CARSON, Calif. – LAFC stormed into their debut season by taking one giant step after another while declaring that they were truly the side that represents the city on the soccer field.
Now the LA Galaxy, who have toiled in neighboring suburbs for some 23 years, are on the verge of claiming the spoils in the first season's battles. A draw in Friday night's StubHub Center showdown as part of Heineken Rivalry Week (10:30 pm ET | ESPN - Full TV & Streaming Info) would give them the first El Trafico and would make quite the statement in the rhetorical war.
That's important, but it's not what's prodding them into the third meeting.
“Our No. 1 objective is to make the playoffs,” says Galaxy head coach Sigi Schmid, whose team is coming off a 5-0 embarrassment in Seattle that followed surrendered leads costing seven points in the previous three games. “I don't want to lose this game, for sure. And we want to win this series – that is really important.
“But at the end of the day, if winning this series means not making the playoffs, we'd rather make the playoffs and not win the series.”
Schmid is prioritizing here. He knows well that beating LAFC would play into larger objectives, but a draw isn't enough. The Galaxy need all three points, and they need to take a big step forward defensively – and find goals without Giovani dos Santos, Romain Alessandrini and perhaps Jonathan dos Santos – to improve their chances.
The first two games have followed form if not result. LAFC blew past their slow-starting foe -- with goals in the fifth minute in the opener and seventh in last month's rematch – en route to a comfortable lead, and the Galaxy storm back to win (on Zlatan Ibrahmovic's debut dramatics) or draw. It's worked out all right for LA so far, but Schmid and Co. know it's not a reasonable game plan.
“The one thing we want to change is we can't keep giving them a goal in the first 10-15 minutes of the game,” he said. “So we've got to make sure to keep that under tabs and get through the first half. We've shown our ability to come back in each of the games and to start to control the game in the second half, but I don't want to wait until the second half to do that.”
There's certainly a sense of urgency. Schmid has targeted 51 points to reach the playoffs, and LA need to claim 14 of 24 available, with just three home games remaining after Friday's, to get there.
“I don't like to call games must-win games. That's just me personally,” he said. “I think it's an important game for us, and we need to get points. It's a home game, it's a rival, and we need points to continue moving up the standings.”
If Schmid wants to stay away from the 'M' word, Perry Kitchen is willing to suggest it.
“It's a huge game,” he said. “I'd say it's as close to a playoff game as it can get without being in the playoffs. Obviously the rivalry -- it's big for the club, big for the fans, to solidify our position here in the city -- but we still have to make the playoffs and make something of it. Winning a series against our crosstown rival is not enough for this club. There's a lot on the line.”
