Seeking its first victory in a competitive match in three months and three days, the Galaxy hosted the San José Earthquakes on Wednesday in the latest edition of the California Derby.
Joseph Paintsil scored the only goal of the match, giving the Galaxy a 1-0 win that allowed them to earn three points in the Western Conference and climb to 10th place in the standings.
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The match also marked Hirving “Chucky” Lozano’s debut in front of the Galaxy fans. Only 15,435 spectators visited Dignity Health Sports Park — which has a capacity of 27,000 — to see the Mexican forward line up in a Galaxy home jersey for the first time.
Lozano was introduced on Aug. 7 as the club’s new designated player. He played his first match for the team on the road Saturday, joining as a substitute in the 65th minute of the 1-0 road loss to the Houston Dynamo.
“It’s my first game here at home, and I’m very happy,” Lozano said after the match. “We got the result, which is the most important thing for the team, and, well, honestly, I feel great. Of course, I still need to build up my rhythm and get in better physical shape, but I think I’m feeling really good right now. We’re taking it step by step, and I think we’re doing very well.”
Lozano, who put in a standout performance, inherited the No. 11 jersey vacated by Gabriel Pec and is looking to start a new chapter after his difficult stint with San Diego FC. He joined the Galaxy on loan through December, with an option to make the move a permanent transfer.
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Lozano said he started his day eager to do things right.
“I was really nervous, really anxious, and full of adrenaline,” Lozano acknowledged. “Ever since I woke up, I’ve been really restless. On the way here, I was very quiet because so many thoughts were running through my mind. … It feels different from a game like this one against San José, which is a classic rivalry match. The moment the referee blew the whistle felt incredible because I was starting again in such an important game. I gave it my all, and that has to be a day-to-day thing — literally, training session by training session and game by game.”
Lozano, who received a standing ovation from the fans when his name was called among the starting 11, remained active and engaged throughout the match in which the Galaxy returned to the winning column.
“I’ve been very impressed with his mindset since he arrived,” said Galaxy coach Greg Vanney. “Obviously, he misses playing soccer and wants to be out there playing. To me, he’s playing as if he has a story to tell about himself and wants to tell it on the field — nowhere else — and I respect that and love how he’s approaching it.”
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San José came close to spoiling the party for the Galaxy early on. A defensive error left Jack Jasinski with a clear chance inside the box just four minutes in, but Jakob Glesnes came to the rescue to clear the ball off the line.
The visitors continued to press, and Jasinski found himself in a scoring position again in the 10th minute, this time facing JT Marcinkowski. The Galaxy goalkeeper reacted in time and deflected the shot with his right leg.
The Galaxy responded in the 21st minute with a well-executed set-piece play. Lozano was involved with two passes in the sequence that ended with a shot by Justin Haak that went very close to San José’s goal.
In the 29th minute, Paintsil created another chance for the home team. The Ghanaian found space down the right flank and fired a shot that Angus Gunn easily controlled.
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Lozano had his first chance in front of goal in the 34th minute. The forward drove about 20 yards before unleashing a powerful shot that ended up in Gunn’s hands.
“He’s trying to fit into the team,” Vanney said. “He wants to take on responsibilities out there and wants to be a player the team can rely on, but you can also tell he’s trying to fit in with the group and build relationships with Marco [Reus] out there, connect with his teammates, his willingness to work … all those kinds of things.”
Four minutes later, Kyōgo Furuhashi came close to opening the scoring. The forward exploited a gap in the visiting defense and fired a shot across the goal from the left that sailed just over the top left corner. Gunn looked beaten, but the ball didn’t dip low enough.
As the first half neared its end, things got complicated for the Galaxy. Lucas Sanabria received his second yellow card and was sent off, leaving the L.A. team with 10 players for the entire second half.
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Vanney decided not to make any immediate substitutions at halftime. With Sanabria out, Paintsil had to drop back on several occasions and switched positions with Furuhashi on the attack. Reus also looked to get more involved in the attack, while Lozano helped out on defense on several occasions.
The Galaxy’s first substitution came in the 68th minute, when Lozano left the field to make way for Robert Taylor.
“I was subbed out and they applauded me; they were cheering me on a lot, and honestly, I’m really grateful for that,” Lozano said. “As always, the people who support me, who follow me — I’m very grateful for their support — and honestly, I felt really happy because I tried to help my teammates as much as possible and give 100% right now. Well, I think that showed on the field, and the main thing is that we won.”
A minute later, Paintsil tried to catch everyone off guard with a three-fingered shot, but the strike lacked power and Gunn made a confident save.
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San José then had a golden opportunity to take the lead. In the 71st minute, Preston Judd found himself in a position to simply tap the ball into the back of the net, but he tried to strike it too hard and sent the ball over the crossbar.
The Galaxy capitalized on the mistake.
Taylor weaved his way through four defenders and fired a low shot that nearly became the first goal of the night. Shortly afterward, a give-and-go between Reus and Harbor Miller set up Paintsil’s goal.
In the 79th minute, Reus sent a deep pass to Miller. The defender cut into the box and crossed the ball to Paintsil, who simply had to tap it into the back of the net to make it 1-0 and spark celebrations at Dignity Health Sports Park.
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The Galaxy had to hold on in the final minutes. In the 88th minute, Marcinkowski became the hero by preventing the equalizer with a great save on a header by Jasinski inside the six-yard box.
The final whistle confirmed a victory that the Galaxy had to defend while down a man for the entire second half — a win that ended a six-game winless streak.
The Galaxy will play Montreal on Saturday at Saputo Stadium. The match is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. PDT and will be broadcast on Apple TV.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
