Photo courtesy of the LA Galaxy.
Samuel Grandsir, lleft, scored the goal that allowed the LA Galaxy to ultimately salvage a point against LAFC on Sunday night.
LAFC and the LA Galaxy never hesitate to differentiate themselves from one another, but both teams came into the final match of the 2021 edition of El Trafico heading in similar directions.
LAFC came into Sunday’s match on a three-game losing streak, part of an up-and-down season that has seen winning streaks followed up by winless streaks. That sort of inconsistency has left LAFC on the outside looking in in terms of the playoffs, something that would seen unfathomable for a club that has yet to miss the playoffs in its young history. The Galaxy on the other hand had not won a match in a month and a half, a span stretching eight games, and because of it, the Galaxy have gone from having basically secured a playoff spot to now being on thin ice.
Both teams surely saw Sunday’s match against each other as a springboard to getting what remains of its respective seasons back on track. However, when 90 minutes were up at Dignity Health Sports Park on Sunday evening, not much had changed for either side in the standings, though LAFC could embrace a little relief in seeing its losing streak end with the 1-1 draw.
“A hard fought game, typical of a derby,” LAFC head coach Bob Bradley said. “I thought the mentality was good, really proud of the way our team fought and competed.”
The result still leaves the Galaxy (11-11-6, 39 points) still occupying the sixth spot in the Western Conference. In fact, the Galaxy are tied points wise with Real Salt Lake for fifth in the West. However, they were unable to put any distance between them and three other teams currently behind them, LAFC included. LAFC along with Minnesota United and the Vancouver Whitecaps are all within striking distance of the Galaxy heading into the international break.
“We are approaching every game like a final now,” said LA Galaxy midfielder Victor Vazquez. “Everything is more tight, nd we feel also, of course, the pressure from the other teams that they are coming hard and they are doing this and they are doing the things right also, but we have to believe.”
Both teams did their damage early in the match. LAFC (9-12-7, 34 points) took the lead in the 11th minute, as Eduard Ateusta curled a corner kick into the penalty area and Mamadou Fall leaped over three Galaxy players to head a ball past keeper Jonathan Bond near post to give LAFC the lead. The lead however lasted just eight minutes, as Vazquez received a ball from Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez, turned forward and sprung Samuel Grandsir with a ball through the LAFC backline. Grandsir dribbled into the penalty area, drawing out keeper Jamal Blackman and Grandsir rounded Blackman and sent the shot into an empty net.
Photo courtesy of the LA Galaxy.
Since 2018, the El Trafico Derby between LAFC and the LA Galaxy has been evenly contested, and Sunday’s match was no different.
Both teams had their chances in the second half, but it was the framework that turned out to be the main foil for both teams. The first occurred in the 61st minute, as the Galaxy went short and quick on a corner kick, Grandsir sent a ball into the penalty area and Nick Dupuy headed a ball just outside the six-yard box towards goal, but it hit off the crossbar. The framework then foiled LAFC in the 62nd minute with a little help from Bond. Francisco Ginella lobbed a ball to Jose Cifuentes, who then deked Sega Coulibaly, dribbled into the penalty area and played a ball back to a trailing Ginella, but Ginella’s one-timer at goal was parried by Bond enough to guide it off the crossbar and back into play. The framework was a factor one more time in the 72nd minute, as Jonathan Dos Santos sent a ball into the penalty area and Sebastian Lletget sent a header for the far post area, but the ball instead bounced off the top of the far post.
“I still think some of our final actions have to be tidy or we have to have better choices,” said LA Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney. “Our runs can be a little bit cleaner, the timing can be better. I think we are getting into good spots, but we have got to get more things on the goal, we have to make the goalkeeper make more saves, right, and we have to put more pressure on the net.”
