Joseph Paintsil Strikes Late as 10-Man LA Galaxy Beat San Jose Earthquakes 1-0 in Cali Clásico

The LA Galaxy spent the entire second half with ten men, 22 San Jose shots raining in over the night, and one simple job: survive. Then Joseph Paintsil, who had already been denied three times by Angus Gunn, arrived at the back post in the 79th minute and made it all worth it.

Paintsil's tap-in gave the Galaxy a 1-0 win over the San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday night at Dignity Health Sports Park, the 106th edition of the California Clásico. Lucas Sanabria's red card on the stroke of halftime should have flipped the night San Jose's way. Instead, JT Marcinkowski and a stubborn back line held firm long enough for Paintsil to finally get his reward.

San Jose Came Out Swinging

The Earthquakes nearly scored in the fourth minute, when Paul Marie's shot was cleared off the line by Jakob Glesnes, according to San Jose's recap. Marie had another effort blocked a minute later, Jack Jasinski fired just wide, and Marcinkowski had to deny Luka Jovanovic in the ninth minute and Jasinski in the 12th. Max Floriani headed narrowly wide from the corner that followed.

The Galaxy slowly found their feet. Justin Haak dragged a shot just wide in the 21st minute, and Gunn turned away Paintsil from a tight angle in the 29th and Hirving Lozano from distance in the 34th. Kyogo Furuhashi got in behind on a Marco Reus through ball in the 40th minute but fired high and wide, and Gunn stopped Paintsil again two minutes later.

Ten Men and a Plan

Sanabria had been booked in the 37th minute. In the 45th, he picked up a second yellow for a foul, which San Jose's recap described as a hard challenge on Jamar Ricketts, and the Galaxy headed into halftime down a man.

San Jose went for it. Timo Werner and Ousseni Bouda came on at the break, and the visitors built a siege: Jasinski and Floriani both headed wide in the 53rd and 54th minutes, Beau Leroux and Preston Judd arrived at the hour, and the shots kept coming. Judd headed over in the 68th minute, blazed over in the 71st and then saw Marcinkowski stop his effort from the right side of the box in the 75th. Ian Harkes sent one narrowly wide a minute later.

Greg Vanney knew exactly what he needed from his keeper. "Always when you go down a man, there's always going to be one or two that you've got to make. He made them," he said.

Paintsil Gets His Moment

The Galaxy never stopped looking for the counter. Gunn had to save from Paintsil again in the 69th minute and from substitute Robert Taylor in the 77th. Two minutes later, the dam broke the other way. Reus spread it to Harbor Miller on the right, and Miller carried the ball into the area before picking out Paintsil at the far post for a left-footed finish from point-blank range. ESPN credits Miller with the assist; the Galaxy also list Reus.

Vanney loved the decision from his young right back. "His capacity to repeat and to dig deep and push himself and get to the next one and the next one is ridiculous," he said of Miller, who also had to deal with Werner after halftime. "I mean, what a welcome to right back that is for a young guy."

San Jose kept pushing. Ricketts headed wide in the 81st minute, Leroux had a shot blocked a minute later, and in the 89th Marcinkowski stopped a Jasinski header from a Werner cross. Bouda's shot was blocked in the final moments, and the Galaxy held on.

Who Showed Up

Joseph Paintsil put all four of his shots on target. Gunn saved three; the fourth won the game. It was his fifth goal of the season, and he also scored in the 1-1 draw at San Jose in July. Vanney said the misses had weighed on him. "Joe has worn a few of the misses and missed opportunities heavy," the coach said. Paintsil's own take was simple: "Sometimes you miss chances. But that shouldn't dim your light."

JT Marcinkowski made four saves for the clean sheet, two of them in the opening 12 minutes, when San Jose looked most dangerous.

Harbor Miller played through an early stoppage for treatment, took a yellow card and still had the legs to deliver the winning assist in the 79th minute.

Angus Gunn was outstanding in a losing effort with six saves. He kept San Jose level for 79 minutes.

Hirving Lozano made his first start for the Galaxy and his home debut, per the club. "With a lot of nerves, with a lot of anxiety, with a lot of adrenaline," he said of the build-up to the match.

The Numbers That Matter

• 63.4 percent possession for San Jose, who also out-shot the hosts 22 to 10.
• 7 shots on target for the Galaxy, against five for San Jose despite all that volume.
• Six saves for Gunn, four for Marcinkowski.
• 31 crosses from San Jose, only 12 of them accurate.
• 22 clearances and 15 interceptions from the Galaxy, the numbers of a team defending for its life.

What It Means

The win snapped a six-match winless run for the Galaxy, who move to 6-7-8 with 25 points. It is also their first league victory since a 2-0 win at Seattle in May. There is no time to celebrate, though: they fly to Montréal for a Saturday match at Stade Saputo.

San Jose sit at 10-3-7 with 33 points, but the form is concerning. That is three straight league losses, following defeats at Cincinnati and at home to St. Louis CITY SC, and five MLS matches without a win. They host Minnesota United on Saturday.

Final Whistle

Every Clásico needs a villain and a hero. For the Galaxy, the red card nearly cast them as the former, but Marcinkowski's saves and Paintsil's persistence rewrote the script. Think of it as the soccer version of a Fast and Furious movie: physics barely applied, the odds made no sense, and the crew still drove off with the win. The Galaxy were outshot more than two to one and still left with all three points.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes as reported by LA Galaxy (lagalaxy.com). Additional details from the San Jose Earthquakes (sjearthquakes.com).