The LA Galaxy were outcompeted by a scrappy ten man New England Revolution, but David Romney and Chris Pontius scored in stoppage time to give Sigi Schmid’s side a 3-2 comeback victory in inexplicable fashion.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic was rested as a precautionary measure to avoid risking injury on the notoriously rough Gillette Stadium surface, and in hindsight it was probably a wise decision. A 23rd minute Cristian Penilla red card should have given LA a decisive advantage, but it was the Revs who began to dominate the match.
The Galaxy shape was a mess, gifting the Revs attackers all sorts of time and space in dangerous spots. After Diego Fagundez and Wilfred Zahibo just missed blasts from outside the area, Fagundez waltzed inside the box to easily put away a finish past a helpless David Bingham.
LA equalized ten minutes later: Jorgen Skjelvik penetrated forward and located Ashley Cole who’s cross was expertly driven home by Chris Pontius. However right before halftime Luis Caicedo headed home a Andrew Farrell cross with ease.
The second half is best left to be forgotten: In all aspects of the game the Galaxy were sub-par. Soon after Ashley Cole did well to execute a goal-line clearance, the Englishman was issued a second yellow late in regulation. But the clearance would prove vital: Two minutes into stoppage time Dave Romney was at the back post to nod home the equalizer, then Giovani dos Santos’ dummy allowed Pontius to complete his brace moments later as the Galaxy stunningly stole all three points.