CARSON, Calif. – Leave it to LA Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena to sum up his team’s 1-1 draw with the Colorado Rapids perfectly in his own way.
“The game was lousy, and everything with it was lousy.”
With Arena opting to rest starters Juninho, Stefan Ishizaki and A.J. DeLaGarza, a reserve-laden Galaxy lineup struggled to breakdown a determined Rapids squad.
Things went from bad to worse in the 40th minute when a turnover by Omar Gonzalez resulted in a Rapids’ breakaway and a goal from Colorado forward Gabriel Torres.
The Galaxy’s energy picked up after the break, but it wasn’t until second-half substitute Alan Gordon was brought into the game in the 72nd minute that the Galaxy finally found their spark. In the 75th minute, the 33-year-old rescued the Galaxy again by nodding in his team-leading third goal to help extend the team’s unbeaten streak at home to 27 games across all competitions.
“I’m just in the right place at the right time. I don’t know what the secret is and I don’t want to say it’s all me. I’ve been lucky to get these goals and that is great,” said Gordon. [Stefan Ishizaki] played a great ball in. For most of these goals, I don’t have to do much, just get a head on it and hope it goes in."
Despite Gordon’s late-game heroics, there was little else to be pleased with from the match as an organized Colorado side that gave the LA midfield little space and stifled the Galaxy attack. With Colorado clogging up the channels, preventing service to the likes of Gyasi Zardes and Bradford Jamieson IV, there was little the typically vaunted Galaxy offense could do.
“Just disappointed we didn’t play up to our standards and end the night with three points,” said Gonzalez.
Added Arena, “We pushed to try and win the game. Colorado did a good job slowing the game down. I don’t think the referee really had a clue as to what was going on. It really, really slowed the game and tried to get out of here with a point. Give them credit; they got out of here with what they wanted.”
For all their struggles against the Rapids, the Galaxy still find themselves riding a four-game unbeaten streak heading into a tough road swing that will see them play their next three matches away from StubHub Center.
As the club now turns their focus to their upcoming road trip that will see them take on Western Conference opponents Real Salt Lake and FC Dallas across eight days, the team believes that the character shown against the Rapids will only help the team in the future.
“At the end of the day, all points are needed. Results are key, whether it’s a tie or a win,” Gordon said. “But we definitely wanted three points tonight and we didn’t play well enough to get that, but coming back is always a good sign.
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog at www.LAGalaxy.com/insider and contact him at LAGalaxyInsider@Gmail.com.
