Galaxy hang on for a draw against New York City in season opener

CARSON, Calif. — After the opening 45 minutes, the LA Galaxy looked every bit the part of a contender. 

They had a goal inside two minutes from a new striker, controlled the possession and tempo against NYCFC, and played in front of a supportive crowd of 25,025 at Dignity Health Sports Park. 

For the final 45, the club looked like they were having flashbacks.

When the final whistle blew on a 1-1 draw Sunday night, the Galaxy were left to sift through the wreckage of a promising night undone by a moment of poor discipline and a second-half offensive stall.

The night began with the kind of moment every new signing dreams of. In just the second minute, striker João Klauss connected for his first goal in a Galaxy uniform. 

“It was amazing. I've been in the league for three years and everybody in the league dreamed to play for Galaxy, so in my first game in front of fans and with 85 seconds or something, I scored my first goal.” Klauss said. “It was magic.”

The match flipped on its head following a lengthy VAR review that resulted in defender Emiro Garces being shown a second yellow card for a foul in the area in the second half. 

Greg Vanney wasn’t pleased with Garces’ decision making, as Maya Yoshida was standing near the bench, waiting to enter, for Garces. 

“I actually had Maya standing right next to me, ready to go in for him, so I just needed one more one more stoppage, as it was happening.”

Vanney also made a point to call out the length of the review itself.

“It shouldn't take that long to make a decision. It should be pretty clear and obvious,” Vanney said. “I thought our start to the game was fantastic, and then I thought we struggled to create attacks, build attacks from the back for pretty much the rest of the game.”

The Galaxy were reduced to 10 men and NYCFC had a lifeline. 

Nico Fernández calmly buried the ensuing penalty kick, erasing LA's quick start in an instant.

Head coach Greg Vanney turned to his bench, inserting Yoshida and John Nelson for Reus and a booked Julian Aude, while Nascimento replaced Klauss. 

The subs, however, failed to spark a response. With their most creative player and the lone goal scorer on the sideline and a man down, the Galaxy’s attack sputtered and died. 

“I just felt like we were making a lot of bad reads as it goes to starting our attacks, I felt like we weren't showing up for each other with in preparation for what needed to happen next, and we were getting like we were getting forced into a lot of areas of the field that we we didn't necessarily want to be in.”

The draw leaves the Galaxy with a single point on opening night, a result that feels more like a loss given the context, a similar feeling after the Galaxy drew earlier this week in Panama.

”It’s always difficult to travel to Panama, play on an interesting field, different circumstances, and then come back home,” Justin Haak, who made his first start against his former club, said. “I think today, especially, we showed really good characters and still come away with a point in difficult situation, going down a man.”

”I also still feel like we could have gotten, or maybe deserved the three points and winning both of those games,” Haak added.

Next, the Galaxy host Sporting San Miguelito for the second leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup opening round from Dignity Health Sports Park, Wednesday at 8:30 p.m.