LA Galaxy steal 106th Cali Clásico down a man as Paintsil scores needed goal.
MAX NELSON
In the 106th edition of the California Clásico, all hope for the LA Galaxy seemed lost after Lucas Sanabria’s red card at the end of the first half until Joseph Paintsil delivered a goal in the 79th minute, giving the Galaxy a 1-0 lead they would not relinquish.
The Galaxy (6-7-8) improved to 10th place in MLS’s Western Conference with the victory Wednesday night. San Jose (10-3-7) remained one point behind third-place LAFC despite the loss.
Paintsil, during a postgame press conference first thanked his teammates on both sides of the ball for helping create his go-ahead tap-in before saying the first thing that came to his mind after scoring.
“I was like, ‘Hell yeah,’” Paintsil said during the postgame press conference. “I hope the time is even up so that we can just finish this game as soon as possible.”
Paintsil specifically credited young right back and Galaxy homegrown Harbor Miller for his passion throughout the game and for the pass that led to his goal.
Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney said that in chats with Paintsil, the designated player has expressed disappointment with his missed opportunities this season.
“I’m happy for him, because it’s a confidence thing, you know?” Vanney said. “He really helped the team tonight by getting that goal and he can take pride in that and hopefully continue to build off of it as we go to the next one and the next one.”
That is not to say the Galaxy “deserved” to win, however.
The Earthquakes generated 2.38 expected goals (xG) and seven big chances, but former Earthquake and now Galaxy goalkeeper J.T. Marcinkowski stood on his head to keep the Galaxy in the game.
San Jose finished the first half with 1.11 xG on three shots before Sanabria received his second yellow card and was sent off.
Despite playing with a man down, the Galaxy generated 1.06 xG in the second half, compared to 0.30 xG in the first half, because they had more chances to play forward.
The Galaxy played with house money and stole a Clásico from a struggling San Jose.
KEY STATISTICS + NUMBERS
2.38 xG
The Earthquakes generated 2.38 expected goals (xG) and seven big chances, but former Earthquake and now Galaxy goalkeeper J.T. Marcinkowski stood on his head to keep the Galaxy in the game.
1.11 xG
San Jose finished the first half with 1.11 xG on three shots before Sanabria received his second yellow card and was sent off.
1.06 xG
Despite playing with a man down, the Galaxy generated 1.06 xG in the second half, compared to 0.30 xG in the first half, because they had more chances to play forward.
(6-7-8)
The Galaxy (6-7-8) improved to 10th place in MLS’s Western Conference with the victory Wednesday night.
Paintsil was the Galaxy's only DP for four games following the departure of Gabriel Pec and had been waiting for more attacking support.
Enter former Celtic star Kyōgo Furuhashi and new DP winger Hirving “Chucky” Lozano of Mexican national team fame, who energized the Galaxy attack against the Earthquakes.
Furuhashi debuted at home against FC Dallas on Aug. 1 and has featured as a starter at Houston and against San Jose. Lozano debuted at Houston as a substitute in his first game since being benched by San Diego FC and played 68 minutes in his first start at home.
With Lozano and Furuhashi in the starting lineup, German legend Marco Reus moved out of the false nine spot and dropped deeper into midfield, where he could find through balls for the forwards.
This new-look attack generated a game-leading seven shots on target despite only having 37% possession throughout the game.
With the win, the Galaxy broke a six-game winless streak going back to May 16 in a 3-0 win over the Seattle Sounders. This was also their first home win since April 26 against Real Salt Lake.
Vanney said winning at home is important for multiple reasons.
“So, for a lot of reasons, the low hanging fruit for us is this place has to be where we take three points all the time,” Vanney added. “We have to take more pride in, we have to show more character like we did tonight and execute so that we’re taking three points out of this building and sending our fans happy home every time we play in this building. That is the objective and that is where we should be.”
The end of a six-game winless streak, a strengthened offense and a needed home victory could provide momentum for a Galaxy team looking to return to the playoffs.
NEXT UP: AWAY VS CF MONTRÉAL
AT 12:43 LISTEN TO GREG VANNEY RESPOND TO EXC1TE MEDIA REPORTER MAX NELSON ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF HOME WINS.
VIDEO SOURCE: LA GALAXY
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