CARSON, Calif. – The LA Galaxy fell prey to yet another costly lapse in concentration in their 1-1 draw with the San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday.
Los Angeles were mere minutes away from victory thanks to a Marvell Wynne own goal and seemed destined for only their second shutout of 2016. It was not to be, however, as the Galaxy conceded a late goal once again, when Fatai Alashe found the back of the net in the 87th minute to give San Jose their first point at StubHub Center since 2014.
After failing to keep a clean sheet yet again, Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena was adamant that his players must learn to close out games.
“I thought our second half we played very well. We created enough chances to score a couple of goals,” Arena said. “Then we got caught on a corner kick. Lost our concentration a little bit and [Alashe] scored and ran past three of our players. At that point in the game, we’re tired. We’ve got to concentrate and just take the three points and get out of here.”
The Galaxy’s defense looked strong for the first 87 minutes, as they were able to keep San Jose at bay thanks to an organized display and strong performances from the likes of Robbie Rogers and Nigel de Jong. Goalkeeper Brian Rowe was particularly impressive making two saves on the night, including denying a clear-cut chance from Chris Wondolowski from point-blank range.
In the end, however, it wasn’t enough as San Jose found their equalizer in the closing moments, leading Galaxy midfielder Mike Magee to describe the result as feeling like a loss.
“We were a bit lethargic. We kept mentioning to each other that we need to play with more energy. I think it came on late,” Magee said. “Sebastian came on and made a great play for us. We should have been able to close it out.”
“This is usually a game that doesn’t need much motivation or anything extra to get us going and for whatever reason, it just wasn’t there.”
Although the Galaxy dropped points on Sunday, the draw helped Los Angeles extend their unbeaten run to nine games heading into next weekend’s trip to Montreal to face the Impact. When the Galaxy take the field at Stade Saputo, they’re determined to right the ship defensively.
“I always feel like we should win, especially at home. I thought they were better than us in the first half, and in the second half I thought we were better than them,” defender Robbie Rogers said. “You could say it’s a fair result if you look at it that way, but we have to win all of our games at home. We always think we need to win; it’s the kind of mentality here. We didn’t start with the right energy, so it feels like a loss to me.”
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog atLAGalaxy.com/Insiderand contact him atLAGalaxyInsider@Gmail.com
