P/I/P Season 31 Game 12 - LA Galaxy at Atlanta, 5/9/26, 4:30 p.m. PDT - Apple TV

Yes. Thommy has been a solid pick up. Good skilled player to have for a role player.

 

THANK YOU FOR YOU SACRIFICE GOOD SIR!

 

Yay we are in 9th place! (Going by ppg since teams have played different numbers of games.)

 

Tale of 2 halves

 

Only team in the league that has the exact same record at home as on the road.

2-2-2

 

Overall 4-4-4 with a goal differential of 0. I guess that makes us exactly average. Movin’ on up!

 

I am very whelmed.

 

What the hell‽ Did we actually take it to the corner at the end of the game? Did we actually employ some game management? Holy hell.

Again credit where it’s due, it was another largely ugly game, but it was effective. Vanney has surprised me the last three games with his willingness to adapt the team tactics.

 

so how’d it turn out?

 

Glesnes was once again excellent, he's probably our best player this year if you take away the injuries, and Garcés is so much better with him at his side.

Same story as the RSL game : a very controversial referee decision helped us to get a win. Once again we had a little bit of luck, that's why I can't take this team seriously yet. If we win at SKC and against Houston before the World Cup (I'd take a loss at Seattle), that could help to build real momentum.

 

Sofascore gives it to Pec (obv)

 

Fotmob gives it to Pec, too

 

Whoscored as well, Pec


Match Report from Whoscored

 

Some defensiveness from Vanney being asked to comment on late game Maya subs the last two weeks.

He also makes pretty clear that lately we’ve been trying to play defense first until the last 30 by design.

https://www.lagalaxy.com/news/match...ints-in-comeback-win-behind-gabriel-pec-brace

LA Galaxy Postgame Top Quotes

LA Galaxy Head Coach Greg Vanney

On what changed in the game to get the team three points on the road:

“We knew at some points in the game, and with 30 minutes left, we wanted to get Marco [Reus] out. Get a little more attacking minded and fresh legs. The group had a strong mentality and kept with it, they kept doing the work. They kept defending and finding the opportunities in transition. There are some good things to take away but the mentality over this last stretch of games has been outstanding. I’m proud of the guys for sticking with it.”

On Gabriel Pec’s brace and his training efforts:

“It was not a product of training differently; in fact, he’s been out, recovering from the last match and we’ve been trying to manage him through the week and last couple of days. Like you’ve heard me say before, we want to find Gabe on the move and ideally moving toward the goal and he was more clinical through the finishes. Getting Gabe running behind the back line and getting him at speed. He did a great job of taking those two and hopefully that builds some confidence for him and today he took both of his [shots] with confidence.”

On if he was worried about the physicality of the match going into it:

“The game was fast and inside the midfield with the two natural pivots; we were having a hard time finding enough players ahead of the ball and when we did, we didn’t have the numbers to really attack and make something of those situations. Our shift was always going to be about attacking further down the stretch and it was a matter of getting us there. I thought a lot of things worked. The game was fast and physical and when we recovered the ball we needed to make good decisions and move forward. The guys came onto the field and executed exactly how they were supposed to execute.”

On his decision to sub in more defenders toward the end of the match:

“They came on with two forwards. Joe had run his last sprint. We were starting to lose numbers and we knew they had two strikers on the field. I went back and really assessed the last game and I know we went to five. It’s a foul we shouldn’t commit. I didn’t feel like it was an issue of the structure I thought it was the plays we need to be better at. It worked out. Sometimes it will and many times it doesn’t but if the decision is the right decision, you have to believe in it.”

LA Galaxy Defender Jakob Glesnes

On what tonight’s win says about the team’s mentality:

“It's huge, like you said, the mentality in the group now. It's like we can beat anyone, no matter where we are. And that was the mindset that we had going into the game today as well. Again, it wasn't the cleanest game, but again, we knew as long as we can defend well, especially away, that we're going to have opportunities going forward as well, because we have some quick, good guys in the front that can do special things. And the mentality that we showed after going down 1-0 today, and to come back and now, in the end, win 2-1, it's huge. So, I think the game plan today was really good. You saw the changes that we did. That was huge. We got in fresh guys that have seen the game from the outside and came in and knew exactly where it was going to be.”

On wearing the captain’s armband and being back from the injury:

“First of all, I'm proud to do that. It’s an honor. It's fun to go in the front for everyone, but we have so many guys that are able to do the job here. With me, and in the locker room, there are so many leaders, so it's an easy job. I would say, it's easy to say now after we've been winning away. But, yeah, no, I have been feeling great. I had to manage the first game with just 45 minutes. In my head, I wanted to play 90, but also, I understand it from the doctor's side that we had to start slowly, but then 90 against Vancouver, and also today, it feels good, and also even better when we are taking 3 points away. I'm going to have a good night of sleep tonight.”

On the team chemistry and the cohesiveness being created within the team:

“Yeah, I feel like that has been one of our strengths now, the last couple of games. I would say it's not just the back line, I would say it's more the whole team. It's from the front and all the way back to JT in goal, and when we are defending as one unit, we are so hard to play against, and then we know also that we have the quality up top, where some magic can happen. So, if we are doing our job as a unit, then we know we are getting chances in every game. Today, we took it with both our arms, and here we are with 3 points. That is huge, and that is building something also, some confidence that we are taking with us on Wednesday, because we know it's going to be a tough week. But I would say, now, over the last three games, we have built some momentum, and some confidence.”

 

If our defense continues to be improved after Paintsil returns to winger, well then I will believe our D is better due to Vanney’s tactical changes. But until I see it hold up w Paintsil in midfield I’m sticking with my ‘improved D due to injury-driven personnel changes’ theory.

 

While I also understand D first, the whole “wait to play actual soccer and have an XG of 0.04 until the last fifteen minutes of the game” is not good for my health.

Glesnes - exactly what everyone else has said. He also calms Garces down next to him who makes far less bonehead mistakes.

I hope this also unlocks Pec to be CCL Pec as well. Less worried about Joe - just needs minutes.

I swooned over the ball in the corner.
Happy Mothers Day everyone.

 

And Happy Mother’s Day to you, one of the very best BS Galaxy moms!!

 

I'm happy to say Vanney got the tactics right. I have no problem going defense first, especially on the road. Had we done this last year we might have been....and exactly average team that can make the playoffs. It's something.

 

As we have said all year, bringing Reus on at the end against tired legs is the right call. He created both those goals. Asking him to go 90 every game is a bridge too far.

 

For the next little while the question might be if we put Thommy ahead of Miller in the starting line up. for me, for the next two road games for sure I like bringing both Reus and Thommy off the bench.

Miller is looking rather more limited with his extended minutes but the results have been there and hopefully (same with Cuevas) the investment in minutes will develop them.

 

As bad as SKC has been I really miss Dejan up top.
Yea we can't afford him anymore, but still sad.

 

He had a number of recovery tackles/blocks that impressed me, but that's just "on the field" play.
If he's helping to contribute to calming down Emiro, I really hope we can keep him for a while.
You could clearly see the impact Garces in the starting lineup had in our 24 cup run, but as we've seen decisions and hotheadedness seems to be a weakness.
If Glesnes is part of the reason he's calmed down a bit lately, more power to him.

 

Highlight Time Folks

*Shout Outs*​

Pec: 2 Clutch Goals To Get The 3 Points!

Glesnes: Absolute Stud in the back!!

Garces: A very solid number 2 next to Glesnes!!!

Marcinkowski: Excellent Game from the new Keeper!!!!

Reus: I've said it before and I will say it again. Reus against tired legs leads to problems for the other team!!!!!

Thommy: He came in an helped with the attack that lead to goal number 2!!!!!!

Vanney: Good job coach! He has the defense working. We were able to successfully bunker and then when we shifted to attack we were able to successfully attack as well!!!!!!! 11 points to get to go to save your job.

Onward My G's!!! Kansas City Here We Come!!!