Galaxy forward Raheem Edwards, right, pushes off LAFC forward Carlos Vela during the first half of their U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 match on Wednesday night at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)
LAFC midfielder José Cifuentes, center, kicks the ball as Galaxy midfielder Rayan Raveloson defends during the first half of their U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 match on Wednesday night at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. The Galaxy won, 3-1. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)
Galaxy midfielder Marco Delgado, left, kicks the ball past LAFC forward Cristian Arango during the first half of their U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 match on Wednesday night at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)
LAFC midfielder Kellyn Acosta, left, vies for the ball with Galaxy forward Javier Hernández during the first half of their U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 match on Wednesday night at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)
LAFC forward Danny Musovski, right, chases the ball down against Galaxy forward Nick DePuy during the first half of their U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 match on Wednesday night at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)
LAFC forward Kwadwo Opoku moves the ball past Galaxy forward Raheem Edwards (44) during the first half of their U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 match on Wednesday night at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. The Galaxy won, 3-1. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)
LAFC defender Diego Palacios dribbles the ball past Galaxy forward Kévin Cabral during the first half of their U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 match on Wednesday night at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)
Galaxy midfielder Samuel Grandsir, right, looks to pass while pressured by LAFC defender Mamadou Fall during the first half of their U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 match on Wednesday night at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)
LAFC forward Kwadwo Opoku, left, attempts a shot on goal as Galaxy defender Derrick Williams defends during the first half of their U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 match on Wednesday night at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)
LAFC midfielder José Cifuentes, right, vies for the ball against three Galaxy defenders during the first half of their U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 match on Wednesday night at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)
LAFC defender Diego Palacios, right, is taken off the field by a Galaxy staff member during the first half of their U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 match on Wednesday night at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. The Galaxy won, 3-1. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)
Galaxy and LAFC players push and shove during the first half of their U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 match on Wednesday night at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)
Galaxy midfielder Efrain Alvarez, right, brings the ball down the field as LAFC defender Jesús Murillo pressures him during the second half of their U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 match on Wednesday night at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. The Galaxy won, 3-1. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)
Galaxy forward Kévin Cabral, left, celebrates after scoring a goal during the second half of their U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 match against LAFC on Wednesday night at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. The Galaxy won, 3-1. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)
Galaxy midfielder Marco Delgado, top, heads the ball during the second half of their U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 match against LAFC on Wednesday night at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. The Galaxy won, 3-1. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)
LAFC goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau kicks the ball during the second half of their U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 match against the Galaxy on Wednesday night at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. The Galaxy won, 3-1. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)
Galaxy forward Javier “Chicharito” Hernández celebrates after scoring a goal during the second half of their U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 match against LAFC on Wednesday night at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. The Galaxy won, 3-1. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)
Galaxy forward Javier “Chicharito” Hernández, center, celebrates after scoring a goal during the second half of their U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 match against LAFC on Wednesday night at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. The Galaxy won, 3-1. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)
From left, Galaxy midfielder Samuel Grandsir, forward Kévin Cabral and forward Javier “Chicharito” Hernández celebrate after Hernández scored a goal during the second half of their U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 match against LAFC on Wednesday night at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. The Galaxy won, 3-1. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)
LAFC defender Mamadou Fall, left, heads the ball during the second half of their U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 match against the Galaxy on Wednesday night at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. The Galaxy won, 3-1. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)
Galaxy midfielder Samuel Grandsir, left, kicks the ball toward the goal during the second half of their U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 match against LAFC on Wednesday night at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. The Galaxy won, 3-1. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)
LAFC forward Latif Blessing, left, vies for the ball against Galaxy forward Raheem Edwards during the second half of their U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 match on Wednesday night at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. The Galaxy won, 3-1. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)
Galaxy forward Kévin Cabral, right, kicks the ball as LAFC forward Latif Blessing defends during the second half of their U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 match on Wednesday night at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. The Galaxy won, 3-1. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)
Galaxy forward Dejan Joveljić takes a shot as LAFC goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau looks to stop it during the second half of their U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 match on Wednesday night at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. The Galaxy won, 3-1. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)
Galaxy forward Dejan Joveljić, left, celebrates after scoring a goal during the second half of their U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 match against LAFC on Wednesday night at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. The Galaxy won, 3-1. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)
LAFC midfielder Brian Rodríguez, left, dribbles past Galaxy forward Raheem Edwards during the second half of their U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 match on Wednesday night at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. The Galaxy won, 3-1. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)
LAFC forward Cristian Arango reacts after his team scored a goal late in the second half of their U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 match against the Galaxy on Wednesday night at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. The Galaxy won, 3-1. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)
CARSON — The Galaxy always seems to find its best form when it is facing rival LAFC.
It was more of the same in Wednesday night’s U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 match.
The Galaxy was coming off consecutive home losses in which it allowed six goals, struggling early in each match and seeing things snowball from there.
On Wednesday, the Galaxy got second-half goals from Kevin Cabral (51st minute) and Chicharito Hernandez (57th) and added another late to forge another win against its intracity MLS rival, 3-1, in front of 24,174 at Dignity Health Sports Park.
“It was huge, it was important,” Hernandez said of the performance. “Now the important thing is we need to show that against any team. That’s the mentality and mindset we should have. That doesn’t mean we’re going to score three goals every single game or we’re going to win every single game. We’re going to aim for that obviously, but I think the mentality and confidence, the hunger, the bravery we showed, we need to maintain that.”
The Galaxy, which improved to 7-3-5 all-time against LAFC, will host Sacramento in a quarterfinal next month.
The end of the match was marred by a scuffle that broke out after the final whistle, with players having to be separated.
On Tuesday, Galaxy defender Raheem Edwards, who played with LAFC last season, said he wanted to win and he wanted to anger the LAFC supporters’ group – the 3252.
“I think this one was the most heated one,” Edwards said of the 15th meeting between the teams since LAFC debuted in 2018 but just the second in an elimination setting. “For sure. I think the rivalry needs this. It’s always so nice in MLS, we need a little bit of grittiness and fight and a little bit of drama, so I thought this was perfect.”
The entire team seemed to get the message, especially Cabral.
In his second season, Cabral’s stat sheet doesn’t have the big number of goals and assists that many would expect from a Designated Player. He got on the end of a cross from Samuel Grandsir and turned in a Chicharito-esque finish for the opening goal.
In the 57th minute, Cabral played a role in another goal. Starting from deep in the Galaxy’s territory, he played a quick ball to Grandsir, who supplied service to Hernandez who knocked it in for a 2-0 lead.
“The response of our guys was not about LAFC,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney. “It was about losing two games back-to-back on our field. That was a part of our response and a part of our emotion and the team on the other side happened to be LAFC, which is a rivalry, which also obviously adds a little bit of spice to the game.
“Our guys, I challenged them after the last game, they challenged each other and themselves and they couldn’t play in the L.A. Galaxy stadium the way we lost the previous two games. The energy, competitive spirit, the speed we were moving and playing set the tone for the game.”
A 2-0 lead in this series is rarely a comfortable place to be, so the Galaxy took care of that as Dejan Joveljic capped the hosts’ scoring in the 81st minute, getting a touch on a sliding pass from Raheem Edwards on the wing.
Ryan Hollingshead got LAFC on the board in the 85th minute.
Galaxy searches for answers as hectic month continues
For LAFC, it was forced to make injury substitutions in the first half.
First, Carlos Vela (left quadriceps) was replaced by Kwadwo Opoku in the 20th minute. Just before halftime, Diego Palacios was replaced by Latif Blessing. Palacios was injured in a collision with Hernandez that set off a mini-fracas that led to several players pushing and shoving. When the dust settled, Hernandez and Kellyn Acosta were issued yellow cards.
“Today I think the Galaxy fought more, played a better game and deserved to win,” Vela said. “We saw tonight that when we aren’t focused and stray from our game that’s not the path for us.
“We must find a solution and obviously tonight is not the image we want to portray as a club, as a team but we will continue adjusting and find a solution to play better.”
The teams will meet again in an MLS match on July 8 at Banc of California Stadium.
Smooooth with it!
Kévin Cabral puts one away for @LAGalaxy – earning the lead early in the 2nd half over @LAFC!
