CARSON, Calif. – If the first two contests this season between the LA Galaxy and LAFC delivered a similar pattern — LAFC dominating the game only for the Galaxy to come back and steal the points — Friday's 1-1 draw at StubHub Center as part of Heineken Rivalry Week was the outlier.
In fact, for the first half-hour, LAFC were clearly the second-best team on the pitch, something that drove coach Bob Bradley mad early on.
“[I was] screaming and screaming early on to find a way to get a little more control,” the LAFC boss said after the game, admitting his side were on the back foot.
“The game was choppy at the beginning. They came out hard. They go one-to-one and we weren’t finding the right passes. We played too many long balls, When a game starts fast and they’re on top of you, if you don’t move fast enough to make it the right option, if you don’t have the confidence that you can play a ball in tight space and get it to the next guy, then you tend to hesitate and you tend to play long balls and then it comes back in your face.”
In the 14th minute, Galaxy forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic brought down the ball from an Ola Kamara cross then squirted a shot with a player in Black & Gold sliding at the last moment to clear it off the line.
No, it wasn’t club captain Laurent Ciman. The Belgium center back — who’s made several memorable goal-line saves for the expansion side this season — was not even named to the 18-man roster for the club’s trip. Instead it was Brazilian Danilo Silva, recently acquired on loan, who looked to do just enough to keep the game scoreless.
But after Video Review, the goal stood, and the Galaxy did something they’ve not done in their three meetings with LAFC this season — they snatched the lead in regular time.
During that rough stretch, goalkeeper Tyler Miller came up big for the visitors and the LAFC backline did a great job of incorporating Dejan Jakovic when Silva had to be replaced in the 27th minute through injury.
“I wouldn’t say we were really struggling,” said Miller of that first half spell. “I think we were just kind of catching the tempo and how the game was flowing. The Galaxy, credit to them, they came out and they did well. They pressured us really high and they were successful early on but as the game went on we were able to turn the script a little bit, found a little more space in the middle and were able to connect some more passes.”
By keeping the game within striking distance, LAFC came out the second half feeling like they could get something out of it.
“Today, the defenders do a really good job,” said Carlos Vela of the work his teammates did to set up a chance for them to come back. “They fight a lot against two big guys and they control most of the play. I think that’s the way to be in the back.”
LAFC finally got their leveler through a Vela penalty a few minutes into the second half.
“That happens in big games, sometimes you just have to fight through whatever 20 minutes, 30 minutes, and earn the right then to play football later,” explained Bradley, who was happy with the spine his team showed against an opponent that seemed to have the psychological edge going into this match.
“The game was really tight,” said Vela. “The other two games I feel really disappointed because we missed big chances to win. Today I think it was really close for both teams to win, so today I’m not disappointed, I think the team worked hard.”
That momentum in the second half was enough for Vela, who captained his side in Ciman’s absence, to believe that if the two squads should face each other again in the playoffs, then LAFC can feel confident they could finally beat their rivals.
“Of course [we can beat them]. I believe in my team, I think we can fight against any other team in the league. We have to work hard to be in the playoffs and then it’s like another league, so we can be ready for that.”
The LAFC goalkeeper agreed with Vela and also looks forward to getting the chance to beat the Galaxy after the two draws and one loss during the regular-season series.
“Tonight, 1-1 draw, I think it was a fair result,” said Miller. “I think both teams had good chances, but at the end of the day I think this is a fair result and I’m looking forward to playing these guys again.”
