The Los Angeles Galaxy play host to Minnesota United FC on Wednesday night just over a month after the teams played to a 1-1 tie in the Midwest.
The Galaxy (7-5-3, 24 points) did not play this past weekend due to intermittent power issues that postponed their road game against the San Jose Earthquakes. The club last saw the field June 18 in a 1-1 draw with the Portland Timbers that brought their home record to 4-3-1.
Dejan Joveljic, who subbed on in the 32nd minute for an injured Victor Vazquez, scored in the 88th minute to rescue a point for the Galaxy. Prior to the international break, he became the first player in MLS history to be involved in four goals (two goals, two assists) as a substitute in a 4-1 win over Austin FC.
Joveljic already has doubled his goal total from last season with four in 13 games. He also had three goals in U.S. Open Cup play and his recent form left head coach Greg Vanney contemplating whether to stay with his three-forward system or switch to two attackers with Joveljic and Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez up front.
“There’s a tradeoff when you play with two forwards,” Vanney said. “And what do you lose, and what do you gain from doing something like that? For us, this was maybe a little bit of a sample of what that might look like. I still think that’s something we can use, but I don’t know that it’s something that I can say is going to be primary for us.”
Minnesota United (5-8-3, 18 points) look to rebound from a late 2-1 loss at Inter Miami FC on Saturday. Luis Amarilla gave Minnesota a 1-0 lead in the 65th minute, but Indiana Vassilev came off the bench for Miami in the 83rd minute and scored in both the 87th and the 90th minutes for the win. The Loons are now 2-5-1 on the road.
The Loons also have fallen to 1-6-1 in their last eight games after the loss, which was their first game since extending the contract of head coach Adrian Heath last week.
“We’re not good enough at one end, and we’re not good enough at the other, and that’s not a good recipe,” Heath said. “We’ve got to get more and more determination to get on the things in the box and we’ve certainly got to defend the goal better.”
Minnesota has struggled to generate offense with 17 goals, tied for second fewest in the Western Conference.
Amarilla has three goals through 15 games, while fellow designated player Emanuel Reynoso has three goals and three assists through 16 games.
–Field Level Media
