COMMERCE CITY, Colo.—If any team can secure points on the road in Colorado, it’s the LA Galaxy. But it didn’t happen this time around.
Seeking a third-straight win at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, the Galaxy looked primed to secure at least a point on Saturday night, shutting out the hosting Colorado Rapids for over 94 minutes of action.
But Marco Pappa’s goal at the death helped the Rapids secure all three points with a 1-0 victory, in what was otherwise a solid defensive effort by LA.
“We did it for 95 minutes, and it just wasn’t quite enough, which was frustrating,” said Galaxy goalkeeper Brian Rowe, who made seven saves in relief of an injured Dan Kennedy. “We were close to getting that shutout, which I thought we deserved. Just closing out those final seconds and staying sharp until the end is something we’re going to have to do, especially on the road this year.”
LA Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena said after the game that he thought five minutes of stoppage time was expansive, while also lamenting the external conditions his team faced on the road.
“The wind was bad,” Arena said. “You see how many balls were out of bounds, hit to the goalkeeper. It was difficult.”
It proved to be the deciding factor on the penultimate play of Saturday’s game, according to Galaxy center back Daniel Steres.
“The wind spun [the ball] up in the air, so it had a lot of spin on it. I just didn’t get under it on the right side. I just tried getting it up and out. It happened to fall right where [Pappa] was,” Steres said.
As a result, the Galaxy walked away with only disappointment from their trip to the Centennial State, instead of a crucial point in the Western Conference race.
“Let’s be fair, it was a crappy game,” Arena said. “The conditions with the altitude and the wind; it was a crappy game. In all fairness, you walk off with a point and that’s it. A point on the road is always nice and our guys deserve better.”
