The LA Galaxy continue their newly discovered habit of winning with a 2-1 win against classic rivals D.C. United at Dignity Health Sports Park.
Tension on the pitch at the end of the match mirrored the tension in the stands as the supporter groups continued their silent boycott for the second game running.
The LA Galaxy looked to repeat the performance from their 3-0 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps and did so with aplomb to start this match against a struggling D.C. United.
The game started with control of nearly all the attacking momentum for the Galaxy. Early chances for Gabriel Pec and Joseph Paintsil went wide and were saved before Marco Reus got on the end of a sequence of rebounds and struck the ball home for the Galaxy’s breakthrough in the 23rd minute and his 12th goal contribution in 12 games.
The LA Galaxy continued to freely create chances into the second half. A nice combination from Matheus Nascimento and Edwin Cerillo got Pec some space to operate on the wing in the 53rd minute. He took advantage by finding Paintsil in the box. While his initial effort got blocked, the rebound fell right to Diego Fagundez, who reacted well to take a touch and find the bottom left corner.
The classy finish was Fagundez’s 77th in his MLS career. He is inching closer to joining the exclusive 80/80 club with now 77 goals and 76 assists.
He’d join the likes of Galaxy legend Landon Donovan, D.C. United legend Jaime Moreno, and most recently Portland Timbers legend Diego Valeri, who reached the milestone with a stoppage-time goal in a 3-2 loss to the LA Galaxy in 2020.
Christian Benteke came on as a sub in the 57th minute, adding a new dynamic to United’s attack. His introduction gave the Galaxy’s defense much more to think about but they still did well to clog passing lanes, block shots, and prevent clear chances for D.C. and their star striker.
United did however get their breakthrough through the combination of two Brazucas in the 77th minute. João Pedro and Gabriel Pirani linked-up with a great one-two to get Pirani in behind the Galaxy backline to score D.C. United’s first MLS goal in four games.
The goal gave United some bite that had been missing for most of the game. They gave the Galaxy some nervous moments throughout the rest of the 90 and the nine minutes of added time, but not enough to change the scoreline further.
With the 2-1 victory the Galaxy have now won three consecutive games at Dignity Health Sports Park and lifted themselves off of the bottom of the league table, just beating the Montreal Impact on goal differential.
The team put on a great performance for the 21,113 fans in attendance but have yet to rebuild the connection with their supporters groups. Dignity Health was eerily quiet all ninety minutes as they silently protested for the second game in a row. Their message is in support of the immigrant community currently being victimized by the ICE raids. They also continue to push the Galaxy to make a statement in support of the community which invests so much time, money, and other resources to support the club and create the iconic atmosphere in the stadium.
Prominent Galaxy photographer Bruce Martin II received an indefinite ban from the stadium and tailgates at Dignity Health Sports Park for allegedly participating in the protests with an “unapproved banner” at the recent Vancouver Whitecaps game. The ownership’s decision to ban one of its most diehard fans for a peaceful protest has added even more fuel to the fire of supporters who are feeling betrayed by the club choosing to be silent towards the oppression of immigrants in its community and silencing those speaking against it. Many supporters have made the decision to boycott all future games until the club speaks up in support of those who have supported them and revoked the bans to those practicing their first amendment rights.
Protests from the LA Galaxy supporters mirror those taking place for similar reasons across the country.
Chicago Fire supporter group Sector Latino has spoken up for the immigrant community in their city and as a result three of their members have received bans. In response, the club’s entire supporters section, including fellow supporter group Section 8 Chicago, protested with silence, turned their backs to the pitch for the first 15 minutes of the game, and later left the game entirely.
Minnesota United supporters have also faced repercussions for voicing their support for their communities, with one fan being asked to remove tape from their shirt with the message “no one is illegal on stolen land” while another was asked to take down their Honduras flag.
After the match, I asked Greg Vanney what his message was towards fans who want to support the team but are struggling with feeling punished for also wanting to advocate for their communities. He said:
“As I have said before, fans, I believe, have the right to take the positions that they want to take and our job is to go out and to try to win games, so that’s what we want to keep doing… and we want the fans to come and we want them to feel safe and we want them to feel like this is their club and the place they want to be and we’re trying to do our job on the field to try to help that to take place.”
Greg Vanney and his team are doing all they can to control the product on the pitch, which has improved significantly results-wise in recent games. But for the largely immigrant and immigrant-descended fans to truly feel safe and supported at the stadium, it will take a much more drastic shift in messaging from the team’s ownership and the MLS as a whole.
The LA Galaxy will host Austin FC this Wednesday, July 16th. The players should anticipate needing another complete performance to make it three wins on the bounce while fans should anticipate another silent showing from the supporters groups.
PHOTO: Andre Bannis//LAXSportsNation
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