CARSON, CA (June 22, 2016) – For the home side, it was another uninspiring home game in which they didn’t score. For the road side, it was a draw that kept their streak going without their best weapons. The LA Galaxy and Colorado Rapids played to a 0-0 draw at StubHub Center on Wednesday night.
LA Galaxy Scoreless Streak Continues In Lackluster Draw
Both sides were playing with make shift lineups due to international call ups and having played Saturday games. The LA Galaxy were once again without Robbie Keane and Gyasi Zardes. The Rapids were without Jermaine Jones and Shkelzen Gashi.
Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena started Jack McBean up top, who had just re-signed with the club from their USL affiliate. Rapids head coach Pablo Mastroeni was able to start Marco Pappa, who is still recovering from an injury. Marlon Hairston made his second straight start in the midfield.
The first half was a bit slow, with the Galaxy controlling much of the possession but unable to break the Rapids down. Colorado did not get many chances on the counter, but the ones they got were good. In the 31st minute, Hairston got loose in on goal off a pass from Kevin Doyle. He took a low shot, but goalkeeper Brian Rowe came out to meet him and made a huge save.
Second Half
Los Angeles picked up the tempo in the second half, throwing numbers forward and trying to create scoring chances and restarts. Colorado held firm with midfielders Sam Cronin and Michael Azira. The Galaxy might have been too reliant on long crosses with McBean playing the No. 9 role. This only became more significant when Alan Gordon subbed into the game in the 87th minute.
The Rapids controlled the game in the air with center back Axel Sjöberg (the tallest player in MLS at 6’7″) and goalkeeper Zach MacMath. MacMath was excellent coming off his line. Both keepers had good games with nine saves made between the two, including this and this.
The LA Galaxy have now gone over 300 minutes without scoring a goal in MLS play, a historic statistic. The entire offense has been out of sorts for several games now. Arena has kept switching up the lineup to try and make things work. Giovani dos Santos continues to be a very inconsistent Designated Player.
This team has clearly missed Zardes and Keane in the attack even when Arena hasn’t put his big three attacking pieces in an advantageous position. Even when the Galaxy have been able to dominate possession and create the lion’s share of the chances, they haven’t been able to finish. It also appears that the Galaxy just can’t get a bounce to go their way as well.
A lack of a regular lineup has hurt this team. To be fair, they have had their share of injuries and international call ups. That said, no one has stepped up to carry the team. Not Dos Santos. Not Steven Gerrard. Something is going to have to start clicking, for a key individual or the team as a collective.
