LA Galaxy's 3-0 win over San Jose Earthquakes keeps the momentum rolling
Galaxy now on a four-game winning streak heading towards the Fourth of July derby match
The LA Galaxy recorded a 3-0 win over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday night providing a mix of defensive strength and a consistent offensive spark. The club extends its winning streak to four games and is in quite the groove heading the highly anticipated El Trafico matchup on the Fourth of July.
Joseph Paintsil opened the scoring for the LA Galaxy in the 37th off a dynamic counterattack. It was the first time he’d scored as a starter since Apr. 21 against the San Jose (He’s scored in all three appearances against the Quakes).
The second half saw the reintroduction of Riqui Puig after missing the last three games due to injury. His skillful run and shot hit the crossbar but Dejan Joveljic was there to put away the scraps in 72nd. The Serbian’s 12 goals this campaign is his highest tally in MLS regular season play.
LA ended the night with 21-year-old Mauricio Cuevas recording his first career MLS goal in stoppage time. The Galaxy swept the season series against the Earthquakes and are tied for first place in the Western Conference heading into Rose Bowl El Trafico later this week.
2,906 days.
That’s how long it’s been since the LA Galaxy recorded three consecutive shutouts in MLS play heading into the Cali Clasico at Stanford Stadium.
San Jose’s offense started the match on the front foot and didn’t back down despite being a goal down.
Goalkeeper John McCarthy’s multiple big saves combined with poor finishing from the Earthquakes led to LA’s clean sheet in enemy territory. According to FotMob, McCarthy prevented 1.38 goals on the night.
“His maturity back there and his capacity to come up because he did come up with a couple big saves tonight, but his capacity to come up with a save when we need it has been really strong for us,” said head coach Greg Vanney.
“You can't say too much about that, especially when you're on the road. The opposition is going to get something. There's going to be a moment here or there and when there has been, John has been there. Three shutouts is big for us.”
The Earthquakes struggled to find a clinical finish, and their biggest threats came through set pieces on the night. The Galaxy displayed its much improved defensive structure which helped the club limit good quality chances for the opposition.
“We crunched on some things in preseason. We wanted to be a good defensive team. We have a lot of attacking pieces and an attacking-minded group, but when we become a good defensive team, we have to buy into that and I think we're getting there.” McCarthy said postgame.
“We're on the right path right now.”
Speed Kills, and the LA Galaxy have found another pacey player to add to the dynamic attack being cultivated this season.
Cuevas hasn’t found many minutes at his natural position, right back, this season but he’s emerged as a winger coming off the bench in the last month.
As I asked Vanney postgame about Cuevas' progression as a winger and if he sees this being his future position, a big grin emerged on his face. His answer showed he’s excited about his potential and the versatility he adds to the group.
“I think he's a good soccer player. He's dynamic, even when he plays fullback, he's a dynamic type of fullback so with Jonny (Jonathan Perez) being down and at the time with Joe (Joseph Paintsil) not being fully healthy yet, we needed to manufacture a little bit there and he's come on and proven that he actually really understands the role and has actually proven that he can help us out there,” said Vanney.
Cuevas' pace allows him to be the direct threat on the wings as he can easily glide all across the pitch. He showed some good combination play down the left wing late in this game and it kept the Quakes on their toes until the final whistle.
A low-driven cross from Miki Yamane and a dummy by Miguel Berry led to Cuevas scoring his first Galaxy goal. The glimpses of Cuevas being an eclectic winger are there but Vanney doesn’t see this advanced role being his primary position.
“It's not going to be his primary role, but to be versatile, especially as a young player can certainly help you to get more minutes and get on the field so that's played a huge benefit for him,” said Vanney. I don't think he's a winger in his future but any minutes you can get as a young player are positive minutes and for him, these are good minutes.
The development of Cuevas has been interesting to watch this season. He can whip in a killer cross and his speed allows him to be a threat going forward while having the recovery pace when getting on the defensive end.
Doesn’t matter where he is playing, Cuevas adds a spark to the LA Galaxy attack.