The LA Galaxy snapped a 350-minute scoreless streak in MLS regular season play on Saturday to win their second home game of the year, by a 3-0 margin over the Colorado Rapids at StubHub Center.
LA's last home win in the league came on Apr. 7 against Montreal, although their home record (2-8-4) remains the worst in the league this year.
LA took the lead in the 18th minute, after Gyasi Zardes was clattered over in the box by Colorado goalkeeper Zac MacMath, and Romain Alessandrini converted the resulting penalty. Five minutes later, Emmanuel Boateng doubled the Galaxy's lead with a one-timer in the box.
Zardes notched his first goal of the 2017 season after the restart, poking in Alessandrini's cross to make it a rout for the home side.
Goals
Three Things
- VETERAN BOOST: The Galaxy dominated the game wire to wire, and two players who missed the last game made a big difference on the night. Alessandrini set the tone through the first half with his skill and workrate, and a goal and assist was fair return on his efforts on the night, while Jermaine Jones played possibly his best game in a Galaxy jersey. Against his old side, Jones maintained a steady, disciplined shift that lacked in fireworks but helped prevent the Rapids from getting any kind of momentum. The return of the duo may not solve all of LA's problems, but at the very least it certainly helped in this game.
- THE BREAKTHROUGH: The hope has to be that Zardes will gain some traction with this performance to finish the season strong. After a broken foot ended his 2016 season prematurely and a knee injury sidelined him during the US national team's annual January camp, Zardes had to wait to get back in action. And through 17 league appearances this year, he had yet to find the back of the net, leading to criticism from head coach Sigi Schmid that the team lacked a center forward. The goal scored against the Rapids (to go with an assist in setting up Boateng's tally) may or may not kickstart an uptick in form, but on his birthday of all days, it has to be a pretty great present.
- GENTLE WAVES: For all of the accolades the Galaxy will get on the night, the Rapids put in a remarkably sluggish performance. The teams ended up even on shots, 10 apiece, and Colorado edged LA in possession, with 51.8 percent, but they seldom controlled the ball in dangerous positions and a general lack of ideas seemed to plague them in attack. Newcomer Stefan Aigner made his debut for the Rapids in coming off the bench in the second half, but it was a "back to the drawing board" kind of game, not least considering the Galaxy's struggles at home this season.
Next Up
- LA: Sunday, Sept. 10 – at Seattle (9 pm ET | FS1, FOX Deportes; MLS LIVE in Canada)
- COL: Saturday, Sept. 9 – at Houston (8:30 pm ET | MLS LIVE)
LA Galaxy Postgame Notes
LA Galaxy 3, Colorado Rapids 0
Saturday, Sept. 2, 2017 – 8:00 p.m. PT
2017 MLS Regular Season
StubHub Center – Los Angeles, Calif.
Scoring Summary:
LA – Romain Alessandrini (Penalty) 18’
LA – Emmanuel Boateng (Assisted by Gyasi Zardes) 23’
LA – Gyasi Zardes (Assisted by Romain Alessandrini) 56’
Misconduct Summary:
None
Lineups:
LA Galaxy: Jon Kempin; Bradley Diallo, Dave Romney, Daniel Steres, Ashley Cole; Romain Alessandrini (Raul Mendiola 90’), João Pedro, Jermaine Jones ©, Emmanuel Boateng (Jose Villarreal 84’); Bradford Jamieson IV (Jack McBean 71’), Gyasi Zardes.
Substitutions not used: Brian Rowe, Hugo Arellano, Rafael Garcia, Jack McInerney
Head Coach: Sigi Schmid
TOTAL SHOTS:10; SHOTS ON GOAL: 6; FOULS: 14; OFFSIDE: 1; CORNER KICKS: 7; SAVES: 2
Colorado Rapids: Zac MacMath ©; Eric Miller, Kortne Ford, Marlon Hairston, Axel Sjoberg; Mohammed Saeid, Luis Gil (Stefan Aigner 72’), Shkelzen Gashi (Joshua Gatt 58’); Kevin Doyle (Dillon Serna 27’), Dominique Badju
Substitutions not used: John Berner, Jared Watts, Mike da Fonte
Head Coach: Steve Cooke
TOTAL SHOTS: 10; SHOTS ON GOAL: 2; FOULS: 10; OFFSIDE: 0; CORNER KICKS: 6; SAVES: 3
Referee: Jair Marrufo
Assistant Referees: Eric Boria, Corey Rockwell
Fourth Official: Ricardo Salazar
Attendance: 17,683
