Up it without a paddle: Colorado Rapids 2, LA Galaxy 0

LA Galaxy were on the road and back in action this evening, taking on Western Conference foes Colorado Rapids. In the midst of a slump, and on the edge of a playoff position, Galaxy needed to get a win tonight to avoid falling further behind in a very tough West.

In what has become a startling trend, Galaxy found themselves down before the 20 minute mark. Rapids put on a long ball that opened up the LA defense just enough for Diego Rubio to find space and put on a shot from deep. The low ball was too much for Bond and it gave the home side an early lead.

It had looked like Rapids got a second goal, but VAR was kind and spared Galaxy from being down two goals. As it were, they were headed to half-time down a goal on the road despite having the better, again. While Rapids maintained just a bit more possession with 56%, Galaxy finished the half with three times as many shots, 12-4. They just needed to convert those chances, and were looking for another second half surge to get it done and get some points.

LA came out strong in the second half, looking sharper and more likely to find the equalizer. Their closest chance came in the 70th minute when Dejan put across a great ball that slowly rolled across the keeper, but nobody was there to find it on the other end. Unfortunately the missed chances came back to bite the team. In the 75th minute a gorgeous backheel pass found Zardes who doubled the lead for the Rapids.

The loss pushes the losing run to three straight matches. While the team does remain in the seventh and final playoff spot, they are only one point above the Seattle Sounders who are always good for a late-season run. It’s unclear what needs to change, but something definitely has to happen differently to get this team back into the win column and accumulating some positive momentum. Galaxy will have a week to figure it out, with their next match at home July 24th, taking on Atlanta United.

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