By Debby von Winckelmann
Ashley Cole scored in the 89th minute to salvage a 2-2 tie against the New York Red Bulls on Sunday at the StubHub Center in Carson.
The LA Galaxy was lucky to extend its unbeaten streak to eight games on Sunday night, with Ashley Cole scoring the equalizer in the 89th minute for a 2-2 draw against the New York Red Bulls.
Mike Magee came off the bench and sparked the comeback, tapping in a ball that Steven Gerrard headed into the penalty area.
Cole’s first MLS goal came at a crucial moment and on the heels of his spectacular goal-line save, a split-second reaction header that was mute due to an offsides call.
“It’s always nice to score,” Cole said. “I prefer to clear them off the line, but luckily I got to do both in one game. Of course, on a personal level, it’s nice to score. But it’s more important to come out of the game with a point.”
The Red Bulls scored both of its goals in the span of six minutes, with substitute Gonzalo Veron starting the scoring with a chip shot over Galaxy goalkeeper Brian Rowe’s head in the 68th minute.
Sean Davis put the Red Bulls up 2-0, with a strike to the upper, right corner, off a perfectly-placed pass from Felipe.
The game was a wild one, with the officiating of Hilario Grajeda being questioned from very early in the game, when Gerrard went down inside the box in the fourth minute of the game. No penalty was called, and that decision seemed to set the tone for the match.
New York coach Jesse Marsch was sent off in the last few minutes of the match after arguing that penalty fouls should have been called on Rowe, for taking down Alex Muyl and Veron in the penalty area.
Marsch, who had to use all three of his substitutions for injuries, said losing the 2-0 advantage was hard to swallow.
“We’re ahead 2-0. We also have two guys on crutches. I think the game could have been…I think we could have been a man up in a few moments. But we had to make our third sub at the 46th minute and we’re just fighting like crazy to hang on. And even that being said, there’s calls at the end that could help us really gain an advantage still. But again, I have nothing but pride for my players and the way they poured their hearts and guts into the game. And that’s what makes it difficult to swallow and hard to understand.”
Galaxy coach Bruce Arena said he was impressed with his team’s ability to fight back into the match.
“I think it would have been a shame if we walked off that field losing because over 90 minutes we played pretty well,” Arena said. “We certainly made mistakes that cost us, but I think on the night we played well. And we deserved to at least get a point out of that game. I can’t be more pleased with our team and the character they showed at the end of the game to try and get back in it and get a point and maybe three points. Not an easy night. Difficult game. Both teams played real hard.”
The Galaxy are busy this week, hosting FC Dallas on Wednesday, Aug, 10 in the Semifinal match of the 2016 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup before taking on the Colorado Rapids on Saturday, August 13 at the StubHub Center.
