LOS ANGELES – The second edition of the El Trafico derby played out much like the first, with Los Angeles Football Club, this time on their home field, racing to an early lead and the LA Galaxy battling back at the finish.
The Galaxy (10-7-4) were again able to catch their new archrivals, as Romain Alessandrini halved a two-goal deficit in the 81st minute and Ola Kamara took advantage of a horrid decision by LAFC debutant Andre Horta five minutes later to forge a 2-2 draw Thursday night at Banc of California Stadium.
But the drama wasn't quite as pleasing for the veteran club like it was back in March, when the Galaxy rallied from a three-goal second-half deficit for a 4-3 triumph.
“Of course, it's not the same feeling, because we're not winning,” Kamara said after LA's late bid for a winner came up short. “But we had that feeling in the end, like we were going for the win. I think we felt much stronger than them at the end.
“No, it didn't [feel like a win]. Of course, we're in the locker room with a better feeling than them, but when we're winning, the locker room is much more happy than we're in there now. We wanted to come here and win and take it to them in their own stadium, but I think we're going away from this game with a better feeling than them.”
That's for sure. LAFC (10-5-6) have been dominant to start both outings against their rival a dozen miles to the south, and all they've got to show for it is Thursday's measly point. Just as in March, Carlos Vela provided an early lead, and Lee Nguyen doubled it in the 20th minute. LAFC hit two posts – one by Horta after his error – and didn't concede a shot on goal until the 68th minute.
It appears the Galaxy, who have rallied from deficits to claim seven points in their last three games to push their unbeaten streak to eight, have a mental edge on their neighbors.
“They have to think that,” said Alessandrini, who finished a Zlatan Ibrahimovic cross. “When you play this kind of game, a derby, they just [joined] MLS. We have to make sure to stay the first team in Los Angeles. They have to feel that.”
The Galaxy were poor in the first half, beaten to balls in midfield and unable to penetrate LAFC's defense when they attacked. But they found their footing after halftime, especially once Chris Pontius came on in the 64th minute. That enabled Alessandrini to play wider on the left, and that width opened things up.
Ibrahimovic wasn't surprised by his team's comeback.
“I think [in MLS] everything can happen,” he said. “You lose, 2-0, 3-0, the game is in front and back, you can come up and catch them by 2-2, 3-3, and even win the game, because you will get chances. You will get chances and you will get good chances.
“The only thing you have to make sure is you score when you get those chances, and it's not like that in [other] countries I've played in. You don't get a lot of chances [elsewhere]. You get one, you get two. If you don't score on those chances, you don't win the game, and they punish you for that. But here you get a lot of chances. And today we got chances. Even if LAFC was the better team, we got chances, and we took care of those chances we got. And if we did a little bit more, we could've even won the game.”
