Photos courtesy of the LA Galaxy.
Rayan Raveloson has been a revelation for the LA Galaxy.
The odds were certainly against the LA Galaxy on Wednesday night.
Playing on the road in a midweek game against a Real salt Lake side in the thick of the playoff race in altitude was certainly a challenge for the Galaxy, and early on, the Galaxy looked like it might come up short, as they fell behind by two goals by the 27th minute.
Instead, the Galaxy stayed resilient, getting a goal back late in the first half curtesy of Victor Vazquez, then catching RSL in the second half with a strike from Rayan Raveloson, and what had the makings of a miserable night turned into a satisfying result for the Galaxy following its 2-2 draw at Rio Tinto Stadium.
“We showed a lot of determination,” Galaxy defender Julian Araujo said of the team’s fight. “Coming into this game at the beginning of the game we knew we wanted to come in and win. We didn’t want to lose today, we wanted to get a point or three points. What was on our mind was three points, and we didn’t get the three points, but we’ll go home, and we’ll be happy with one point.”
Trailing 2-0 well into the first half, the Galaxy got a goal back in the 33rd minute. Sacha Kljestan fought off Pablo Ruiz to maintain possession for the Galaxy, Kljestan then played a ball to Samuel Grandsir, who took a few touches before he played Vazquez into the penalty area, Vazquez gathered himself and shot a left-footed volley that sailed past keeper David Ochoa into the upper corner net far post to cut into the RSL lead.
RSL took the lead into halftime, but the Galaxy continued to apply the pressure in the second half. Vazquez fired a left-footed shot similar to his first half goal, but the shot instead bounced off the far post, the ball fell to Kevin Cabral, who had an open net on his left side and Ochoa still on the ground, Cabral however sent the shot wide right. The Galaxy however did get that equalizing goal in the 77th minute, as Araujo took a ball from Derrick Williams, crossed into the penalty area and Raveloson headed the ball past Ochoa into the back net to tie the game.
“The compete level and the bounce back after what was a tough start, and not playing great in the last game, and they came back and really, I thought they stood up for themselves tonight,” Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney Said.
Real Salt Lake took control of the match early in the first half, getting a goal just nine minutes in, as Albert Rusnak received a cross from Aaron Herrera and blasted a shot from near the penalty spot past keeper Jonathan Bond into the back net. Salt Lake made it a two-goal lead in the 26th minute, as Maikel Chang took a pass from Rubio Rubin, dribbled forward, cut inside and bided his time before firing a shot that beat Bond near post to widen the RSL lead.
The framework was also a factor in the match. Aside from Vazquez’s shot, RSL had a chance to steal three points in the 94th minute, as Rusnak sent a corner kick into the penalty area, Bond punched the ball away, but Anderson Julio sent a header that floated over Bond, only to see it hit off the crossbar and back into play, and the Galaxy narrowly avoided the same fate that befuddled its crosstown rival LAFC, who lost to the Portland Timbers on a goal at the death, but it was the crossbar that kept the Galaxy from losing in almost the same fashion.
The Galaxy are back on the road on Saturday night against FC Dallas.
