By: Wendy Pintor
The force wasn’t with LA Galaxy this weekend but it was Kevin Cabral who scored against his former team while Lalas Abubakar and Jonathan Lewis added goals, and the visiting Colorado Rapids extended their unbeaten run to seven games with a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy.
It adds up to another unwanted performance, that the universe continues to give the LA Galaxy, the Rapids goalkeeper William Yarbrough made six saves but allowed a late goal that prevented him from his fifth shutout of the season, giving LA some compassion.
The Rapids (2-3-6, 12 points) won for the first time since April 8 and are now 2-0-5 going back to a 1-1 tie against Austin FC on March 25.
Preston Judd scored in the 89th minute for the Galaxy to prevent the shutout. Los Angeles goalkeeper Jonathan Klinsmann had two saves while making his seventh consecutive start as No. 1 goalkeeper Jonathan Bond recovers from a shoulder injury. The Rapids took a 1-0 lead in the 14th minute when Abubakar scored on a header off a corner kick from Connor Ronan. Klinsmann was unable to deflect Ronan’s cross through the penalty area and Abubakar delivered his first goal of the season.
Cabral celebrated a goal against his former team in the 65th minute, his second of the season. Colorado delivered against the run of play after the Galaxy had been forcing the action. The Rapids’ Diego Rubio and Cabral got past the Galaxy back line with Rubio feeding Cabral for the goal on the break.
Cabral played the past two seasons with the Galaxy, with the speedy forward never fulfilling his promise, scoring six goals in 61 games (47 starts).
Lewis made it 3-0 for the Rapids when he banged a shot off the knee of a sliding Klinsmann and into the Los Angeles goal in the 81st minute for his first tally of the season.
The Galaxy welcomed back midfielder Riqui Puig after he sat out last weekend’s 2-0 defeat at Orlando City because of yellow-card accumulation. Los Angeles owned possession for 63% percent of the game but that wasn’t enough gas dust to have the stars show up in the solar system for Galaxy.
“Something needs to change, man. We need to be accountable. We need to see that the reality is not in the way that we are doing. We cannot say things are going to turn around doing the same things. We can’t! “
After another setback loss, the team, fans and players, and the entire Galaxy can be seen being frustrated, and once more captain Javier Chicharito Hernández didn’t hold back when asked about the club’s early-season tailspin, which has the Galaxy pondering at 13th place on the Western Conference table (1W-6L-3D).
“We need to do different things obviously to get out of this. I don’t know what. We need to figure it out, but we cannot keep doing the same things and waiting for the same results,” Hernandez said. “It’s very frustrating, I don’t know what else to do”
This run of results is simply not up to the high standard of what was once one of the league’s perennially dominant clubs, Hernandez said, “The Galaxy are five-time MLS Cup champions – the only club to hold that distinction – and have boasted some of the league’s biggest-name stars over the years.” Absolutely no one knows why these changes are not being made if they are strongly needed.
When asked about chants from the supporters at Dignity Health Sports Park on Saturday that voiced discontent, both Hernandez and head coach/sporting director Greg Vanney said they understood the sentiments, given that rich history contrasted with their spot on the table.
And as dire as it may seem, the Galaxy still find themselves within six points of an Audi MLS Cup Playoffs playoff spot in the Western Conference, with 24 games left on the league schedule to work their way back into contention. Such an extreme turnaround might feel far off in the moment, particularly taking into account their summer transfer limitations but Hernandez said, “My teammates and I have no choice but to make the changes necessary to spark it.”
“You don’t need to suffer, you need to realize that it’s painful,” Hernandez said. “You don’t realize that it’s painful and you don’t care about this club, you shouldn’t be here. That’s all I want to say. Is LA Galaxy being almost last in the conference? Nah. That’s not something that Galaxy deserves. We could be three or four spots higher having a bad season. At least. And, I don’t know. I don’t know.
“…We’re not doing enough. That’s for sure. All of us. That’s for sure. That’s why we are where we are.”
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