The LA Galaxy were close to earning their first win of the year until a suspect penalty decision and even more suspect goalkeeping handed Orlando City SC all three points.
Christian Ramirez showed great mental resilience by scoring his fourth consecutive goal in a difficult moment and earning his place in the starting eleven, but Greg Vanney will have to quickly take a tough decision in net with Tigres coming to town in just a couple of days.
The LA Galaxy played 60 minutes of winning football against Orlando City SC on Saturday, March 29th. Miki Yamane and Christian Ramirez combined in the 13th minute to give the Galaxy their first MLS lead of the year, but the good times didn’t last as a pair of questionable decisions impacted the result.
Los Angeles seemed dominant from the first whistle, with Tucker Lepley and Diego Fagundez finding lots of success together on the left-hand side. Their play was benefited by Orlando right back Alex Freeman as he ventured up the pitch, leaving plenty of space for the pair to exploit on the left wing.
Despite looking most threatening on the left, the Galaxy ended up finding their breakthrough from the other side of the pitch through their own right back.
Edwin Cerillo picked up the ball in midfield where he spotted Miki Yamane available for a perfectly weighted cross-field pass. With Yamane recently assisting Ramirez in the previous game against Minnesota United, the pair already knew what was coming as Yamane’s first-time pass found Ramirez for a classy flick past Orlando keeper Pedro Gallese.
Christian Ramirez has now scored four goals in the last four games to become the Galaxy’s top-scorer during their troubled start. Those who have followed him throughout his career will be familiar with his goal-scoring ability, but G’s are now getting a chance to see his mental fortitude up close.
Ramirez had a difficult start to life in blue, white, and gold. He failed to score in his first four matches as he was finding his place in Greg Vanney’s system. This felt unacceptable for supporters, especially considering how Ramirez was brought in to replace Dejan Joveljic, who scored five in the team’s first five matches of 2024.
The disdain from supporters peaked when Ramirez got subbed off in the 59th minute in the 3-0 loss St. Louis City SC to a chorus of boos from the fans of his boyhood club. He didn’t let that shake him for long as he quickly turned those boos into cheers, immediately starting a goal-scoring streak that continued against Orlando.
He reflected on the moment after scoring his fourth consecutive goal, “The last time that we played here in the regular season, it wasn’t a fun afternoon for myself after being subbed out, so yeah it’s come a long way in six weeks… I can’t ask for a better place to be in the moment”.
Noise from fans can definitely be impactful, but it’s nothing when compared to the loss of a loved one. Ramirez was playing against Orlando with the knowledge that his grandfather was close to passing. After the game he shared, “It’s been a tough couple days for my family, my dad had to fly to Colombia to see his dad pass away… I knew that he was watching by his side so it was cool to score in that moment, it was a release of energy”.
The mental strength Ramirez has possessed to enjoy the personal streak he’s having now is nothing short of admirable. The LA Galaxy may be doing much better as a whole if that quality can spread throughout the rest of the team.
They did well to dominate play against Orlando in the first half but struggled to keep their foot on the gas in the second. The restart started well-enough, but things seemed to change in the 61st minute when Tucker Lepley made way for Joseph Paintsil to get his first minutes of the year.
Lepley had done a good job of working with Fagundez to keep the ball moving with the aim of controlling possession in dangerous areas during his minutes. Paintsil came in looking to contribute more directly, running at defenders on his own until forced to retreat, creating less favorable scenarios on the defensive end.
Greg Vanney was fair when assessing Paintsil’s performance after the match, admitting that he is essentially in preseason form and competing against players who are already up to speed. “For him it’s to establish a rhythm, get inside of the group and get aggressive with his plays. Sometimes he slowed down the ball, I want to see him continue to speed up the game and I think he’s going to get there”.
Unfortunately he couldn’t get there right away, and the energy that Lepley brought dissipated as clear chances became more rare. Yamane and Ramirez each finished plays with shots high and wide of the mark before Orlando’s Eduard Atuesta fabricated some contact inside the box in the 73rd minute.
Center referee Jon Freeman has earned himself a reputation as an anti-Galaxy and particularly anti-Yamane referee. Besides a lengthy series of questionable calls in this game, Freemon also gifted LAFC a penalty against Yamane back on April 6th, 2024.
History repeated itself as Martin Ojeda passed the ball down the middle of John McCarthy’s goal to bring Orlando level with 15 minutes of regulation to play.
The goal seemed to energize Orlando, who nearly found another when Atuesta smacked the right post in the 80th minute. Tired and desperate legs from the Galaxy made their attacks ineffective and compromised their defensive integrity, opening the door for City to eventually find their winner.
Freemon gave Isaiah Parente a yellow card for a non-existent foul about 30 yards from the Galaxy’s goal in the 88th minute. Luis Muriel took a long run-up and delivered a rocket of a shot towards John McCarthy. The effort looked to be at the center of goal but had a significant curl, forcing McCarthy to decide on catching the ball or punching it out for a corner.
In the end he couldn’t make up his mind and palmed the ball, allowing it to bounce into his net and give Orlando a 2-1 lead in the 90th minute.
This marks the second consecutive game that one of McCarthy’s errors has directly led to a goal, putting question marks on who the LA Galaxy’s number one should be. Novak Micovic started the season as the starter but lost the responsibility after mistakes against San Diego FC and St. Louis.
When asked about the goalkeeper situation Vanney said, “It certainly could be [fluid] if they both want to keep leaving the door open for one other…somebody needs to take ownership of it and be the guy”.
With the first round of the Concacaf Champions Cup quarter final against Tigres coming up so soon, Vanney will have limited time to decide who he wants in net for each competition. Vanney typically has his first choice keeper playing league games while giving his second choice minutes in cup competitions. That would have Micovic playing against Tigres, that is if McCarthy hasn’t lost his league spot.
It’ll be interesting to see how the goalkeeping situation develops, but it’s a small part of what the Galaxy will need to do in order to improve their season. A result against Tigres on Tuesday will be crucial for their cup ambitions and possibly even more important at reminding the team what it takes to see out a victory.
PHOTO: Andrew Hernandez//LAXSportsNation
The post RECAP: Defeat from the Jaws of Victory, LAG 1-2 ORL appeared first on Los Angeles Sports Nation.