CARSON — The Galaxy were 10 minutes away from picking up three much-needed points Saturday against one of the hottest teams in the MLS.
That was until Mathías Laborda scored an 80th-minute goal for Vancouver to come away with a 1-1 tie against the Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park.
Joseph Paintsil scored the Galaxy’s lone goal in the 46th minute. It was his second goal of the season.
In a match that was billed as a reunion between Germany national team icons, Los Angeles’ Marco Reus and Vancouver’s Thomas Müller, the match never fully materialized. Müller was a late scratch with an illness, while Reus was subbed off at halftime.
The Whitecaps were riding a four-match winning streak coming into Saturday. Their confidence showed early as they had double the shot attempts as the Galaxy in the first half.
Emmanuel Sabbi almost got Vancouver on the board in the 18th minute when he took one touch and fired a shot from a few yards away, but JT Marcinkowski made a stellar save to keep the match scoreless.
Searching for their first shot on goal, Paintsil nearly delivered for Los Angeles in the 23rd minute, but his left-footed shot attempt slowly rolled right into the hands of Yohei Takaoka.
The Galaxy’s defense was tested in the waning moments of the first half with Vancouver taking three shot attempts in the final five minutes.
Less than a minute into the second half, a poor clearance from Takaoka led to Lucas Sanabria finding Paintsil, who was all alone in the final third. Paintsil took one touch and fired away from inside the box to give the Galaxy a one-goal lead 47 seconds into the second half.
The second half saw a much better effort from the Galaxy’s backline. Playing with momentum and swagger thanks to Paintsil’s goal, Los Angeles gave a much more inspired second half effort.
Things got a bit chippy late when the Galaxy picked up two yellow cards in the 65th and 67th minutes.
Marcinowski took a hard blow from Brian White in the 71st minute when they both went up for a cross inside the box. The Galaxy’s goalkeeper was a bit shaken up, but quickly shook it off.
Desperate for an equalizer, Vancouver kicked their offense into overdrive. After multiple runs down the left touchline, the Whitecaps finally pieced together the perfect run when Laborda headed in a free kick in the 80th minute.
Los Angeles nearly had a game-winner in the 85th minute when Paintsil tracked down the ball inside the box and found Elijah Wynder, who missed wide right on his shot attempt.
The Galaxy will kick off their three-game road stand Saturday against Atlanta United, with trips to Seattle and Sporting Kansas City on the horizon, before returning to the Dignity Health Sports Park on May 23.
More to come on this story.