CARSON, Calif. – Bruce Arena asked his players to be “selfish” heading into their match with Columbus Crew SC and they delivered with two fantastic strikes in the LA Galaxy’s 2-1 win on Saturday.
Baggio Husidic and Giovani dos Santos found the back of the net for the Galaxy in the second half to help Los Angeles snap their six-game winless streak and register their first win since July.
Both goals involved a little resourcefulness on the part of the two goal scorers, but it was Husidic’s long-range bomb that was most emblematic of Arena’s orders earlier in the week.
“At first, when I got it and took a touch forward, I wasn’t going to shoot it, I just took a touch to cross the ball and find someone. But it just played out perfectly, and I took a chance. We’ve been talking about it all week, to be a bit selfish and shoot the ball, and I did.”
Added Arena, “It was going to take a special play by someone to win the game. And in my book, I’d still like to consider Baggio’s goal as the game-winning goal, but I think it was a fantastic goal obviously.”
It took the Galaxy over 78 minutes to find the back of the net, but the team displayed a far greater sense of urgency in front of goal than recent matches. Most of the Galaxy’s attacking play came from Sebastian Lletget, who drove forward the central midfield position.
The breakthrough finally came in the 78th minute when Husidic delivered his blast and again four minutes later when Dos Santos chipped Columbus goalkeeper Steve Clark after capitalizing on a Columbus turnover. Although the Crew added a late consolation goal in stoppage time, the Galaxy were pleased with the effort and intensity on Saturday.
“We needed that win. Everyone gave their best today, and I think we deserved to win,” Dos Santos said. “I think in this team every player is important. Everyone who played today did an incredible job I think. We have to continue and keep working like that.”
With the win, the Galaxy now sit tied for second place in the Western Conference with Real Salt Lake and the Colorado Rapids, just eight points behind Supporters’ Shield leaders FC Dallas and with a game in hand.
As the team turns their attention to the crucial match with Salt Lake on Wednesday at Rio Tinto Stadium, Husidic believes the Galaxy must keep up the intensity.
“This is usually the time of year where the LA Galaxy ramp it up,” Husidic said. “Hopefully, we get on a good run. It’s all about momentum in MLS, and hopefully, this will give us momentum going forward.”
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog atLAGalaxy.com/Insiderand contact him atLAGalaxyInsider@Gmail.com.