Joseph Paintsil scores twice as Galaxy beat Whitecaps amid supporter protest
CARSON — The Galaxy’s Fourth of the July meeting with the Vancouver Whitecaps had a much quieter tone Friday.
In the first Galaxy home game since the start of last month’s immigration raids, the club’s supporter groups had their first chance to show their support for the people and community and displeasure with the Galaxy.
Gone were the usual chants and singing that have come to symbolize a Galaxy home game.
Members of the Angel City Brigade and Galaxians walked out in the 12th minute, in protest of the club’s decision to not issue a statement regarding the raids.
Before the game, the groups in the Victoria Block unfurled a Tifo of the United States with images of armed forces members with the words “Fight ignorance, not immigrants.”
On the other side of the stands, the L.A. Riot Squad held a sign that read: “We like our whiskey neat and our land and people free.” The Riot Squad also went silent for the duration of the game.
On the field, the Galaxy (2-13-6, 12 points), facing a critical month of July, got a goal from Matheus Nascimento early and a pair of second-half goals from Joseph Paintsil to put away the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-0 in front of only 19,557 at Dignity Health Sports Park.
“I thought we played well for the vast majority of the game,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said. “We got off to a great start and I thought the ball was moving quick.”
The Galaxy’s last two Fourth of July games were played at the Rose Bowl against LAFC.
The Whitecaps entered the week in second place in the Western Conference.
Nascimento gave the Galaxy the perfect start, knocking home a rebound in the second minute. Edwin Cerrillo’s shot was spilled by Vancouver goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka, right in Nascimento’s path for an easy finish.
That’s where the game remained until the second half. In the 60th minute, Paintsil, who had struggled all season, finished off a sequence that started with Gabriel Pec and then to Marco Reus. Reus’ final pass left Paintsil with some work to be done, but he went far to Takaoka’s left for the 2-0 lead.
Later, Paintsil converted a penalty kick, that defender Maya Yoshida earned after getting fouled, for the 3-0 lead.
“I really needed this,” he said of his goals. “Sometimes you need to raise your head and focus on the next game and do what you have to do. I need to keep focusing on the right part because there is no failure.”
For Paintsil, it was a special night as his mother attended the game. It was the first time she had seen him play since 2015.
“With your mom’s prayers and with your mom’s presence, it means a lot,” he said. “Mommy’s spirit is always the best. I was doing everything for my mom today and my kid. I was putting more effort, running everywhere to defend.
“She was in Belgium when I came to L.A., so I think it’s an amazing moment for me.”
The Galaxy finished the game with a man advantage after Vancouver’s Jayden Nelson picked up his second yellow card after kicking the ball into the stands, after a whistle.
The game kicked off a stretch of three consecutive home games, the longest of the season for the Galaxy. The Galaxy’s homestand will continue July 12 against D.C. United and conclude July 16 against Austin FC.
“I thought we played a nice, complete game,” Vanney said. “Taking the early goal was important and then getting the second goal was big … down the stretch, getting the third sealed everything off. I was pleased with the guys. I thought everybody worked for each other on the night. I thought everybody was connected. They are obviously a good team and I think they play a very collective game and we did a good job of working together on night to deal with situations and getting a shutout was big for the group, as well, so a lot of positives.”