The Los Angeles Galaxy will look to regain a more consistent form when they visit the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday.
Los Angeles (12-11-6, 42 points) will be playing its second match in four days after outlasting the Portland Timbers 2-1 on Saturday. Substitute Sacha Kljestan scored on a penalty kick in the 92nd minute to snap the tie and ended a nine-match skid that saw the Galaxy go 0-4-5 following a win at Minnesota on Aug. 14.
“It is really nice having some music blasting in the locker room again after a game, so that is just a good feeling,” Kljestan said Saturday.
“Definitely, I had an exhale, but my exhale is just because of the way the night went,” said Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney. “It was another one of those nights where you felt like you weren’t sure if you were going to be able to pull off the play that you needed to make the difference and we gave up another goal.”
Despite their lengthy malaise, the Galaxy remained sixth in the Western Conference standings.
Meanwhile, Houston (6-12-12, 30 points) also comes into the match having experienced some relief after a 2-1 win Saturday at Western Conference-leading Seattle ended an eight-match losing streak against the Sounders.
“Listen, you enjoy these moments because the season hasn’t gone the way a lot of us had planned,” Dynamo defender Zarek Valentin said after the game. “I think days and nights like we just had remind us of how frustrating that can be, because we can put together a performance against arguably the best team in the league. … It reminds us of how good we are but it also reminds us of how many points and situations we’ve lost that have put us in a bad situation.”
Although the Dynamo are mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, they are in good position to play spoiler against the Galaxy, as Houston is undefeated in its last four matches at home.
–Field Level Media
