LA Galaxy avoid going Timber against Portland

Saturday night saw the LA Galaxy (14-7-5) host the Portland Timbers. They were without Dejan Joveljic again but it did not matter. Joseph Paintsil stepped up big in his absence as he scored or assisted in all three of the Galaxy's goals.

At the 38th minute, Gabriel Pec scored his tenth goal of the year. This gave the LA Galaxy a 1-0 lead entering halftime. 

Within the opening minutes of the second half, Ricard Puig found the back of the net. Paintsil racked up his second assist of the game and seventh of the season. 

Shortly thereafter, Portland responded. Johnathan Rodriguez of the Timbers scored, assisted by Evander. The LA Galaxy would never lose control of their lead in the game.

In the 58th minute, Paintsil placed the ball in the back of the Timbers net to make it 3-1. Diego Fagundez assisted on the score.

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LA Galaxy avoid going Timber against Portland

The offense sputtered a bit in the second half. The Timbers cut into the Galaxy lead when Santiago Moreno scored in the 73rd minute. Paintsil was called for offsides twice in a seven minute stretch. It was his third offense in the game. 

A pair of late yellow cards by the Galaxy in stoppage time also made things interesting to close the game. Both John Nelson and Miguel Berry each racked up a yellow card.

With LAFC defeating Seattle 3-0, they are right behind the Los Angeles Galaxy for first. Colorado won against visiting Real Salt Lake 3-2 on Saturday, as well

After playing three matches in ten days, the LA Galaxy will have eleven days rest. Next up for the Western Conference leaders is an away contest against the San Jose Earthquakes. The Galaxy have already defeated San Jose twice this year.

Prediction: Los Angeles Galaxy 3, San Jose Earthquakes, 1.