Twice behind, twice level: San Diego FC draw 2-2 at the Galaxy in Carson
All four goals came in the first 39 minutes in Carson on Saturday night. Joao Klauss scored in the fourth minute and Erik Thommy in the 17th for the Galaxy. Anders Dreyer converted a penalty in the 10th and Gabriel Pirani equalized in the 39th, and a scoreless second half left San Diego FC still without a win since August.
CARSON, Calif.: San Diego FC trailed twice in the first 17 minutes on Saturday night and answered twice before halftime, drawing the LA Galaxy 2-2 at Dignity Health Sports Park in a match that packed all of its scoring into the first 39 minutes and none into the last 51.
The draw moved San Diego to 8-12-10 and 34 points. The Galaxy reached 10-11-10 and 40 points, and held eighth place in the Western Conference, the first of the two wild card playoff spots, with three regular season matches left to play.
Four goals in 39 minutes
Joao Klauss opened the scoring in the fourth minute. Sergi Roberto found him in midfield, and Klauss ran straight at the San Diego defense and bent his finish inside the right post from distance. It was his ninth goal of the season in 14 regular season appearances, and Roberto's first assist as a Galaxy player.
San Diego's first answer took six minutes. Galaxy goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski fouled Cedric Bakambu, and Anders Dreyer converted the penalty in the 10th minute, his 13th goal of the season. Klauss then headed a second goal that was called back for offside, before the Galaxy retook the lead in the 17th minute: Harbor Miller crossed from the right to the back post, and Erik Thommy finished first time, with Marco Reus also credited with an assist. It was Thommy's second goal of the season and his first at home.
The second answer came in the 39th minute. A deflection off a Galaxy defender dropped the ball into Gabriel Pirani's path in the center of the penalty area, and Pirani scored his fourth goal in 10 matches to make it 2-2. Neither side scored again. Pablo Sisniega, starting for the second time this season, made seven saves for San Diego. Marcinkowski made five for the Galaxy.
A point, and a run that will not end
San Diego held the ball for long stretches, a pattern the Galaxy had planned for in their third match in six days. "We know San Diego are going to have a lot of possession." Galaxy midfielder Erik Thommy said afterward. "They want to play around, and we knew that, and we tried to find also an answer and try to counterattack them." The official box score credited San Diego with 64.6 percent of possession.
The point still extends the stretch San Diego is trying to escape. The club beat the Galaxy 3-1 at home to close out August and has not won since, going 0-4-4 across the eight matches that followed. The Galaxy, by contrast, have gone 4-2-2 since the start of September.
San Diego hosts the Seattle Sounders on Saturday at Snapdragon Stadium. The Galaxy's next match is the El Trafico derby at LAFC next Sunday, October 25.
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