Remontada Redux: LA Galaxy Score 3-2 Fightback Win

Los Angeles, Calif. -- A second-half LA Galaxy onslaught, powered by Joao Klauss' gift goal and a Justin Haak headed winner, spurred LA to their second straight come-from-behind 3-2 win, this time at home.

It was also the first time the Galaxy have won two straight matches all year. And after last week's win over Minnesota in similar fashion, the signs are there that momentum is building for the G's.  

"I think we're showing progress. The capacity to win games in some different ways, showing confidence, and being able to... we got ahead last week, then we went behind, then we came back to win, and then today we get behind two at home. We showed the resilience to come back and win," LA Galaxy Head Coach Greg Vanney shared with the Sporting Tribune. 

"So again, I think we're showing progress, and why we are making progress, we're still finding, we're winning games, and that's what's most important down the stretch right now. Is that you win games."

But it could've gone much differently. 

It was a tale of two halves again in LA, as the hosts conceded right out of the gate in the fourth minute. 

Colorado Striker Donavan Phillip was played in behind the Galaxy defense, beat Jakob Glesnes for pace, and kept his nerve to beat Galaxy Goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski for the 1-0 scoreline. Just moments later, Marcinkowski was tested again and kept the deficit at one with a point-blank one-on-one save. 

In the week when the Galaxy starting goalkeeper signed a contract extension, Marcinkowski once again proved his worth by making two key saves when the Galaxy defense was in disarray. Time and again, the Galaxy #1 has kept his team in games this season, and his teammates have been vocal in their praise, with Haak calling him the "best and most consistent performer" on the team following the win over Colorado.

Marcinkowski himself isn't convinced.

"No. You look at the quality of the team and look at the quality of that locker room. We have guys who played all over the world at the highest level, and I think what's really cool is that we're coming together at the right time," the shotstopper said post-Colorado. 

"I think there's been plenty of games you look back earlier in the year where it's just small details. We missed a pass here. We let in a goal there. But it seems to be that we're kind of we're clicking and we're ticking at the right moment. So no, I don't think so. I think if I thought I was the best player, I would probably be delusional. So, all I really want to do is just help the team." 

Saturday night was no different, and Marcinkowski was his typical solid self. Unfortunately, his good play could not prevent Colorado’s second. 

More troubling still, it came virtually like the first. 

After Paxten Aaronson was played in behind the Galaxy defense on the left, he was able to get the better of Lucas Calegari in the physical battle over the ball. Once beaten, the Galaxy backline could only watch as Aaronson finished the breakaway for the 2-0 score. 

But whatever Greg Vanney’s half-time team talk was, it worked.

LA came out with renewed vigor and immediately put Colorado under pressure with a high press designed to cause mistakes. A change in formation at the start of the second half produced a stifling Galaxy press that began to turn the game.

And after several close moments, LA finally made the breakthrough in the 54th minute.

The Galaxy made good use of Klauss’ aerial presence with a well-worked play that saw a tantalizing cross played into the striker. Klauss hung in the air for the ball, but could not meet the service. But his momentum led to a Reggie Cannon own goal that put LA on the board with a 2-1 scoreline.

Klauss would then score the easiest goal of his career to level the game. 

The big striker latched onto Rapids Goalkeeper Nicholas Hansen’s errant pass and only had to guide it into the net to tie the match at two-all. From there, the Galaxy comeback felt inevitable.

"The crowd and the players and the energy in the stadium was as in sync tonight as it has been, I feel like, for maybe two years. And so I felt like that was huge, and I felt like that's part of what brought the energy that we were able to come back," Vanney said while praising the home support. 

His goalkeeper agreed. Marcinkowski described the home support as "powerful" and didn't doubt that a third goal was coming.

"I think the crowd really brought the energy, and you could feel it," Marcinkowski said of the Galaxy faithful. "You could feel that the third goal was going to come as soon as we scored the second one. It was just more of a matter of time." 

Eight minutes later, the Galaxy completed their improbable fightback.

After sustained attacks, LA won a corner kick. Haak rose to meet Robert Taylor's inswinging cross to score his first Galaxy goal and the potential game-winner. 

After a shaky start to the game, Haak and center-back partner Glesnes were then able to see the match out along with the rest of the backline despite the Rapids pressing hard for the equalizer.

In a match with huge playoff implications, the Galaxy took everything a direct playoff rival threw at them and came out on top. The slow start should worry Galaxy fans, but the finish should give them heart. 

Now the Galaxy is in the thick of the postseason hunt.

The victory moved the Galaxy level on points with Colorado at 36, where they sit just one place behind the mile-high team in eighth in the Western Conference. 

With a two-week break before a massive match against St. Louis City, the Galaxy's playoff fate is in their own hands. 

"I think we're starting to see the pieces really coming together," Haak shared in a post-match press conference. Despite the good moment and the goal, he counseled calm. 

"We can't get ahead of ourselves. We have to keep putting the work in and training. This is just three more points at the end of the day, and we still have work to do to qualify for the playoffs, and then keep going from there."