By Wendy Pintor
LA wins 1-0 Shutout Victory on the Road to Real Salt Lake, who loses for the first time in 16 Major League Soccer game at America First Field on Saturday Night. Galaxy win third consecutive match in the span of seven days, with Gabriel Pec scoring game-winning goal.
Pec's scores in the 76th minute with that he seals his sixth goal of the year also marked his 10th goal contribution in his past nine matches after a relatively slow start to his first MLS season. It came as the Galaxy (10-3-7, 37 points) played their third straight match without injured midfielder Riqui Puig, but LA has gone 3-0-0 during that stretch.
Salt Lake (10-3-7, 37 points) saw MLS leading goal scorer Cristian Arango exit the match before halftime with an apparent head injury. Without Arango, who has 16 goals on the season, Real Salt Lake missed a chance to extend their club-record unbeaten streak. They were held scoreless for the second time in three matches following a nine-match stretch in which they scored 25 times.
Diego Fagundez played the ball forward to Dejan Joveljic, who then slotted a first-touch pass to his left into the path of Pec's run down the flank. Pec darted onto the ball and sent a low finish past goalkeeper Zac MacMath, who dove to try and make a save but came up empty. Arango exited the match in the 21st minute after a scary looking collision with Galaxy defender Martin Caceres, with Arango reportedly requiring stitches after the incident.
Caceres also departed the match, with both players leaving via the league's concussion protocol. In the second half, MacMath saved a Joseph Paintsil shot at point-blank range in the 51st minute. Minutes later, Andres Gomez struck the crossbar on the other end of the field for the hosts on a first-time volley attempt.
Fagundez then forced MacMath into a comfortable stop on a free kick before Mark Delgado fired wide left following a feed from Fagundez in transition.
“I mean, we knew the third game in a week in RSL (Real Salt Lake) at altitude was always going to be a challenge, just a physical challenge. We had to rotate some guys for varying reasons. The guys that stepped up stepped in and did what they needed to do. You know, Tucker (Lepley) did the job on the defensive side. He did the work that he needed to do to help us in possession. Just keep us solid. He helped keep us solid for the 45 minutes that he was out there and shortened the game for Mark (Delgado) to come in and help us for the next 45. Other guys just continued to step up. It's been a really big week for the group. It's just it's the first time, I know it's been out there, the first time we have won three in a row since I've been here. So that's something we wanted to accomplish this week, actually moving up the table, and now we are tied for first in the west, something we wanted to accomplish this week. So just really proud of these guys because this is not an easy place to come, and they gritted it out and did the job and did the work they had to do.” Added Coach Vanney
But Fagundez's next key pass would ultimately help free Pec for his match-winning goal and allow LA to stay in third place in the bracket. Galaxy will take on San Jose Earthquakes in 101st edition of Cali Clásico at Stanford Stadium on Saturday, June 29 at 7:30 p.m. PT on MLS Season Pass
“For everybody, it's special that it's three in a row. It's crazy to go back a long week and win two games and lose one. To finally break that little streak, it's nice. I think it shows how much work we wore trying to put out there on the field and how much it means to everybody. Not one player didn't leave a hundred percent on the field. So that's a huge part. Being in this league this long, we know that this half of the season is the toughest. So showing all that hard work and everything, it means a lot to all of us.” Said Fagundez on the significance on last nights win.
Comentários