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LA did not the have best performance Sunday afternoon at a frigid Yankee Stadium, and injuries to Giovani dos Santos and Michael Ciani only made things worse as the Galaxy fell to New York City FC 2-1.
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The first real opportunity of the match came when Yangel Herrera got open in front of the 18-yard box but sliced his shot wide, much to the annoyance of keeper David Bingham.
NYCFC would strike first in the 22nd minute. David Villa got behind the back four, and while Michael Ciani managed to clear his cross, the rebound went square to defender Anton Tinnerholm who blasted a shot off the crossbar and inside Bingham’s net.
Villa would double the advantage when NYCFC caught the Galaxy flat-footed on the break and the 36-year old put away a rebound off a close-range shot from Ben Sweat.
After Ciani pulled up late in the first half had to be replaced with Daniel Steres, it looked like it wouldn’t be the Galaxy’s day. And yet in the 60th minute, Jonathan dos Santos did well to hustle and win a loose ball in the box, stabbing past Sean Johnson to cut the lead in half.
LA continued to press, but a mistake by Ashley Cole late resulted in the left back earning a second yellow card and his teammates were unable to mount a comeback.