A pair of teams dealing with a similar plight will try to reverse their early-season misfortunes when the Los Angeles Galaxy host the Minnesota United on Saturday night at Carson, Calif.
Both teams bring identical records (1-2-2, 5 points) into the return from the international break.
The Galaxy played to a 1-1 draw on the road against the Portland Timbers on March 22, while Minnesota United worked a scoreless home draw with the Seattle Sounders on the same day.
A busy early schedule has taken a toll on the Galaxy’s MLS play. Los Angeles has advanced through two rounds of the CONCACAF Championship Cup and is set to play in the quarterfinals but has not matched that success in league action.
The Galaxy’s draw at Portland before the break especially was disheartening because it came with the team up a man for the final 70 minutes. Joao Klauss scored the game-tying goal 10 minutes after a Timbers red card, but the Galaxy failed to score again.
“It doesn’t need to be me, it needs to be about us,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said about the team’s attack. “And I think that’s part of us becoming a team that takes these points and buries teams, it is about making the best decisions when we get into those final actions for the group to be successful.”
Klauss leads the Galaxy with five goals, while Kelvin Yeboah tops Minnesota United with two.
Minnesota United’s pre-break draw was less disheartening, especially since they held the Sounders scoreless one week after the Vancouver Whitecaps routed the Loons 6-0.
Minnesota has held two opponents scoreless in five matches and yet the Loons’ 11 total goals allowed are tied for second-most in the Western Conference.
“That (Whitecaps’) game was about providing stability and reminding ourselves that we can control the game without the ball,” Minnesota coach Cameron Knowles said. “We have talked a lot about how we can build pressure from being deeper and translate that to getting higher up the field.”
Minnesota will be without veteran forward Julian Gressel through the World Cup break after his surgery this week for a right big toe fracture. Defender Michael Boxall (groin) and midfielder Peter Stroud (quad) also will be out. Midfielder James Rodriguez was dealing with an illness after returning from international duty with Colombia but is expected to play.
The Galaxy will be without a pair of key contributors: forward Joseph Paintsil (hamstring), defender Jakob Glesnes (calf).
–Field Level Media
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