Minnesota United was just moments away from sealing a hard-fought home point, but a late own goal ensured the LA Galaxy earned a much-needed road win on Sunday afternoon.
A late Christian Ramirez own goal doomed Minnesota United on Sunday as the LA Galaxy escaped TCF Bank Stadium with a 2-1 win. The victory is the Galaxy’s second consecutive road win, extending the team’s unbeaten run to four matches.
With just moments remaining, Minnesota United saw their point slip away in gut-wrenching fashion. On a deep free kick, Romain Alessandrini whipped a ball into a dangerous area and, for the second week in a row, Ramirez found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, scoring his second own goal in as many games.
Ramirez originally looked to be the hero as his seventh goal of the season brought Minnesota United level in the second half. The forward darted past the Galaxy defense, firing home a pass from Sam Cronin that was later undone by his late own goal.
Giovani dos Santos kickstarted the scoring late in the first half, and he did so in spectacular style. On a hip-level ball in from Alessandrini, dos Santos acrobatically flicked a shot up and over Bobby Shuttleworth, scoring his fourth goal of the season and third in as many games.
Even aside from the goals, both sides had plenty of chances to fire themselves into the lead. Brent Kallman was unfortunate to see Emmanuel Boateng head his shot off the line midway through the first half only for the Galaxy to have two look on the opposite end just moments later. Bobby Shuttleworth came up large both times, notably parrying away a Joao Pedro knuckler from long range.
Miguel Ibarra, meanwhile, tested Brian Rowe by forcing a diving save for one of the Galaxy goalkeeper’s four saves on the day. Shuttleworth also recorded four saves in the defeat.
MAN OF THE MATCH
Giovani dos Santos’ highlight reel finish will be replayed over and over again, and it was Romain Alessandrini that helped provide the Mexican star’s moment of magic. Alessandrini then created the havoc that caused Ramirez’s own goal. While he won’t show up on the scoresheet, Alessandrini’s fingerprint was all over Sunday’s scoreline.
MOMENT OF THE MATCH
The Loons were close to seeing out a point before a late own goal doomed them to a frustrating home defeat.
MATCH TO FORGET
For the second match in a row, Christian Ramirez scored an unfortunate own goal. The forward has certainly been a bright spot for the Loons this season, but his recent string of rough luck doomed his team to another defeat.
Ever since that disastrous first half against Chicago when Van Damme was pulled and JJ injured, LA has played like a different team. They were obviously lucky with that OG today, but they played well for most of the game and maintained their momentum of positive results.
I don’t know how JJ fits in tactically once he’s healthy. Pedro just plays better with Husidic or Garcia.
Hell, the whole team plays better without JJ in the lineup. Honestly, while he’s a good player technically, he just doesn’t fit with what we’re trying in any successful way, and I’d rather see him be an impact player off the bench. The more interesting question for me is who makes way for Lletget once he’s back on the field and back in form. Baggio broke his leg, so at this point it’ll probably be Rafa coming off, and Lletget in the middle which I think is his best spot, and I think Boateng has thoroughly proved his worth and earned his starting spot