Galaxy lose Chicharito, then match vs. SKC

It was a costly night for the Galaxy, with the first loss coming before the start of the game against Sporting Kansas City.

During warmups before the start of Sunday’s game against Sporting Kansas City, Galaxy star forward Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez was forced out of the lineup due to a calf injury. The club said the move was precautionary, but with it went the offense.

Ethan Zubak replaced Hernandez in the starting lineup, leaving the Galaxy with just six available substitutes, one being goalkeeper Jonathan Klinsmann. Entering the game, the Galaxy had scored 17 goals, with Hernandez accounting for 10.

Despite the absence of Chicharito, the Galaxy were the dangerous team in the first half and for most of the second half, but in the end Johnny Russell’s 81st minute goal proved to be the decider giving Sporting K.C. a 2-0 road win in front of 23,556 at Dignity Health Sports Park.

The Galaxy (7-4) remain in third place in the Western Conference on 21 points, now five points behind Seattle and SKC (26 points)

The teams didn’t meet last season. In 2019, the Galaxy won both meetings (7-2 and 2-0).

They will meet again Oct. 27 in Kansas City. Russell’s goal overshadowed the fact that the Galaxy had the better run of things throughout the game, but without Hernandez, getting the ball into the net proved to be a challenging task. The Galaxy had five shots on goal in the first half, compared to none for SKC.

For every promising push forward, the Galaxy saw things fizzle out, either on a save by SKC goalkeeper Tim Melia or a miscommunication between the midfield and the forwards.

Hernandez’s injury wasn’t the only one that hit the Galaxy. Center back Sega Coulilbaly was subbed off in the 40th minute due to a right abductor injury. He was replaced by Adam Saldana.

With the short bench, the Galaxy didn’t have a defender available on the bench, so Coulilbaly’s injury forced Rayan Raveloson, who was making his debut, to drop back to the back line, with Saldana taking his place in the defensive midfield.

Late in the second half, with the Galaxy chasing the game, SKC’s Khiry Shelton put it away late into extra time.

Sunday was the first game of a six-game month for the Galaxy and the first one with the roster affected by the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Efrain Alvarez and Jonathan dos Santos (Mexico), Giancarlo Gonzalez (Costa Rica) and Oniel Fisher (Jamaica) were all unavailable due national team duties.

THE SCORE

SPORTING KC 2, GALAXY 0

Up next: Galaxy vs. FC Dallas, Wednesday, 7:30p.m., SpecSN