October 17, 2021 – Major League Soccer (MLS) – LA Galaxy News Release
LOS ANGELES – Playing the first of three games in the span of eight days, the LA Galaxy tallied a stoppage-time winning goal to earn a 2-1 win over the Portland Timbers at Dignity Health Sports Park on Saturday night. Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez notched his team-leading 13th goal of the season, while Sacha Kljestan recorded the game-winning goal.
LA Galaxy Against Portland
Saturday’s match marked the 29th MLS regular-season meeting between LA and Portland, with the Galaxy leading the series 12-11-6. In 15 regular-season meetings at home against Portland, the Galaxy hold a 9-3-3 record. In three meetings between the two clubs this season, LA held a 2-1-0 record. In three appearances against Portland in 2021, Kljestan has tallied two goals.
Goal-Scoring Plays
LA – Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez (Victor Vázquez), 62nd minute: Picking his head up in midfield, Vázquez bent his pass behind the Portland defense to Chicharito, who stabbed his shot past Steve Clark from close range.
POR – Sebastián Blanco (Santiago Moreno), 72nd minute: From the left corner of the 18-yard box, Sebastián Blanco looped in a cross that picked out the far corner of the goal.
LA – Sacha Kljestan (Penalty Kick), 90+2nd minute: After Efrain Álvarez was fouled inside the box, Kljestan’s ensuing penalty attempt was fired into the lower right corner of the net.
Postgame Notes
The LA Galaxy improved to 12-11-6 (42 pts) this season, sitting in sixth place in the Western Conference standings.
LA sits in sixth place in the Western Conference standings, level on points with fifth-place Real Salt Lake (12-11-6, 42 pts).
Saturday’s match marked the 29th MLS regular-season meeting between LA and Portland, with the Galaxy leading the series 12-11-6.
In 15 regular-season meetings at home against Portland, the Galaxy hold a 9-3-3 record.
In three meetings between the two clubs this season, LA held a 2-1-0 record.
The win over Portland marked LA’s first victory dating back to a 1-0 win over Minnesota on Aug. 14.
Jonathan dos Santos appeared in his 100th match across all competitions for the Galaxy in the win over Portland.
Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez notched his team-leading 13th goal of the season against the Timbers.
In three appearances against Portland during the 2021 campaign, Sacha Kljestan registered two goals.
The goal against Portland marked Kljestan’s third penalty-kick goal of the year and his fourth goal overall this season.
Additionally, the goal marked Kljestan’s 12th game-winning goal in his MLS regular-season career.
Victor Vázquez registered his fifth assist of the campaign.
Vázquez finished the match with a game-high eight chances created.
Samuel Grandsir is the only player to appear in every match this season (29) for the Galaxy.
Derrick Williams made his start for the Galaxy since starting and playing 71 minutes against the Colorado Rapids on Sept. 11.
Next Game
Next up, the Galaxy travel to face Houston Dynamo FC at BBVA Compass Stadium on Wednesday, Oct. 20. The Oct. 20 match kicks off at 5:30 p.m. PT and features a regional television broadcast on Spectrum SportsNet.
LA Galaxy (12-11-6, 42pts) vs. Portland Timbers (14-11-4, 46pts)
Oct. 16, 2021 – Dignity Health Sports Park (Los Angeles)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
LA Galaxy 0 2 2
Portland Timbers 0 1 1
Scoring Summary:
LA: Hernandez (Vázquez), 62
POR: Blanco (Moreno), 72
LA: Kljestan (penalty kick), 90+2
Misconduct Summary:
LA: Hernandez (caution), 38
POR: Bonilla (caution), 44
POR: Chara (caution), 65
LA: Kjlestan (caution), 87
LA: Joveljić (caution), 90+5
Lineups:
LA: GK Jonathan Bond; D Julian Araujo, D Nick DePuy, D Derrick Williams, D Niko Hämäläinen; M Kévin Cabral (Efrain Álvarez, 63), M Jonathan dos Santos © (Sacha Kljestan, 63), M Rayan Raveloson, M Samuel Grandsir (Dejan Joveljić, 83); F Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez, F Víctor Vázquez (Sebastian Lletget, 70)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Jonathan Klinsmann; D Sega Coulibaly, D Daniel Steres; M Adam Saldaña; F Ethan Zubak
TOTAL SHOTS: 20 (Chicharito, 5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 9 (Chicharito, 3); FOULS: 15 (Chicharito, 4) OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES: 5
POR: GK Steve Clark; D Josecarlos Van Rankin, D Dario Zuparic, D Larrys Mabiala, D Pablo Bonilla (Zac McGraw, 89); M Diego Chara ©, M Cristhian Paredes (George Fochive, 83), M Yimmi Chara, M Sebastian Blanco (Diego Valeri, 89), M Dairon Asprilla (Santiago Moreno, 65); F Jaroslaw Niezgoda (Felipe Mora, 65)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Aljaz Ivacic, M Marvin Loria, M Renzo Zambrano
TOTAL SHOTS: 10 (Sebastián Blanco, 5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 6 (Sebastián Blanco, 3); FOULS: 10 (Diego Chara, 3) OFFSIDES: 5; CORNER KICKS: 1; SAVES: 7
Referee: Victor Rivas
Assistant Referees: Micheal Barwegen, Eduardo Mariscal
Fourth Official: Chris Ruska
VAR: Jorge Gonzalez
Weather: Clear, 69 degrees
Attendance: 15,322
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial
LA Galaxy Head Coach Greg Vanney (English)
LA GALAXY POSTGAME QUOTES
On what he saw from the game:
“I felt like there were a lot of games similar to this stretch, even the three prior to this where we have good possession, we have some pretty clear opportunities, some good looks. I thought again our counter pressing or being able to sustain possession and pressure in their half of the field was pretty good. It was about getting the first goal and then we did that, and then it was crazy, because as we got the first goal, the game really opened up which is, when we have the goal we really didn’t want the game to be super open and it became like really open, like we really opened ourselves up trying to go get the second goal, it was back and forth, which isn’t really what you want when you have the lead, you want to keep it tighter. It was almost like it has been so long since we had a lead, we didn’t know what to do, we started to try to really open up the lead and opened up ourselves. We also found another way to give up a goal today which we hadn’t this year, so you know, put that back on the board. The guys stuck with it and they kept battling and I thought the guys who came in, the subs who came in, really gave the game a boost. Efrain [Alvarez] was excellent, you know, their left back who came on (Bonilla) had a yellow card, so it really gave, I thought the opportunity for those guys to really go at him, and Efrain [Alvarez] in particular to really go at him because it was going to be hard for him to really tackle and Efrain [Alvarez] stayed on the front foot and stayed aggressive and was able to make the difference in the end, but I was proud of our effort, I was proud of our play for the most part, again putting the ball in the back of the net when we get chances and being a little more efficient around the goal can help us. I think if we score one of the ones we had early, I think the game may open up for us and maybe we get a couple more, but you know, the first one coming out of this kind of stretch is never going to be easy, it’s something you just got to work yourself through and get the break that you need to get on the other side of it, and we needed this result tonight because the other teams around us picked up points as well, so it was a really important three points tonight.”
On Efrain Alvarez’s progression over the last 10-15 games:
“That’s one of the things we really challenged Efrain [Alvarez] with, he’s one of our players who really has final product, he can scoot past players, he can get assists, he can get goals, he can put pressure on back lines. He is crafty on the move and slipping balls in between lines so we don’t really want him dropping back on the other side of the opposition’s midfielders trying to make the game, we want him higher, we want him between the lines, we want him in unbalancing positions and the whole time he was in front of me I kept telling him higher, higher, higher because every time he goes high he creates a lot of uncertainty for the back line and he is so tidy and clever in between these spaces, it makes it so difficult for defenders so if he keeps doing that he is going to score goals, he is going to get assists, he is going to impact games on a consistent basis as he did tonight and as he has done throughout the season so we want to keep him in those higher positions, not dropping off and picking up balls deep and I am glad that he came in and provided us that spark. Obviously, Sacha [Kljestan] came in as well and provided us the experience when Jonathan [dos Santos] was struggling there a bit and gave us the experience and stepped up and took a really big penalty kick for us tonight, that was a really big moment.”
On getting past the nine-game streak and exhaling before the week:
“Definitely, I had an exhale, but my exhale is just because of the way the night went, you know, 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, it was kind of a strange fashion and you feel like that has been the season, especially the second half of the season and so for sure there was an exhale, but I do feel like that from the group there was a confidence building, it was something that they deserved. They have deserved it, I feel, in some of the stretch and some of these other games and we didn’t get it, we didn’t execute how we needed to execute and so I hope that the group feels like there is a shift in momentum here that we got over the hump and now we have a real opportunity in the coming week to try and take more points and try to get ourselves into a better and better position down the stretch, so we are just going to do this one game at a time though and we’ve got, you know, a Houston team next that we have to go and play in a tough place to play so, but I think the group didn’t seemed like there was a big exhale, the group seemed like there was a lot of confidence and it was something they deserved and it was something they took because they deserved it, which is great.”
On the pairing of Derrick Williams and Nick DePuy:
“I thought they did very well. It is not an easy game, because it is a game where the team has a lot of possession and they are on the ball a lot, they are starting attacks, so sometimes as a center back your mindset is somewhere, a little bit more in that attacking side. They were challenged a lot because they had to stay focused, they had to organize a lot behind our attacks and make sure they dealt with counter attacks and it’s a very good counter attacking team. They had to again, stay organized, disciplined, and deal with things and at times use their athleticism and deal with some situations. That was the second game they played together all season, and the first one was Portland here, so they have two wins against the same team, but they complemented each other well tonight as they did that game, and so we’ll see how they continue to grow together with more opportunities to play together.”
On the hardest part of this (winless) stretch:
“I think that it is trying to keep the group positive on the things that they are doing well, try to tidy up some things in the days where we have training, which hasn’t been many and then we have these long breaks where we do have training time, but we had 11 guys for most of the training for the last two weeks. I think we had 13 and then yesterday we finally got to a number where we could sort of put a full team on the field and try to get everybody on the same page. So, trying to keep the group focused and confident and believing just that they can turn the tide, and the believing part wasn’t difficult, but keeping them focused and confident about getting this thing turned around. They have been great, they have been working hard, that’s never been in question. It’s been just trying to work for that moment, again, that we could get the play we needed to shift our momentum a little bit and hopefully that’s the one we got here at the end.”
LA GALAXY MIDFIELDER SACHA KLJESTAN
On breaking the nine-game winless streak:
“It is really nice having some music blasting in the locker room again after a game so that is just a good feeling. I think everyone is a bit relieved especially with the way the game went tonight, I thought we played exceptionally well, I thought we were in total control, we had a lot of possession, we created some great chances. It felt like one of those games in the first half where they were going to get one chance and were going to score after we had so many, and they score a fluky goal to make it 1-1 and you just think oh no not again so to get that win in the end I think it is a big exhale for everybody and now hopefully it is the start of a winning streak or an unbeaten run.”
On his mindset while taking the penalty kick:
“I don’t pay attention to the goalies. I decide the morning of the game where I am going to shoot if I get a penalty so this morning I had a feeling we were going to get a penalty tonight, I just didn’t know if was going to be on the field to take it or not but I knew when I put the ball down that I was going to shoot it that way and that I was going to hit it hard and hopefully he wouldn’t get there.”
On Efrain Alvarez:
“I’m proud of Efra because we stood on the sideline together getting subbed in and we shook hands and said let’s go make a difference in this game, so for him to come up and make a play and not only that, he was dangerous every time he had the ball on top of the box. He is so shifty and crafty and knows how to use his body really well, he’s a very savvy player for how young he is so he made a really good play.”
On coming off the bench making a difference on the field tonight:
“It’s nice to be the guy who gets the goal. Being midfielder all my career, I never was a high scoring midfielder either. It just feels good to get the goal. I keep coming back to the Academy team that I coached this morning. I coached these boys and in my pregame talk I just talked to them about being able to make a difference. But I also talked to them about scoring goals in soccer and how it’s the most fun thing you can do. It’s the thing that soccer is about, and I told the boys this morning, when you score a goal go and celebrate. And celebrate together and really enjoy the entire moment. I felt like I went a little crazy after I scored tonight. I wanted to jump up in the crowd but I quickly remembered that I had a yellow card already and I didn’t want to get sent off. I jumped off really quickly and then I went to run across the other side where my family was seating and waved at my kids, so it’s just a really good feeling.”
LA GALAXY MIDFIELDER EFRAIN ALVAREZ
On his performance:
“I’m happy that we got the win finally. It has been quite a while since we last won and thank God today, we got it and it feels good. Greg [Vanney] said he wants me higher so I have a different mindset, so now I’m trying to score and get assists and try to help the team in the best way I can.”
On having a mindset change and knowing Greg Vanney will depend on him to be a difference maker:
“Obviously always with Greg [Vanney] we have great conversations, if he puts me to start or off the bench, I am always ready for the team. Like I have always said in many interviews, I’m ready to be play wherever Greg [Vanney] wants me to play and today he selected me off the bench and I was ready for it.”
On the team’s confidence:
“Obviously when the team doesn’t win it hurts, and more with the players we have since they are used to winning and even myself, I am used to winning. It hurts not winning for nine games. Every time we come in after a loss or after a tie, we take it as a new opportunity to get the win. It would hurt after the game but coming into the weekdays to train we would put a different mindset and we were always with the right mindset and thank God today we got the win and now we have to try to get more wins.”
On whether this was needed as a boost ahead of the final five games of the season:
“This is what we needed, a little push, and more so in front of our home [crowd] who are always [supporting] us and I think we will.”
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