Galaxy erase 2-goal deficit to beat Rapids

CARSON — Nothing serves as a great wake-up call like a two-goal deficit.

For the Galaxy, their alarm finally went off in the second half of Saturday’s clash against the Colorado Rapids.

After going into halftime trailing 2-0, the Galaxy erupted for three goals, one an own goal, in the second half to steal a 3-2 win in front of 19,452 at Dignity Health Sports Park. This is the first time this season the Galaxy have won back-to-back games.

“A lot of credit goes to the guys for trusting in each other because it’s a game we won off of the press, it’s a game we won off of the commitment and trusting each other,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said. “We had to deal with some situations once we were down 2-0, but dealing with some situations, we created a lot more opportunities and forced some mistakes.”

The Galaxy (9-10-9) remain in eighth place in the Western Conference with the win, now tied with the Rapids (36 points), who are in seventh place.

The Galaxy also rallied for a 3-2 win last Saturday on the road against Minnesota United.

Before the start of their comeback, according to the live MLS standings, the Galaxy had slipped to ninth place. Then came the rally and furious comeback.

“For me, it definitely is in the category of beautiful soccer,” Vanney said. “It was a game of just the commitment and disruption and create our own luck through the hard work and press. Just proud of the guys for digging in.”

Justin Haak completed the comeback with a header off of a corner kick in the 74th minute. Eight minutes prior, João Klauss intercepted an errant pass by Colorado goalkeeper Nico Hansen for an easy tap-in for the equalizer at 2-2. Klauss also had a role in the Galaxy’s first goal, but the ball went in off of Colorado defender Reggie Cannon in the 53rd minute.

“The first half was very bad, I didn’t think we could get close to them,” Haak said. “In the second half, we showed the spirit how to fight and after the first goal, you really could feel the energy in the stadium and I think the fans had a big impact on the game today.

“2-0 is not a terrible scoreline and at that point, it was about just getting to halftime (to regroup).”

Midway through an eight-minute stoppage time, Erik Thommy nearly put the game away, but his shot from inside the 18-yard box sailed just over the bar, leaving the result in doubt for a few more minutes. The Rapids had a pair of late corner kick attempts, but the Galaxy defended them and were finally able to exhale and celebrate the win.

The second half was certainly a different experience for the Galaxy than the first.

The Rapids took advantage of some poor 1-v-1 defending, scoring two goals for a 2-0 lead, which they took into halftime. In the fourth minute, Donovan Phillip beat Galaxy defender Jakob Glesnes in space and scored past goalkeeper J.T. Marcinkowski. In the 39th minute, Paxten Aaronson was able to shed defender Lucas Calegari and then had an easy finish to make it 2-0.

“I looked up and it was four minutes and we had barely touched the ball,” Marcinkowski said. “Every team around the word says, start strong the first five minutes, start strong the first 10 minutes for we didn’t do that today for whatever reason, they were on top of us early, but it was such a long game, there’s ebbs and flows to every game.”

The Galaxy were a bit shorthanded on the night, with Hirving “Chucky” Lozano with the Mexican national team, who kicked off the international break with a 1-1 draw against Colombia in Baltimore, Maryland. Lozano was in the starting lineup and was subbed off in the 64th minute. Also, Joseph Paintsil missed his fourth consecutive game due to a thigh injury.

Klauss, who was making his first start since returning from his foot injury and surgery, was subbed off in the 84th minute.

The Galaxy will return to MLS play Oct. 11 on the road against St. Louis City SC. The week prior, the Galaxy will host Liga MX club Cruz Azul, Oct. 4 in a friendly. The Galaxy now have six regular season games remaining.