CARSON, Calif. – Leading by 2-1 over Minnesota United on Saturday, the LA Galaxy had the chance to finish out the game and walk away with all three points.
Instead, the club let the visitors score the equalizer and settled for a 2-2 draw. The point earned was no consolation as players said after that the result tasted like a defeat.
“You go from all high; you think you are going to finish the game strong and win it and then at the last minute (they score)… yeah it does feel like a loss to me,” Sebastien Lletget said.
The Galaxy missed an opportunity to climb into third place in the Western Conference table. Portland fell 2-0 at home to Vancouver while Sporting KC bested LAFC by the same score at Banc of California Stadium. Had the Galaxy held on, the club would have reached 38 points and stayed one point back of Sporting KC. Instead, the club is on 36 points, even with LAFC and one back of the Timbers.
The match followed the same script the club has been unfortunately accustomed to for part of the season anyway. The Galaxy scored first in last week’s 2-1 loss to Colorado.
“Two easy goals conceded,” Galaxy defender Jorgen Skjelvik said. “It happens again. We’re up, we (mess) up and they score an easy goal… These are points that we should have won.”
Still, the club can point to the previous run for inspiration. The Galaxy won four and tied one, and that draw was the club’s 2-2 come-from-behind tie at LAFC. And with Colorado visiting on Tuesday, the club’s chance for redemption will come quickly.
“We just have to shut out games. We are bleeding goals at the moment," The Norwegian defender said. "It’s something we have to shut out, but we have to keep focused and stay positive. We’ve just got to stick together and try to find our groove defensively and our organization.”
