The LA Galaxy’s game against Rocky Mountain State ended in failure in the second half, as the Colorado Rapids scored three straight goals to lose to the visiting team 4-1 on Saturday night at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
With a forward line of Gabriel Page, Josef Petterseil and Joao Kraus, the Galaxy dominated possession for a while but eventually collapsed early in the second half when Pettersill was injured and Page received a red card.
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“We came into the game with a lot of momentum,” Greg Varney said after the loss. “We’re making a difference, but we’re also playing good defense.”
The loss marked the second second-half red card, the first coming in the opener against New York, both of which also frustrated the Galaxy.
“These are lost opportunities,” Varney said. “I didn’t think we necessarily played particularly well. I thought we defended well against New York City. I thought we performed well in every aspect of the game tonight.
“Tonight was, of course, the first one where we lost points,” Varney added.
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The game remained scoreless until the 23rd minute. Colorado won the game 50/50 at midfield, with Darren Yapi getting a stop as he tagged defender Maya Yoshida and deflected the shot past goalkeeper Novak Micovic to give the Rapids a 1-0 lead.
The Galaxy responded, creating their best chance of the half in the 32nd minute. A series of sharp passes opened up the Rapids defense, allowing Peck to get his first shot in the box. Rapids goalkeeper Adam Hansen made the save and the defender cleared the rebound.
Things were going in the Rapids’ favor early in the second half.
In the 50th minute, Painthill fell to the ground with an obvious injury and was forced to leave the field. Mauricio Cuevas took his place and Pancil headed straight to the dressing room.
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Varney did not immediately update Paine Hill’s status after the game, but he was optimistic.
“He just blocked the ball with his chest and then turned around and blocked it, so it’s definitely a weird mechanism. Hopefully that shows it’s not serious.”
The Galaxy equalized six minutes later.
Page received the corner kick and passed the ball to the back post. Krause got up and headed the ball towards the goal. Hansen rewritten the score to 1-1.
Just three minutes later, the momentum shifted again.
In the 59th minute, Navarro dribbled the ball into the midfield and was brought down by Page. Page received the second yellow card of the game. The Galaxy had to get down to 10 men in the final half hour.
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“[Pec] Getting into a situation where he’s chasing… he’s got to know he’s been booked and he can’t just take that risk and make that tackle,” Varney said. “He’s got to make a better decision because that decision is going to be a second yellow card and then we lose all momentum. Then we hold on a little longer, and then it leaves us. “
Colorado took advantage of the extra man in the 76th minute. Yapi transformed into the pitcher for Manyoma, who eventually put the Rapids back in front 2-1.
“In away games, it’s difficult to score points in the first game [place]”, defender Jacob Glesness said.
“When we scored, I felt like we had momentum in the second half. But when we [got] Going down to 10 people, we knew it was going to be tough. We are trying to survive there. “
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The Rapids came into the game late. In the 85th minute, Keegan Rosenberry’s shot rebounded and Navarro scored with a supplementary shot.
Four minutes later, Navarro found space in the penalty area and fired the ball into the top corner for his second goal of the night, 4-1.
“Personally, it’s never fun conceding four goals in a game like this,” Glesness said. “We have to get better to finish with 11 guys.”
Next up, the Galaxy will look to bounce back when Jamaican side Mount Pleasant visits Dignity Health Sports Park for the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions League Round of 16 tie, with the first game scheduled for 6:30 p.m.