LA Galaxy Can't Close Out Vancouver and Drop Two More Points at Home
The Galaxy led for most of the match and had a chance to win it in the 86th minute. One point doesn't feel like enough.
The LA Galaxy let the lead slip and settled for a 1-1 draw at home against the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday night. It’s a result that will feel far more like two points dropped than one gained.
Thomas Müller was absent from Vancouver’s matchday squad due to illness, removing the much-anticipated subplot of his reunion with Marco Reus. Despite that, both teams brought intensity from the opening whistle, and the match had the feel of two sides who desperately needed the three points.
The Galaxy didn’t waste any time after the halftime break. A poor ball from Vancouver goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka was intercepted by Lucas Sanabria, who fed Joseph Paintsil in behind the defense. The Ghanaian finished confidently for his second goal of the season.
LA held the lead for the majority of the match but couldn’t see it out. In the 82nd minute, Sebastian Berhalter delivered a perfectly placed cross onto the head of Mathias Laborda, who nodded home to level the score and silence Dignity Health Sports Park.
Vanney had anticipated Vancouver throwing numbers forward late and had added an extra center back to the lineup just before the free kick. The equalizer came anyway.
“We were about as big as we could possibly be in that moment, and we’ve got to be able to deal with that situation even though it happened,” said Vanney.
The Galaxy’s best chance to win it came in the 86th minute. Jakob Glesnes played a perfect through ball for Paintsil, whose cross into the box found Elijah Wynder in space but the midfielder couldn’t get clean contact, and the ball went wide without troubling the goalkeeper.
Everyone in the stadium knew what had just slipped away. It was the moment that should have made Wynder the hero of the night. Instead, it became another difficult chapter in a stretch of games where his form and confidence have visibly dipped, his minutes decreasing with each passing week.
“It was one of those great opportunities to salvage three points. We just didn’t get it done,” said Vanney.
When reporters asked Paintsil about the moment, he used his answer to go to bat for his teammate without hesitation.
“We just wish the best for him. He is a really amazing player and he can do more, he can do better, he can do extremely great,” said Paintsil.
“We believe in him. Everybody believes in him. Nobody puts any blame on him. Even if someone puts the blame on him, I’m going to fight. Because even the best players in the world miss chances. So if he misses chances, that doesn’t mean he’s not a good player. He’s an amazing player. He needs to focus on himself and believe in himself and just keep going.”
The frustration in the dressing room afterwards was palpable.
“The feeling in the locker room was not what we expected,” said Paintsil. “We wanted this victory, especially for us and for the supporters. Unfortunately, this is football. We just need to raise our heads and focus on the next game.”
If there was a silver lining on the night, it was the performance of J.T. Marcinkowski. A point-blank save in the 19th minute was the defining moment of his evening. It kept the Galaxy level at a critical juncture and maintained the confidence in the group. According to FotMob, Marcinkowski prevented 1.72 expected goals across his five saves on the night.
Vanney acknowledged that earlier in the season, those saves hadn’t been coming at the right moments.
“I felt early in the season, if I’m being honest, we probably needed a save or two here or there and it might have preserved us a couple of points,” he said. “In his last stretch of games, J.T has been able to pick up one or two of those.”
The conversation around the goalkeeper position feels settled after this performance. Marcinkowski’s shot-stopping, leadership, and composure in big moments are exactly what Vanney has been looking for from the position all season.
“JT has proven that he brings us stability, maturity, and the odd save that you need in tough games,” said Vanney. “If he’s doing that, then it’s his position to keep.”
Keeper put the team under constant pressure by sitting on the ball to try and pass the ball out for most of the first half. All that does is give the other team time to mark the players around him and force numerous turnovers. So all is accomplished is to create constant stress. This is a sickness of modern soccer that cost Vancouver too. Unless the keeper has an immediate outlet he should not do that especially given the inferior talent of his midfielders on this team that has embarrassed us for 2 years on this team. Also, Vanney messed up and subbed at the exact moment that’s against conventional wisdom: defending free kicks and corners. Another season lost. Vanney out.