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A full-strength Galaxy team began play on
Saturday but wound up with a disappointing 2-2 home draw against
Minnesota United and also saw two key players depart early.
Winger Romain Alessandrini scored his eighth goal of the season
only seven minutes into the contest, but he exited 17 minutes
later after injuring his right leg. Then attacker Giovani dos
Santos departed at the half for Los Angeles (10-8-6, 36 points)
with his own left leg ailment.
Alessandrini and dos Santos are both listed as questionable for
the Tuesday contest in Carson, Calif.
Los Angeles coach Sigi Schmid admits each loss complicates a
three-game, eight-day stretch for a club that already relies on
several players over the age of 30. Those include star forward
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, outside back Ashley Cole and winger Chris
Pontius.
"You sort of have lineups written in your mind, but then
everything sort of goes out the window as you are dealing with
the injuries," Schmid said after Saturday's loss. "We have to
see how everybody came through the game tonight, and then we
will make our decisions."
Meanwhile, the Rapids (6-12-5, 23 points) are in a rare positive
stretch this season after defeating the San Jose Earthquakes 2-1
on Saturday for a second consecutive victory. Colorado earned a
2-1 home win over the Galaxy two weekends ago.
After Kellyn Acosta scored in his first two games with the
Rapids, the secondary-transfer-window addition assisted on both
goals Saturday against the Western Conference's last-place club.
Colorado is 4-3-3 in its past 10 games following a miserable
eight-game losing skid earlier this season. The Rapids still
begin the week 12 points beneath the playoff line, though coach
Anthony Hudson says his team's mentality is as good as it's ever
been.
"Slowly, the players are believing more and more in ourselves
and what we're doing," Hudson said. "At no point in this period
did the players stop working. And what's what they're doing.
They just continue to fight and work hard, and they're really
committed to move the team in the right direction."
--Field Level Media
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