CARSON, CALIFORNIA (July 7, 2018) — Ola Kamara played a part in sticking it to his former club on Saturday night.
The Norwegian striker, who spent his first two seasons in MLS with Columbus Crew SC, netted his seventh goal of the year in the first half of the LA Galaxy‘s 4-0 romp at StubHub Center.
Shortly after halftime, Zlatan Ibrahimovic added one from the penalty spot for his 11th in a Galaxy uniform while Romain Alessandrini played the super sub role to perfection with a second-half brace.
Hollywood Horror Show: Ola Kamara Sinks Old Club in LA Galaxy Rout of Columbus Crew SC
The result condemned Columbus to a second loss in the City of Angels in three weeks as the Black and Gold dropped a 2-0 decision to LAFC on June 23. It also continued an extended stretch of ineptitude when playing their fellow MLS charter club in LA. Crew SC’s last win on the road in this series came on June 23, 2007.
Things started promising for the visitors. For most of the first half, it was Crew SC who had the more clear-cut chances. But that all changed in the 42nd minute when Jonathan dos Santos and Ashley Cole exhibited some exceptional combination play on the left flank. Cole’s square ball found an onrushing Kamara who made no mistake with the one-touch finish.
You've seen it before. A DEADLY Ola Kamara run has the #LAGalaxy in front. pic.twitter.com/D7vWMid6jP
— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) July 8, 2018
Crew SC looked to have scored an equalizer mere seconds after Kamara opened the scoring. Gyasi Zardes whipped in a quick pass from the right that Dave Romney played into his own net. But VAR indicated that the ball crossed the byline before Zardes made the pass.
The scoreline reflected a fairly obvious takeaway from the game: it was a forgettable night for the Crew SC back line. Lalas Abubakar, in particular, had his fair share of struggles. It was his back shoulder Kamara ran at on the first goal. And roughly 10 minutes into the second half, his collision with Ibrahimovic in the box forced referee Hilario Grajeda to point to the spot.
Kamara went an hour before coming off for Alessandrini. And the Frenchman didn’t take long to put his name on the scoresheet. After wresting the ball away from Abubakar, he quickly made a diagonal run into the box and hit the ball with his left foot past Zack Steffen for LA’s third. He wasn’t done either. In second-half stoppage time, he knocked in his second with Chris Pontius providing the assist.
Romain works to win it back and adds a third for #LAGalaxy. #LAvCLB pic.twitter.com/SYA21fm8ir
— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) July 8, 2018
Overall, it was not the homecoming Zardes hoped for. The Hawthorne, CA native, who spent his first five seasons as a professional with the Galaxy, was unable to match Kamara in scoring against his former club. That in and of itself is a major concern for Columbus moving forward as goals aren’t consistently coming from players other than Zardes.
For the Galaxy, it’s a welcome result as it erases a three-game winless run. With the team hovering slightly below the red line, getting three points at home on a regular basis is crucial. To that effect, they took care of business in resounding fashion against Crew SC.
The Black and Gold remain on the road next Saturday when they venture to Yankee Stadium and take on New York City FC for the first time in 2018. LA also becomes visitors as they begin a three-game road stand with a matchup against the New England Revolution on the same day.
