Galaxy survive upstart La Maquina, 4-1, in overtime
It took quite a bit of luck and well over 90 minutes for the Galaxy to secure a 4-1 overtime win over La Maquina FC in the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday night.
La Maquina, a Santa-Ana based member of the amateur United Premier Soccer League, defied all expectations by carrying a 1-1 tie with the Galaxy to the end of regulation. By all accounts, it should have been an easy matchup for the Galaxy, who expected to use it as a chance to ease back in after a two-week break from Major League Soccer play and let some bench players see the field.
Six minutes into overtime, La Maquina and Galaxy players alike stood around, thinking the referees had stopped time as a Galaxy player lay injured on the ground.
They had not. Midfielder Baggio Husidic passed to defender Dave Romney, who lackadaisically kicked the ball past La Maquina keeper Luis Sosa and into the back of the net.
And so, to the anger of La Maquina players and many in the crowd of 4,752 at StubHub Center, the Galaxy suddenly and bizarrely had the lead.
La Maquina was quickly deflated and the Galaxy would go on to score two more goals, both by midfielder Sebastian Lletget, by the time the night finally came to a close.
“We shot ourselves in the foot a few times,” Galaxy Coach Bruce Arena said. “We certainly didn’t make things easy for ourselves. We had our chances to score more than one goal in 90 minutes.”
Most of the Galaxy’s top players, such as forward Giovani dos Santos and midfielders Steven Gerrard and Robbie Rogers, were left out of the lineup, while star strikers Robbie Keane and Gyasi Zardes were busy playing with the Irish and U.S. national teams, respectively.
The Galaxy’s starting lineup Tuesday was largely made up of players who are typically reserves, such as goalkeeper Clement Diop, striker Jose Villarreal and midfielder Raul Mendiola. Still, several veterans started, including defender A.J. DeLaGarza and midfielder Emmanuel Boateng. Husidic and Lletget came in as subs when it was clear the game would not go as planned.
The first 15 minutes of the match gave no indication of the tumult that would occur. The Galaxy dominated possession and shot count at the start, and in just his third Galaxy appearance of 2016, Villarreal found the back of the net in the 15th minute off a cross from Mendiola.
Tensions escalated a few minutes, however, when young midfielder Rafael Garcia — who had previously appeared just once for the Galaxy in 2016 — earned a red card and left his team a man down the rest of the night.
La Maquina took advantage in the 28th minute, with Edwin Borboa evening the score at 1-1. It stayed that way for well over 60 more minutes of play.
The Galaxy, who are 5-2-6 in MLS play this year, move on to the U.S. Open Cup’s round of 16 on June 29, though they will first play Toronto FC on Saturday.
renee.griffin@latimes.com
