COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – For 94 minutes and 55 seconds, the LA Galaxy seemed likely to earn a well-deserved point against the Colorado Rapids. Unfortunately, for the Galaxy, the last five seconds proved to be the most critical.
Marco Pappa’s goal in the fifth minute of stoppage time sealed the Galaxy’s 1-0 defeat on Saturday at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. The heartbreaking loss is Los Angeles’ first league defeat of 2016.
Immediately following the match, Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena was left frustrated by referee Fotis Bazakos’ decision to issue five minutes of stoppage time in a match where the Galaxy believe that they deserved better.
“That was remarkable,” Arena told reporters. “It was bad judgment by the referee and bad judgment by the fourth official not to question it. That’s a 93-minute game at most. To lose in the 95th minute is a crime. It’s disgraceful.”
The fateful play occurred in the dying moments when center back Daniel Steres saw his clearance rise into the air and fall for Pappa, who launched a left-footed volley for the game-winner. As Pappa and the Rapids celebrated their first victory of the 2016 campaign, the Galaxy were left visibly frustrated after a point slipped through their fingers.
“It’s frustrating. We battled, we definitely didn’t deserve that result. The guys fought their hearts out and we knew we were going to have to play ugly on the road here,” Rowe, who made seven saves in a losing effort, said. “We knew it was going to be a scrappy game and one we were going to have to dig down. We really showed that we are capable of doing that. We were good for 95 minutes and it just wasn’t quite enough, which is frustrating.”
Added Steres, “I think nine times out of ten I could probably make that clearance a little better. Today was the one day that it happened, and it cost us. There're no excuses in that, but it just sucks to lose like that.”
The Galaxy will now lick their wounds and prepare for next Saturday’s California Clasico match against the San Jose Earthquakes. After their disappointing defeat in Colorado, the Galaxy are looking forward to moving on.
“That was an ugly game. It was just a battle really. We didn’t lose the battle, but we conceded a goal that we could have avoided. It should have already been already blown over by then,” captain Robbie Keane said. “Listen; it doesn’t matter. We just have to learn from it and see out games.”
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog at LAGalaxy.com/Insider and contact him at LAGalaxyInsider@Gmail.com
