"A Huge Opportunity Lost”; LA Galaxy Held to Draw by 10-Man Portland Timbers
LA played up a man for 70 minutes but couldn’t find a winner, settling for a 1–1 draw in Portland.
The LA Galaxy’s quest to get a road win will have to continue following a 1-1 draw against the Portland Timbers on Sunday.
Kristoffer Velde scored the opening goal with a low-driven shot in the 13th minute, getting past JT Marcinkowski, who made his first MLS start of the season.
The turning point of the match came in the 20th minute as Portland’s Kamal Miller was given a red card following a VAR review. His tackle on the Achilles of Joao Klauss was what led referee Drew Fischer to send off Miller.
With the man advantage, the Galaxy’s momentum grew and eventually found the equalizer. In the 30th minute, Klauss scored his fifth goal of the season as Marco Reus’ sublime control in the box set up the Brazilian striker to get a quality look in front of goal.
Despite being up a man for 70 minutes, the Galaxy couldn’t find the breakthrough to lead the match. LA controlled the game with the ball and outshot Portland 22 to eight in the match.
Looks from Klauss and Gabriel Pec during the second half could’ve been the breakthrough, but they were unsuccessful. The draw is not the ideal result for the LA Galaxy. With a man advantage and Portland surrendering the ball, the G’s squandered a chance to get all three points.
“It’s a huge opportunity lost,” said Head Coach Greg Vanney to reporters.
“The amount of time that we were up and we were into some really good positions and we don’t take advantage of some of those situations.”
Midfielder Edwin Cerrillo added to that feeling, saying, “We played up a man for like 60 minutes, and even with 11, we should be expected to win... every time we don’t do so, the feeling is disappointment.”
“I think if we’re just okay with tying today and getting something away from home just because we had a long week, I think that sets the standard way too low for us,” said Cerrillo.
The Timbers played in a low-block for most of the game and forced LA to be calculated in breaking the team down. This is something that Vanney wants to see his players improve on.
“When you play against a lower block, the spaces are so, so thin, and the time edges are so small,” said Vanney. He emphasized in the press conference that the players need to focus on being less selfish and capitalize on these moments as a unit.
“When we get into the final action, it doesn’t have to be me who makes the play, it has to be us who makes the play. It has to be the best guy in the best position who has the best chance to help the team be successful.”
“Sometimes it’s about sacrificing yourself on a run to create space for the next guy, and recognizing that I’m the guy that needs to sacrifice myself in the situation….these are details when you play against a lower block that are much more important,” added Vanney.
Reus led the team with seven chances created in the match. His wealth of experience going up against teams in low blocks is something Vanney highlighted to reporters.
“This is a game where you need a Marco Reus, because he does understand how to manipulate time and space and make good decisions and how to deceive on a pass... or feed the ball at the exact, precise moment that someone needs it."
“He's not going to beat people on the dribble and go on these runs and really, really speed up the game. But he is somebody who can find a pass, show quality, do all these kinds of things that are unique to him,” added Vanney.
The Galaxy is now winless in three regular-season games heading into the international break. Cerrillo made it clear that those types of results aren’t enough, even though the season is still young.
"We know we're the Galaxy, and we have to hold each other to a higher standard,” he said
“That mentality is what we have in the locker room."