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Loons battle back for a 1-1 draw with L.A. Galaxy

andy greder, pioneer press
·4 min read
Loons battle back for a 1-1 draw with L.A. Galaxy

At first, it was Bond, Jonathan Bond.

Then it was Robin Hood, er, Robin Lod.

Bond, the Los Angeles Galaxy goalkeeper, saved six Minnesota United shots Wednesday. Then Lod, the Loons forward, scored to nullify Sacha Kljestan’s penalty-kick goal in a late-drama-filled 1-1 draw at Allianz Field.

Lod, who is known for his Robin Hood arrow-shooting celebration after goals, saved the day in the 87th minute, after Kljestan put L.A. up only three minutes earlier.

Until Lod’s sliding left-footed finish, Minnesota was staring down the barrel of a fourth straight loss after Michael Boxall was called for a handball on Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez’s header, followed by Kljestan beating Loons goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair on the PK.

After Lod scored, his celebration remained holstered as Loons players tried to wrestle the ball away from a villain Bond to score again. Afterward, the Loons, from manager Adrian Heath on down, felt like they should have won the game and received all three points, given their abundance of scoring chances.

The Loons finished with an expected goals of 2.7, according to MLS, with L.A. at 2.4, but that was boosted by the 0.8 xG associated with taking a PK.

“On clear-cut opportunities, we’d have to say the couple (points) dropped, but really proud of the players in the way they kept going,” Heath said. “To have the opportunities that we’ve had before halftime and then to concede a goal the way we did was a kick in the teeth, but they kept going.”

To stem the skid, Heath held a team meeting before Tuesday’s training session; responsibility and pride were major themes, given how Minnesota had fallen to 10th place in the Western Conference with a 2-5-0 record in their last seven. That resolve was tested, and Minnesota (4-5-3) fought back.

Heath said right back D.J. Taylor “epitomized” the grit when he took a throw-in and outhustled Galaxy players to the end line before a cross to set up Lod’s goal. It was Taylor’s first MLS assist.

Lod’s goal moved the Finnish forward into a tie for the club record for goals scored in MLS play at 21; he tied Christian Ramirez, Kevin Molino and Darwin Quintero.

“I guess I have played a lot of games to be up there, to have the chance,” Lod said after his 64th regular-season game in Minnesota. “It’s great. It shows that I have done something right, I guess.”

Among those four record-holders, Lod has scored the least frequent — Ramirez had 0.50 goals per 90 minutes, Quintero at 0.41, Molino at 0.39 and Lod at 0.37 — but Lod’s came at a pretty important time.

The Loons completely dominated the first half but had nothing to show for it. They had 12 shots to two for L.A., but of the four Minnesota was able to put on frame, Bond was able to stop each one.

MNUFC’s front four of Lod, Emanuel Reynoso, Franco Fragapane and Bongi Hlongwane got into a lot of dangerous places. Each had at least one shot on target, with golden opportunities. In the second half, Fragapane had two straight chances, but Bond saved one and defender Julian Araujo’s header off the line denied the second.

Lod said he didn’t have any special celebration planned for when he breaks the record. The make-believe bow and arrow will likely come out again — if Minnesota is ahead.

That’s the spot MNUFC couldn’t get to in the end Wednesday.

BRIEFLY

Former Loons left back Chase Gasper, who was traded away two weeks ago, subbed into the game for L.A. in the 75th minute and received a warm reception. He then got a tap on the back from former teammate Lod, and Gasper visited his old teammates in the locker room postgame. … The Loons made three changes to its starting XI after the 3-1 loss to Seattle Sounders on Sunday. Boxall returned from illness and replaced Brent Kallman; Hlongwane stepped in for Abu Danladi; and Taylor came in for Oniel Fisher. … Chicharito has a Galaxy-high five goals this season, but the former Manchester United frontman has not scored in seven straight MLS games. … L.A. Galaxy (6-4-2) lost for a second straight game, including a 3-1 loss to FC Dallas, whom the Loons will play on the road Sunday.

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