LA Galaxy Beat Amateur Club La Máquina In Extra-Time
- Updated: June 15, 2016
The LA Galaxy defeated amateur side La Máquina at StubHub Center in the fourth round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
La Máquina plays in the United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) and are based in Santa Ana, California, which is about an hour south of the StubHub Center in Carson.
The Galaxy lined up with a mixture of first team players and reserve players from LA Galaxy II. Among the players to come from the so-called “Los Dos” was Clement Diop, who started in goal for the Galaxy.
#LAGalaxy XI: Diop; Sorto, DLG, Leonardo, Romney; Mendiola, Garcia, Larentowicz, Boateng; Villarreal, Gordon pic.twitter.com/xafLzEgWPD
— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) June 15, 2016
The Galaxy scored their first goal of the game after a cross from Raul Mendiola on the right side made it all the way across the box to Jose Villarreal, who put home the cross with his chest. The former UCLA striker did not celebrate the goal, most-likely due to respect to the opponents.
In the 17th minute, Rafael Garcia was sent off after a dangerous two-footed, stud-showing tackle as the midfielder dove over the ball and into Rosendo Castro of La Máquina. The red card was warranted and Garcia exited the field with his head hung low.
The 10-men Galaxy conceded in the 28th minute after captain AJ DeLaGarza attempted to head back a ball to Diop, but the header fell short and Edwin Borboa capitalized. The 33-year-old, who once played for the Chivas Guadalajara, Club León, and Pachuca in Liga MX, celebrated in front of the traveling fans along with a bulk of his teammates. The visitors were playing with pace and confidence, but the Galaxy continued to hold possession.
Just before the end of the first half, Emmanuel Boateng came close to taking the lead back for the Galaxy, but his shot was cleared off the line by a defender.
At halftime, the Galaxy and La Máquina were tied 1-1, and with 45 minutes to go, both sides were in search for a winning goal.
In the second half, Alan Gordon found himself in positions to score twice, but was unable to capitalize on either occasion. Jack McBean and Baggio Husidic entered the game for the Galaxy for Alan Gordon and Jeff Larentowicz respectively.
The Galaxy did not have a challenging attack for a long period of time, in which Sebastian Lletget entered the game for Boateng. McBean had a quick chance in the 84th, but saw his shot go wide of the right post.
Nothing more came for either side in the 90 minutes, and the game headed to extra time tied at 1. The 10-men Galaxy had the advantage due to the simple fact that the team trains for scenarios like these whereas La Máquina’s players are amateurs and not fit for the extra 30 minutes.
The Galaxy had the first chance of the extra time period as McBean took a ball down to the right byline and crossed it in front of goal but Villarreal could not direct it towards goal. He then earned a free kick on the edge of the area, and things got interesting.
Husidic took a quick free kick while Villarreal was getting stretched out by McBean, the ball made its way to Dave Romney, who slipped home the ball for the easy 2-1 lead.
— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) June 15, 2016
The Galaxy continued to attack and Lletget was brought down for a penalty, this time there was no controversy around the call. Lletget stepped up and slotted away the penalty to his right while Luis Sosa dove the other way.
The second half of extra time kicked off with the Galaxy ahead 3-1. La Maquina was gassed, and the Galaxy began to focus on possession and closing out the game without any injuries.
As both teams slowed down, Lletget curled a left-footed shot around Sosa to increase the lead to 4-1. The final whistle sounded as the Galaxy escaped potential catastrophe and move on to the fifth round of the U.S. Open Cup.
The Galaxy take on Toronto FC on Saturday June 18 at BMO Field in Toronto, Canada in the first game back of MLS following the short international break.
Stay with us at Calisportsnews.com as we will keep you up-to-date on all things LA Galaxy and the rest of the LA sports teams! All Cali, all the time!
(Photo credit: Stephanie Romero and Jon Lorentz) from the official LA Galaxy website
Related Posts
About Shawn Medow
