CARSON, Calif. – The LA Galaxy advanced to the U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 on Wednesday, but the mood was anything but jovial in the team’s locker room after their 4-1 extra time victoryover USPL side La Máquina FC.
In fact, the Galaxy were down right frustrated by their performance.
Sebastian Lletget scored a brace while Jose Villarreal and Dave Romney also added goals for a Galaxy side that played 103 minutes down a man after Rafael Garcia’s first-half red card. Edwin Barboa scored the lone goal for La Máquina off a defensive miscue by the Galaxy in the 28th minute.
“[It was] very frustrating. Obviously, these games are always tough I think, and we haven’t fared well in the past in this tournament. I thought we came out pretty well up until the red card, and then obviously I mess and cost us a goal,” admitted defender A.J. DeLaGarza whose failed clearance led to the amateur side’s only goal. “After that red card, I think we kind of fell down a little bit until we got scored on. After we got scored on, we picked it up again and started pressing again... I thought we did well for most parts of the night.”
After the two sides traded goals in the first half, the 10-man Galaxy found themselves in a dogfight with a La Máquina side supported by a vocal traveling crowd and desperate to earn a result against the MLS squad. The amateur side’s defensive organization helped them take the game to extra time, but in the additional 30 minutes, the Galaxy’s superior quality showed through.
In the 96th minutes, the Galaxy capitalized on a moment of confusion as a quickly-taken Baggio Husidic free kick set up Romney’s eventual game-winning goal. Up a goal against a tiring amateur side, the superior fitness of the Galaxy proved decisive as Sebastian Lletget bagged a five-minute brace shortly thereafter.
Despite the eventual 4-1 win, the Galaxy know they have to improve if they want to go far in the tournament.
“We certainly didn’t make things easy for ourselves. We played, in regulation, 73 minutes with 10 players and then add another 30 onto it. That’s not a smart way to play any game,” Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena said. “We certainly had our chances to score more than one goal in 90 minutes, and you know, we sent it into extra-time. Clearly we were going to get a goal at some point to win this game, but we sure took our time.”
Added Lletget, “I think in those types of games you always get surprised, it doesn’t matter how ready or how professional you are before the game. Those teams are always going to give that extra 10 percent, and we just have to match it, and that’s our job, and we have to be professional. Fortunately enough, it worked out for us in the end.”
The Galaxy learn their Round of 16 opponent on Thursday and will be looking for smoother passage into the quarterfinals.
“We don’t have any exhibitions this summer or Champions League. We need to focus on this and MLS, so we need to take it serious,” DeLaGarza said. “I think, for the most part, we took it serious tonight; we just didn’t have enough of the final product.”
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog atLAGalaxy.com/Insiderand contact him atLAGalaxyInsider@Gmail.com
