Galaxy draws with Colorado Rapids, 1-1
This time, the corner kick was the Galaxy’s friend.
Three days after FC Dallas stunned the Galaxy with two corner-kick goals in the last five minutes, the Galaxy used one to tie the Colorado Rapids 1-1 at StubHub Center on Saturday night. After Shkelzen Gashi pushed the Rapids (11-3-9) ahead in the 51st minute, center back Daniel Steres tied it on a header off a corner to keep the Galaxy (9-3-11) unbeaten in nine straight Major League Soccer contests.
Eight of the Galaxy’s Saturday starters rested in the loss to Dallas in the U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday, and five were given the full night off. That provided an energized performance, but not enough juice to earn more than a draw.
“Story of the game is we didn’t finish our chances,” Galaxy Coach Bruce Arena said. “It’s a game [against] we could have scored certainly two goals, maybe three or four.”
Robbie Keane, who is tied for the Galaxy team lead with seven goals, missed his second straight game with an orbital fracture. That wasn’t ideal against the defensive-minded Rapids, and former U.S. national team goalie Tim Howard dispelled a handful of Galaxy chances in the first 45 minutes.
The first came in the 10th minute, when Steven Gerrard threaded a pass between two defenders to the feet of Gyasi Zardes. It left Zardes and Howard alone in the box, and Howard needed every inch of his left arm to turn Zardes’ shot away. In the 37th, Giovani dos Santos stumbled into the six-yard box with the ball bouncing at his feet and Howard slid to clear the point-blank opportunity.
“A lot of everything we do is predicated upon our defense, it ignites our attack and it keeps us in games,” Rapids Coach Pablo Mastroeni said. “When that hasn’t been the case Tim’s come up huge, and tonight he had a great game for us.”
The Rapids broke through out of the break, when Gashi stepped into a cross-field pass from Marlon Hairston. The shot froze Galaxy keeper Brian Rowe, who slowly dropped to one knee while watching the ball zip into the top-left corner of the net.
It took 10 minutes for the Galaxy to answer, when Steres knotted the score off Gerrard’s well-placed corner. That was earned by the speedy Emmanuel Boateng, who beat three defenders before making Howard lay out for a near-post shot.
One moment Howard was smiling at the save. The next he was scowling while fishing the ball out of the back of the net. The Galaxy mostly controlled the game from there, peppering the Rapids back line on its way to 17 total shots. In the 79th minute, Galaxy midfielder Nigel de Jong inadvertently kneed Rowe in the side of the head during a scramble in the box.
The pause in action led to eight extra minutes of play, and the Galaxy earned three corner kicks during the stoppage time. The first was caught by Howard, the second he punched away and the third was cleared by a leaping Rapids defender.
On a night where the Galaxy used a familiar foe to earn a tie, two corner-kick goals was a bit too big an ask.
“I think it’s a point won, and more importantly denying the Galaxy a chance to get all three,” Mastroeni said.
Follow Jesse Dougherty on Twitter @dougherty_jesse
jesse.dougherty@latimes.com
