CARSON, CA (July 19, 2017) – Another home game at the StubHub Center, another loss for the LA Galaxy. With some great saves from goalkeeper David Ousted, and a Tony Tchani header goal in the second half, the Vancouver Whitecaps won 1-0 on Wednesday night.
Galaxy Head Coach Curt Onalfo was finally able to start something close to a first choice Starting XI. Goalkeeper Brian Rowe, center back Daniel Steres, and Romain Alessandrini made their first starts in league play in weeks. Still, there was some patch work. Ashley Cole started as a holding midfielder next to Joao Pedro in a 4-2-3-1. Dave Romney started at left back. Giovani dos Santos started as the No. 10 with Jack McBean up top.
Whitecaps Manager Carl Robinson also had his team in a 4-2-3-1. David Ousted was in goal. Tim Parker started at center back next to Andrew Jacobson (who made a rare start in defense). Matías Laba and Tony Tchani started at holding midfielder. Cristian Techera and Christian Bolaños started in the attack in wide roles. Designated Player Fredy Montero started up top. The recently acquired Yordy Reyna was available on the bench.
Tony Tchani Header Gives LA Galaxy Another Home Loss 1-0
The Galaxy dictated the pace in the first half. The build up play was better than in past games. Jack McBean got an excellent chance on a header in the 3rd minute. Emmanuel Boateng was a threat all game, using his speed to get past defenders and cut inside.
Romain Alessandrini had the best chance of the half though. After a good build up, the Frenchman got a great pass from Boateng right in front of goal. He took a shot across goal but Ousted got his fingertips to it, tipping it just wide of the post. The half ended 0-0 with Tchani on a yellow card.
That wasn’t the only good save of the match. Rowe and Ousted traded stops throughout the match. Ousted saved a Romney header off the line in the 51st minute. Just four minute later, Rowe got a had to an open volley Techer had less than 10 yards from goal.
Vancouver elected to stay organized at the back and counter for much of the game. They looked to get their chances off set pieces with Bolaños and Techera providing service.
Their efforts on restarts paid off in the 64th minute. Bolaños sent a ball into the box that Tchani was able to get a free header on. The midfielder headed it down off the grass and into the top of the net. Jelle Van Damme was marking Tchani, but was unable to challenge him for the ball.
The Galaxy pushed for an equalizer in the final half hour but could not come up with something. Jermaine Jones and Ariel Lassiter injected some life in the team off the bench, but could not finish. Lassiter got a great chance in the final minutes, but Ousted made the save. The match ended 0-1.
Scoring Summary:
64′ Vancouver – Tony Tchani assisted by Christian Bolaños
Final Thoughts:
The Caps are putting together a nice little run here. They’ve gotten a result in five of their last six games in MLS play. The attack wasn’t always there, but the defense was solid. David Ousted had another good game. It had to be nice for Tony Tchani to get a goal after being traded to a new team earlier this year.
This is another tough loss for the LA Galaxy at home. They continue to struggle to get wins at the StubHub Center. Once again, they gave up the opening goal. While the offense created chances, they had trouble finishing. If this team knew what was wrong, they would have fixed it by now.
