CARSON — On a night that was viewed as a chance to erase the pain of last week’s U.S. Open Cup loss, the Galaxy only found more frustration Wednesday night.
The Galaxy (7-5-4, 24 points) allowed a goal inside the first 10 minutes against Minnesota United FC and in the 25th minute, the game was changed as Kevin Cabral was given a red card for violent conduct, leaving the Galaxy down to 10 men for the rest of the night.
Minnesota (6-8-3, 18 points) didn’t waste its time, adding a goal by Franco Fragapane in the 36th minute before Reynoso added his second, in the 43rd minute.
The Loons led 3-0 at halftime, impressive for a team that entered the game having scored just 17 goals this season. The final scoreline was a 3-2 Minnesota win at Dignity Health Sports Park in front of 18,337.
The big moment was undoubtedly referee Ted Unkel’s decision to issue a red card to Cabral.
After a shot by Daniel Aguirre, Minnesota goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair spilled the rebound and Cabral, seeing that, made a charge. As St. Clair recovered the ball, Cabral attempted to leap over him, but his foot clipped St. Clair on the top of his head.
As expected, Galaxy coach Greg Vanney was livid and eventually received a yellow card for protesting the call.
“We didn’t manage the situation great, maybe a little shocked. … I was so shocked that he (Cabral) was walking off the field,” Vanney said. “I didn’t even think he was going to get a yellow card. If they go back to VAR and do it with discretion, not because someone in the league office said we have to red card those situations.
“If he uses discretion as an experienced referee, who’s been in this league for I don’t know 20 years, he has to see there was very little to nothing there. I saw video from all angles, he was certainly trying to get out the way, there was no intention and red cards change games.”
This was the Galaxy’s first game since the Open Cup disappointment. The club was scheduled to face San Jose last weekend, but that match was postponed due to fires and a power outage on and near the Stanford University campus.
The Galaxy’s last MLS win came before the international break on May 29 against Austin FC. The next chance to get off of 24 points will be Monday at home against CF Montreal.
Even though the team was a player short for the second half, the Galaxy showed promise getting forward. The extra effort paid off in the 60th minute as Efrain Alvarez was fouled and earned a penalty kick. Mark Delgado stepped up and buried it to make it 3-1.
Dejan Joveljic capped the scoring in the second minute of stoppage time to make things somewhat respectable.
Douglas Costa made his return after a month-long absence coming on as a substitute in the 65th minute. However, he also ended the night in a controversial moment. On the final play, Costa went up for a header and hit Joseph Rosales with an elbow in the back of the head and received a yellow card. After issuing the cards, Unkel then went to the video review and changed it to a red card.
Despite the red cards, the start of the game was another issue for Vanney.
“We need 11 guys stepping on the field ready to compete from the first whistle,” Vanney said. “If somebody fails to do that, they will come out and somebody else will come on. I think there’s enough depth in our group, competition in our group, and the guys know enough of what we’re all trying to do.
“We’ve seen it from this group on a number of occasions and now it is for guys to be reliable and step out on the field, from myself to everybody to step out on the field and do their jobs at the highest level of intensity, highest level of concentration and attention to detail. Not always will we perform perfectly, but again, the level of intensity, the work, the concentration on the details that we work on throughout the week have to be present.”
On the board ✅ @MarkyDelgado converts from the spot for his first goal at home. pic.twitter.com/QXaXgM6Jth
— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) June 30, 2022
Costa ➡️ Aguirre ➡️ Joveljić ➡️ NET
Daniel Aguirre notches his first career MLS assist! pic.twitter.com/oyxwbm12HD
— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) June 30, 2022
