Galaxy take control in the second half for win over Vancouver

CARSON — The Galaxy had to turn the page quickly on Wednesday’s disappointing loss against the Portland Timbers after allowing four goals in a loss.

Saturday, the Galaxy returned home and took a big step toward finishing first in the Western Conference.

Gabriel Pec and Joseph Paintsil scored goals, the Galaxy received an own goal and Riqui Puig added a stoppage-time goal for a 4-2 win in front of 25,387 at Dignity Health Sports Park in the penultimate home game of the regular season.

“Turning our mindset to this game was really important,” Paintsil said. “The last Wednesday game was really a game that we wanted to win but it was not possible based on our mistakes everything and but that’s football. I think our mentality is really strong even though we were a little bit discouraged on Wednesday, but as you can see we just put it aside and focus on this game.”

The win gives the Galaxy (17-7-7, 58 points) a seven-point lead over second place Real Salt Lake, eight points over second-place Colorado and nine over fourth-place LAFC. RSL and Colorado had a game in hand, while LAFC has two.

Also, on a bigger scale, the Galaxy moved to within six points of Inter Miami (64 points) in the race for the Supporters Shield.

“We put ourselves even farther ahead and reestablished our distance in the West …I’m just really trying to focus on that concept, it’s not just about tonight, but it’s about championship behaviors and decisions and actions.”

The Galaxy have just three games remaining in the regular season (Oct. 2 at Colorado, Oct. 5 home against Austin FC and Oct. 19 at Houston Dynamo).

“I felt like we left a lot on the table, over the course of the night, that keeps an opponent in the game,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said. “We got through it tonight …always the third game in a busy week, you got to do what you got to do in some ways, but for us, a lot of the discussion is trying to continue to set championship type of behaviors

“When we’re talking about closing out games, when you have a goal lead or a two-goal lead, making sure that we’re making championship decisions because we’re going to have to when it really gets down it and I think we need to be thinking about that now.”

Vancouver did what many teams don’t dare to when playing the Galaxy at home. The Whitecaps started with a high pressure early, frustrating the Galaxy at times. The end result in the first half, was the Galaxy eventually finding their time and space, ending with a goal by Gabriel Pec, his 13th of the season.

Early in the second half, the Galaxy received a break as Vancouver midfielder Sebastian Berhalter was credited with an own goal, giving the Galaxy a 2-0 lead.

Despite trailing by two goals, the Whitecaps didn’t deter much from their plan and Brian White’s 63rd minute goal gave them life, cutting the score to 2-1.

However, as they’ve done so many times, the Galaxy had an answer. This time from Joseph Paintsil in the 69th minute to restore the two-goal advantage at 3-1. The goal was the second in consecutive games for Paintsil, giving him 10 this season.

The win improved the Galaxy’s home record to 12-1-3, the lone loss came at the Rose Bowl against LAFC. The Galaxy’s 58 points are the most by the club since 2014 (61 points). That team won the MLS Cup.  The 17 wins are the most since the 2011 team that also won MLS Cup.

Vancouver scored near the end of stoppage time to make it 4-2. The third consecutive game that the Galaxy have had a 4-2 scoreline.

The first meeting between the teams was back in April with the Galaxy winning 3-1.