Galaxy can’t hold on for win against Sporting Kansas City, forced to settle for draw
Galaxy forward Preston Judd, midfielder, shoves the ball past Sporting Kansas City midfielder Nemanja Radoja during the second half of their MLS game Wednesday night at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. Judd scored the go-ahead but the Galaxy settled for a 2-2 draw. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., contributing photographer)
CARSON – For the first time this season, a Galaxy home game sounded like a Galaxy home game.
With the firing of team president Chris Klein in late May, the Galaxy fan groups officially ended their boycott and returned to Dignity Health Sports Park on Wednesday night for the first home game since the move.
Preston Judd, who is a starting XI for Serbia internationals due to the seasonal injuries to Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez and Dejan Joveljic, gave the 20,960 crowd a reason to cheer with his opening goal in the 64th minute. By the 90th minute, the winner was clear.
At that point, Sporting Kansas City (5-9-6, 21 points) received a penalty when Galaxy midfielder Daniel Aguirre was called out for a handball. Alan Pulido stepped up and converted to force the 2-2 draw.
“I thought we were going to get three points tonight,” said Galaxy coach Greg Vanney.
In 17 games this season, the Galaxy have accumulated 14 points but the club have struggled to maintain a 3-9-5 record. The team is unbeaten in three league games (1-0-2), which is at least the beginning of a step in the right direction.
In the 82nd minute, Jonathan Bond was roused when he saved a Johnny Russell shot from close range to keep the lead 2-1.
After conceding an early goal, the Galaxy equalized in the 24th minute when Martin Caceres completed a well thought-out free kick, heading the ball down and across Kansas City goalie Kendall McIntosh. Douglas Costa set up the serve with a cross towards the far post where Caceres was lurking.
The Galaxy have gone winless in their last five meetings with SKC (0-3-2) and only 2-7-6 in the last 15 meetings since 2015. At the start of the season in March, the teams played a goalless draw.
Earlier, the Galaxy had officially put Hernandez on the season-ending injury list. This allows the team to be relieved of the salary cap to find a replacement.
Hernandez, who is in the final year of his contract, suffered a cruciate ligament tear on June 7 in Utah against Real Salt Lake.
The Galaxy faces another brief turnaround, traveling to Denver on Saturday to take on the Colorado Rapids.