Maya Yoshida and Erik Thommy scored goals and James Marcinkowski produced five saves as the visiting Los Angeles Galaxy snapped a four-game winless streak with a 2-1 victory over struggling Austin FC on Saturday afternoon in a Western Conference match.
Thommy’s goal in the 78th minute proved to be the difference in a match between a pair of offensively challenged teams that had combined to go eight matches without a win.
The Galaxy (2-3-2, 8 points) leapfrogged Austin FC in the standings with the victory, their first in MLS play since Feb. 28 before the 0-3-1 stretch.
Myrto Uzuni scored for Austin (1-3-3, 6 points), which extended its winless stretch to five matches (0-3-2) and still has not scored more than two goals in a match this season. The Verde has not won since a 1-0 home decision over D.C. United on March 1 and have scored a combined five goals in their past five contests.
The Verde was on the aggressive from the kickoff, with Christian Ramirez forcing LA goalkeeper Marcinkowski into a sprawling save in the match’s third minute. Thommy responded with a low percentage shot in the 17th minute that Austin keeper Brad Stuver easily stopped.
Marcinkowski made a sterling save on another shot by Ramirez in the 27th minute and then watched as Guilherme Biro’s shot from just inside the center of the box four minutes later flew over the crossbar and out of harm’s way.
Yoshida broke the scoreless deadlock in the 34th minute when he outjumped two Austin defenders to head home a corner kick from Marco Reus and into the bottom right corner of the net.
Yoshida tried to add to the Galaxy’s lead in the 40th minute but Stuver was steady and made the save on a shot from the center of the box.
LA controlled the rest of the half and the beginning the second half with the Verde offering up a tepid scoring chance on Joseph Rosales’ low percentage shot in the 56th minute. Edwin Cerrillo looked to expand the Galaxy’s lead with a scoring chance 10 minutes later that was turned away by Stuver.
Thommy all but put the match on ice when doubled the Galaxy’s advantage with a goal in the 78th minute. The scoring play started with a goal kick by Marcinkowski, who cleared the ball to Emiro Garces. Garces passed to Thommy as he sprinted down the left side of the pitch; Thommy carried the ball all the way into the box unmarked before bouncing a shot under Stuver and into the bottom right corner of the net.
Austin tried to get back into the match when Mikkel Desler tested Marcinkowski in the 82nd minute with a header that the LA keeper corralled.
Uzuni finally found the net for the Verde in the 85th minute, threading a shot over the Galaxy defense and into the top left corner after a corner kick by Biro that was headed out by Torres, giving Uzuni some space with which to work.
–Field Level Media
