Carlos Ruiz bagged a hat trick as the Los Angeles Galaxy defeated an East Asian “All-Star” team composed of players from second division club Shanghai Dongya and the Hong Kong national team, 3-0. Goal.com described the Chinese side as “disorganized” and “overmatched” for the MLS team.
The Galaxy broke through just before the end of the first half, Ruiz heading home a pinpoint David Beckham cross. The former FC Dallas striker completed his hat-trick with two goals in the last ten minutes, the final one coming from a great feed from rookie Ely Allen.
Before the match, Galaxy Coach Ruud Gullit complained that the field, which was in terrible shape, was potentially “dangerous.”Local blogger the Shanghaiist described it as “a perfect playing surface — for beach volleyball.” Despite the field and the score line, the Shanghaiist called the match “an appalling game of football”, noting that it was also poorly attended — as there were only around 10,000 fans at the 80,000-capacity Shanghai stadium.