Down 2-0 on the road and playing horribly, it didn't look like the LA Galaxy had much of a chance to make a comeback. But then the last 10 minutes happened. First, old man David Beckham scored in the 81st minute to bring LA to within one, then the 18-year-old kid Jose VIllarreal scored in just his second career match to cap the comeback and earn the Galaxy a 2-2 draw with the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Vancouver Whitecaps Vs. LA Galaxy, 2012 MLS: Galaxy Come From Behind To Earn Draw
The Whitecaps were all over the Galaxy from the very start and Gershon Koffie got them a well-deserved goal in the 18th minute. The referee played advantage after a Galaxy, only the LA defense stared at Koffie as if the referee whistled for a foul and the play was dead. With plenty of room, Koffie took te ball into the box and finished well, hitting the ball low and hard to beat Josh Saunders.
Not even 10 minutes later, Vancouver doubled their lead. Lee Young-Pyo was given space and he took advantage by hitting a perfect cross for Barry Robson. The Scot then snapped a great header past Saunders and the Whitecaps had a 2-0 lead.
Just because the Whitecaps were two goals up didn’t mean they were going to slow down. They kept pressing and continued to put pressure on the Galaxy. It almost paid off on two occasions in the second half when they hit the crossbar, but Vancouver could only get two.
That would come back to haunt the Whitecaps, starting with a strike from Beckham. After a cross hit the crossbar (no, that's not a typo), it fell to Landon Donovan, who laid that ball off for Beckham. The Brit then ripped a shot that got some help from a deflection and cut the Whitecaps' lead in half.
That set the stage for Villarreal, the Galaxy's highly-touted homegrown teenager. A chip over the top by Beckham was cleverly turned to Villarreal by Juninho. Villarreal gathered the ball just inside the box with a defender on him, but then he wheeled around to create space and hit a great left-footed shot towards the back post. The shot left Joe Cannon helpless and found the back of the net for the equalizer. Not bad for a first career goal, and it earned LA a point they probably didn't deserve.
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