MLS LA Galaxy

GAME NOTES: LA Galaxy at Colorado Rapids - November 6, 2016

Published on November 4, 2016 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
LA Galaxy News Release


COLORADO RAPIDS v LA GALAXY The Rapids did see their losing slide in the MLS Cup Playoffs extended to four matches. Their last win came in the 2011 Knockout Round vs.

Columbus, a 1-0 win at Dick's Sporting Goods Park; the Rapids have now gone 405 minutes since scoring their last goal in the postseason. ... Including the end of the regular season, the Rapids have now gone three games without a win, with two losses and a draw in that span. They went four consecutive games without a victory just once, from Aug. 13-Sept. 3. ... "I think it was a bad break on our part to concede that goal. But again, we knew it was going to be a difficult challenge to come here tonight and beat these guys at their place where they're coming off a big result and they're using that momentum. Having said that, I thought we played well," said Rapids head coach Pablo Mastroeni. ... For the first leg, there was a tacti- cal change as Mastroeni ran out Kevin Doyle in the role as the lone out-and-out strik- er. Dominique Badji moved to a wide midfield role, after holding down the place as the spearhead in the attack from Sept. 10. ... Jermaine Jones came off the substi- tutes' bench at the halftime break, just his second appearance in a match in MLS competition since July 4. Jones played 22 minutes as a substitute in the season fina- le. "Having been out for four months, my biggest fear is setting him back with an inju- ry. You've got to put chains on him to keep him off the field, but I think tonight is a per- formance that shows that he's relaxed," said Mastroeni. "He's not thinking about his knee. He's moving well and making some good plays ... we'll see where we go." ...

The Rapids return home for the second leg where they have not lost all season (11- 0-6; the fifth team in MLS history to go through the season undefeated at home), and where they allowed just seven goals in 17 matches, an average of 0.41 goals per home game, the lowest in MLS history. "I think we're going back home to a place where we've been very good this year," said Mastroeni. "Like our chances at getting a goal and then [again] in the waning minutes or going into overtime at altitude where teams struggle. "We feel like this is going to be no different." The Galaxy defeated the Rapids for the first time this season in four meetings over all competitions in the first leg of the Western Conference Semifinals.

The Rapids won one, a 1-0 victory at Dick's Sporting Goods Park; the other two ended in draws, both at StubHub Center, where the Rapids last won in 2013. ... The Galaxy recorded a third shutout in their last four games overall in the win, the only goal conceded in that span the penalty kick in the Knockout Round win vs. Real Salt Lake. "Our guys were pretty focused. I think we understood what this game was going to look like today and what it's going to look like [this] week. We had a good collective effort as well. Our backline played well," Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena said. ... Giovani dos Santos scored his first career goal in the MLS Cup Playoffs for the game's only tally, playing in an underneath role with Alan Gordon again installed as the lone out-and-out striker. Dos Santos has a goal and an assist in the two postseason games this year. "I thought the combination of Lletget, Husidic and Dos Santos did fine. We had enough chances to get a couple goals today.

You're playing against a team that doesn't concede many goals. You may disagree, but we certainly had chances to get a second goal today and we fell short there.

Overall I think we played a pretty solid game." ... Arena ran out an unchanged team from the Knockout Round match, something he had done just once this season in league play, July 9-15 vs Seattle and Houston. "[It was] having a team that played a good game on Wednesday and deciding not to change the lineup. I think Alan Gordon has played well and deserved to get the start today. The decision was made that this is the right team to start in this game today. I can promise you Robbie [Keane] is not happy with that. It's the way it is," Arena said. ... Landon Donovan start- ed a fourth consecutive match dating back through the end of the regular season, playing the full 90 minutes for a second time in that span (also in the regular season finale). "He was good - good and solid. His passing was very good. He was in good spots defensively. I think his ability to help us keep the ball, hold on to the ball, make the pass at the right times are important. It gives us a little bit of a breather and allows us to collect our team and get forward in the attack."

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