CARSON, Calif. – The LA Galaxy dominated the early stretches of their game against FC Dallas, but wasteful finishing and a fine header by Blas Perez saw LA fall behind after 54 minutes.
But that’s when the Galaxy rolled up their sleeves as they have done so many times during their eight-game unbeaten streak and set about erasing the deficit.
Less than 10 minutes after going down a goal, the Galaxy equalized on a strike by Robbie Keane from close range created by a heads-up play by Gyasi Zardes. Then in the 84th minute, Alan Gordon scored his fourth goal since rejoining the club by nodding a Keane cross in the back of the net for the game-winner.
Such comebacks have become hallmark of the Galaxy as of late as LA has taken seven points out of nine when conceding first during their unbeaten run.
“We showed a lot of character being able to come back. They played okay without being a big threat to us. [Blas Perez’ goal] was certainly a fantastic goal; you can’t take anything away from that goal,” Keane said. “It was a great header and no one’s going to stop that, so after that they were putting the pressure on us as much as they could, but we had put pressure on them for most of the game.
“Football isn’t 60 minutes, it’s 90 minutes.”
LA’s success at erasing deficits bares a stark contrast to their showing in 2013. A year ago, the Galaxy were a woeful 3-9-3 when conceding first and later saw their inability to fight back lead to demise against Real Salt Lake in the Western Conference Semifinals.
This season, the Galaxy are a more robust 3-5-5 when allowing the opening goal. At home, their record is even better as the Galaxy have compiled a 2-1-2 record at StubHub Center when trailing.
“We’ve had some easy games at home where we won big, but this was a real test. We went down and we battled,” said defender Robbie Rogers who is in the midst of his finest season with the club. “This was really good for us as we get closer to the playoffs.”
And for Gordon, who knows a little something about come-from-behind victories after his time with the San Jose Earthquakes, says the ability to erase a deficit will only help the Galaxy as they look to chase down the Supporters’ Shield.
“It’s the sign of a good team, I’ll tell you that much,” said Gordon. “Being with San Jose in 2012, that’s what we were able to do to capture the Supporters’ Shield. This team has every bit of that character, if not more. Good things happen when you can respond, deal with adversity, and come out on top.”
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog at LAGalaxy.com/Insider and contact him at LAGalaxyInsider@Gmail.com.
