Los Angeles – Dallas FC scored twice in the last 13 minutes on Saturday to come from behind and beat the reigning Major League Soccer (MLS) champions Los Angeles Galaxy 2-1.
Argentine-born playmaker Mauro Diaz set up both goals for Dallas, the first by Blas Perez then the winner, in the 86th minute, by last season’s MLS rookie of the year, Tesho Akindele.
The win lifted Dallas FC to a share of first place in the Western Conference standings, level on 20 points with Vancouver, while the Galaxy slipped to sixth place after their third away loss of the season.
“We didn’t do well at the end of the game, obviously the last 15 minutes, and that’s my responsibility,” LA Galaxy coach Bruce Arena told reporters.
“When a team plays that poorly on the road, they’re not well-coached.”
Vancouver beat a 10-man Philadelphia 3-0 to edge ahead of Dallas on goal difference. Pedro Morales and Octavio Rivero both scored in the first half then substitute Darren Mattocks added a third after Philadelphia defender Richie Marquez was sent off for a reckless challenge.
New England gave up two late goals, including the equaliser in the last minute, to draw 2-2 with Orlando, missing the chance to snatch the outright lead in the Eastern Conference standings.
New England led 2-0 with just 15 minutes to go at the Citrus Bowl before things suddenly went awry. Orlando pulled one back in the 75th minute then equalised in the last minute when French-born defender Aurelien Collin headed in off the bar.
DC United, level on points with New England, also squandered the opportunity to take the outright lead, drawing 1-1 with Sporting Kansas City.
DC’s Costa Rican international Jairo Arrieta gave the home side the lead but Sporting KC levelled on the stroke of halftime through Englishman Dominic Dwyer.
Argentine midfielder Diego Valeri, playing his first match since undergoing knee surgery in October, scored the winner for Portland in a 2-1 victory over Montreal.
The US national team captain Clint Dempsey scored twice for the Seattle Sounders but his brace was not enough to stop the Columbus Crew from registering a 3-2 win.
Kei Kamara banged in two goals for Columbus to remain level with Dempsey at the top of the MLS goalscoring this season with seven goals each. – Reuters