Galaxy need two late goals to earn 2-2 draw with Red Bulls

A scoreless first half plagued with injury stoppages and failed chances gave way to a second half filled with streaking strikers and four goals at StubHub Center on Sunday night.

The New York Red Bulls scored twice in a seven-minute span but the Galaxy responded with goals in the 80th and 89th minutes to earn a 2-2 tie.

Even after midfielder Mike Magee came off the bench to score the goal that brought the Galaxy within one, it seemed that the squad was fated to suffer its first defeat since June 22.

Instead, a looping kick into the box from Steven Gerrard, who assisted on Magee’s goal, was deflected off a defender to Ashley Cole with less than two minutes of regulation remaining.

Cole fired the ball off his left foot past goalkeeper Luis Robles for the first goal of the defender’s MLS career, in only his second game back after sitting out four games because of an injury.

The tie extended the Galaxy’s unbeaten streak to eight games and the Red Bulls’ to five.

“Rarely does a team come back and get a point in a game like this where both teams are pretty good,” Galaxy Coach Bruce Arena said.

Striker Gyasi Zardes sat out his second consecutive game for the Galaxy because of a chest muscle strain. Early Sunday night, Robbie Keane was on the ground for several minutes with blood flowing from his face after a collision with Robles, but the forward was able to get back on the field soon after.

Arena said that the depth on the Galaxy bench helped them stage the late-game comeback, with players such as Magee and Baggio Husidic giving the starters a break.

Though there were no goals scored in the first half, the crowd of 25,671 was not deprived of excitement. Galaxy forward Giovani dos Santos had three shots in the half with one on target, and Galaxy goalkeeper Brian Rowe made two saves.

“We should have come out of that half with at least a goal,” Arena said. “On the night, we played well and deserved to get at least a point out of that game.

“I couldn’t be more pleased with our team and the character they showed at the end of the game, trying to get a point and maybe even three points out of it.”

The game was the first of three the Galaxy have this week, as they play in a U.S. Open Cup semifinal against FC Dallas at StubHub Center on Wednesday, followed by a home MLS matchup with Colorado on Saturday.

renee.griffin@latimes.com