The LA Galaxy set the record for the most wins (13) and points (42) earned at home in a regular season after beating Austin FC 2-1 on Saturday night.
The win brings them closer to securing the top spot in the West and confirms Dignity Health Sports Park as an undefeated fortress in the regular season.
The LA Galaxy fought through a scrappy game against Austin FC on Saturday, October 5th.
Austin’s players came out against the Galaxy like a team playing for their lives. The Texan team absolutely needed a win to keep themselves in playoff contention and were ready to fight tooth and nail to keep their season going a little bit longer.
Having already confirmed their hosting rights for the first round of the playoffs, Greg Vanney felt at liberty to continue testing his side’s depth.
New signing Carlos Emiro Garcés started for the second game in a row over Jalen Neal, and the recently healed Gaston Brugman made his return to the starting lineup.
With Marco Reus unavailable as a precaution (Greg Vanney says he is fine and will be available in the next game against Houston), most of the pressure to carry the attack, as well as most of the hits, landed upon Riqui Puig.
Puig was a favorite target of Austin’s desperate players, and in an effort to protect himself, he earned a yellow card in the 14th minute after telling referee Ted Unkel exactly how he felt about all the hits he had taken without punishment.
The hits kept coming, but they didn’t phase Puig in the 30th minute, as he dropped a dime onto Gabriel Pec’s satin-cushioned feet following a quickly taken free kick. After receiving the ball in classy fashion, Pec once again drove at his defender, forcing a fortuitous bounce that got him in behind Austin defender Guilherme Biro.
Now facing keeper Brad Stuver, Pec capped off his fearless run with a wicked shot whipped into the bottom left corner to give the Galaxy the breakthrough and a 1-0 lead going into the break.
The second half began with Austin playing just as hard as they did in the first, but this time, their efforts were rewarded with a goal.
Unkel didn’t object in the 55th minute when Austin’s Jhojan Valencia prevented Gabriel Pec from countering by stamping on the Brazilian’s foot, giving Austin another chance to attack after their initial set piece was cleared.
In a moment of confusion from the Galaxy defense, Sebastian Driussi received a cutback unmarked, just in front of the penalty spot, and smashed the leveler into the roof of McCarthy’s net.
The game got dicier as both sides began pushing for a winner. In the 60th minute, an incident involving Mark Delgado saw the benches clear, and a couple of yellow cards left Unkel’s pockets.
The match evolved into a back-and-forth contest, and Austin’s midfield got lost in the transition, opening up space for the Galaxy to drive at them.
Gaston Brugman received a short pass for McCarthy in the 76th minute and drove through his half almost completely unopposed. He slipped a pass higher up the pitch towards Riqui Puig, who likewise had acres of space in the midfield to attack at his pleasure.
With Dejan Joveljic and Gabriel Pec both aware of the opportunity and making runs, Puig hesitated, giving Joveljic a chance to shift his run toward a slightly more advantageous position.
The hesitation created just enough space for Puig to send a threatening pass to Dejan Joveljic, who continued demonstrating his much-improved technique with a classy touch and devastating finish to restore the Galaxy’s lead with 14 minutes of regulation time to go.
The refereeing team tacked on another 12 minutes of added time, adding nothing to the scoreline but giving Austin FC’s Biro the chance to clear out Riqui Puig on the touchline pointlessly, send both benches into chaos, and earn himself a red card in the game’s dying moments.
Despite Austin’s best efforts to spoil the party, the capacity crowd of 26,574 at Dignity Health Sports Park celebrated breaking attendance records and achieving an undefeated season at the end of the night.
Greg Vanney’s LA Galaxy have once again shown that with their entire roster ready to deliver, they can achieve wins, even in circumstances they aren’t used to.
Austin pressed high and left themselves vulnerable to counters, a scenario that Vanney mentioned his team rarely encounters.
“It was actually probably good for us to have this type of game right now because the playoffs do have the potential to look something like that.”
With just one more game left in the regular season, Greg Vanney’s LA Galaxy must soon show they are deep and experienced enough to handle every situation the playoffs throw at them.
The upcoming playoff run will reveal whether Vanney’s team has grown into champions or if there are still some lessons to be learned before they can be crowned victors of the now decade-long race to seis.
PHOTO: Los Angeles Galaxy
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