It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, but in the end, it was time for the coronation of the next great duo in the sport of soccer: Steven Gerrard and Robbie Keane.
Gerrard set up two Keane goals and opened his MLS account with one of his own as his new partner in crime scored a hat trick as the LA Galaxy scored five unanswered goals after trailing 2-0 to defeat the San Jose Earthquakes 5-2 in the second chapter of the California Clasico.
Keane scored his second consecutive hat trick at home in MLS play after he bookended his 64th minute heel kick goal with two penalty kicks.
"I didn't feel my best today to be honest with you," Keane said after the game. "I was getting sick all day today at home. But when you are striking and scoring goals, and you continue to score goals, it gives you confidence. Hopefully, they'll keep coming.
Keane caught the flu last week and said he was in bed until 2'oclock in the afternoon on Friday vomiting multiple times before his wife told him he wasn't going to play.
"I'm playing," Keane said he told her. "I was struggling to be honest, but I was fine once the game started."
Keane's hat trick after being sick and throwing up throughout the day was reminiscent to Michael Jordan's "The Flu Game," when the 1997 NBA Finals MVP historically scored 38 points in a game 5 victory over the Utah Jazz despite being sick with the flu the night prior.
Quincy Amarikwa scored a brace for the Quakes, his first two goals of the season.
"I'd rather score no goals and two other guys score goals and we win 2-0," Amarikwa said. "You're coming on the road and trying to get points. Unfortunately, we were unable to do that tonight. We let LA get back into the game."
San Jose scored two goals in the first 25 minutes to jump out to the early 2-0 lead. Sanna Nyassi, led a brutal counter attack for the Quakes for the first goal of the game. After a bad pass by Sebastian Lletget to Keane led to a turnover, Nyassi found Amarikwa wide open in the center of the box in the 22nd minute.
Amarikwa made it a double-double two minutes later when an odd broken set piece found him wide open again in the center of the box. Matias Perez Garcia chipped the ball into a scrum in the center of the box and somehow the ball bounced of Clarence Goodson's head and right to Amarikwa who found the back of the net.
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Robbie Keane converted a penalty kick in the 31st minute after Tommy Thompson was shown a yellow card for a viscious elbow to the head of Steven Gerrard.
Gerrard found the equalizer in the 37th minute after some ping-pong passes set up Gerrard in the center of the box for a rambunctious shot that found the bottom right corner of the net. Keane sent the ball to Husidic who found crossed to the center of the box where the ball was deflected right to Gerrard.
"I felt like a kid out there again," Gerrard said. "I'm very pleased, starting to feel a little bit sharper so I'm very close to full fitness. So far so good, but I need to keep working and stay focused."
Keane got his brace in the 64th minute after a free kick by Gerrard found Keane in the center of the six-yard box, where a soft touch off the side of his heel slipped past David Bingham for the goal.
Keane's shot on goal was saved in the 79th minute by Bingham, but the ball deflected off his hands as Baggio Husidic swooped in to keep the play alive. Bingham tackled Husidic and was called for the foul, awarding a penalty kick to Keane. Keane promptly stepped up, smashing a shot to the top left corner of the net for the hat trick.
Sebastian Lletget scored the fifth and final goal of the match in the 89th minute as Todd Dunivant's cross was headed home by the San Jose native.
"I've just got the mentality that until the whistle blows, there's always another opportunity to score and I'm going to take it," Lletget said. "I did that tonight."
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