Late header by Kervin Arriaga earns Minnesota United a 2-2 draw with LA Galaxy

Minnesota United and the LA Galaxy came into Wednesday night’s game with highly contrasting offensive styles. The Galaxy love to pass the ball, especially midfield maestro Riqui Puig. The Loons look for quick counter-attacks and offensive set pieces.

Naturally, Minnesota got two goals from corner kicks, Los Angeles scored twice after pinpoint Puig passes, and things ended in a 2-2 stalemate.

Bongokuhle Hlongwane opened the scoring for Minnesota in the 30th minute — but it was the 32nd minute before the scoreboard officially changed. The winger corralled a loose ball at the top of the penalty area after a corner, tapped it past a defender, then volleyed a looping shot off the crossbar, down near the goal line and out.

MLS does not use automated technology to determine whether the ball has crossed the line, so play continued for another minute before referee Lukasz Szpala was able to stop and review the video — which showed conclusively that the deflection had landed behind the goal line before spinning out of the goal.

BOXSCORE: Minnesota United 2, LA Galaxy 2

For the entire first half, MNUFC smothered the Galaxy attack. The Loons managed to hold midfield Puig and the Galaxy without a single shot attempt into the 52nd minute of the game. But over the next 15 minutes, Puig created a pair of Galaxy goals.

First, in the 61st minute, Puig flipped a pass past the Loons defense to winger Gabriel Pec, who gave Dejan Joveljic what amounted to a tap-in to tie the game. Seven minutes later, Puig beat the defense again with a through ball, and Diego Fagundez gave the Galaxy the lead.

Minnesota, though, has made a habit of rescuing draws at home — and naturally, they did it this time with another corner kick. Kervin Arriaga headed home an excellent delivery from Joseph Rosales in the 80th minute, allowing the Loons to again escape Allianz Field with a draw –— the third time this year they’ve tied a game at home in the closing minutes.

“We’re really frustrated because it’s a game you felt we had complete control of at halftime,” Loons coach Eric Ramsay said. “Our message to the players at that point is that if you can replicate that and play with the same level of control and intensity and discipline that we did in the first half, there’s absolutely no way we’re not winning that game. I just felt we’d taken our foot off their neck in the second half.

“I will say the first half was a really good performance. I think that’s the most complete performance that we’ve had since I’ve been here.”