CARSON, Calif. – The LA Galaxy trailed the New York Red Bulls by a pair of goals in the second half Sunday at StubHub Center, and head coach Bruce Arena was desperately searching for a reversal in fortunes.
He found it in the form of three well-timed substitutions who kicked off a spirited comeback that resulted in a 2-2 tie in front of an enthusiastic crowd of 25,671.
Baggio Husidic came on for Jeff Larentowicz in the 64th minute, but it was the insertion of Mike Magee (for Sebastian Lletget) and Emmanuel Boateng (for Nigel de Jong) 11 minutes later that appeared to jump-start a struggling offense.
Magee was particularly effective in scoring the Galaxy’s first goal with an easy tap-in right in front of the New York net after a nice combination involving a crossing pass from Giovani Dos Santos and a short header by Steven Gerrard. Magee scored from point-blank range – “Even the (Galaxy) Insider would have finished it,” he joked to a reporter – and Ashley Cole scored in the 89th minute to salvage the unlikely draw.
“He’s a goal scorer,” Galaxy defender A.J. DeLaGarza said of Magee. “Whether he comes in off the bench or starting, playoffs especially, he knows how to get the job done.”
Magee now has six goals and four assists in 22 games, including 13 starts. His appearances lately have been brief – aside from a 19-minute relief role last weekend in Seattle he had stints of one, five, 10 and two minutes in the four previous games – and his last start was June 25 against San Jose, but he continues to have a flair for the dramatic when he’s called upon.
“Obviously he scored the goal to get us back in the game,” head coach Bruce Arena said. “He did a good job. Both teams obviously were pretty tired in the last 15-20 minutes, and I think fresh legs made a difference.”
Magee downplayed his impact Sunday.
“Today luckily was my turn to pitch in and get a goal,” he said. “When you see the guys we have on the field you believe in them. You know it’s going to turn around at some point.”
In fact, he said he believed it would.
“We’ve proven that,” he said. “I think that’s one of the most important things. We obviously have the quality. Our defense has been lights-out lately. Our attacking players are great. We’ve got the fight in us and the competitiveness, which I know we do.
“I think that’s the piece we have to bring every game. If we get that part right, the rest is already there.”
Magee said Sunday’s hard-earned draw could work in the Galaxy’s favor in the long run.
“You need results like this,” he said. “I’m not going to say I feel fortunate, or anything like that. But at the end of the year you gotta look back and there’s going to be games where things don’t go your way and guys aren’t on.
“You find a way to get a point, and those games add up.”
