves the victory for us tonight. I don't know how many shots he saved but he made fantastic world-class saves tonight."
Cronin had a pair of central defenders in front of him that hadn't had much time together on the field. Couple that with the fact that Cronin doesn't get regular minutes, and it could have spelled disaster. Cronin was again ready to pass the credit along to others, citing Yallop's training philosophy for avoiding any defensive miscues on the night.
"We have different lineups all the time in training. That creates a lot of versatility and a lot of guys who are able to play next to each other," said Cronin. "They (Ty Harden and Nathan Sturgis) had good communication. I don't know how much I helped with that. Between the two of them I think they did a great job."
With the victory, the Galaxy now move on to the tournament proper, where eight MLS teams come into the round-of-16 in July. Yallop has already suggested that a similar approach to the tournament of resting regular starters and giving minutes to some of his younger players will be repeated as the competition wears on, meaning Cronin will likely have more opportunities to shine for Los Angeles.
Greg Daurio is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
