After clinching playoff berth, Galaxy turning attention toward winning the Western Conference

The Galaxy accomplished the first goal Saturday, defeating LAFC and clinching a playoff berth.

Now comes the next challenge of finishing first in the Western Conference.

The Galaxy leads second-place LAFC by seven points heading into midweek action. The Galaxy has five games remaining, including Wednesday’s road game against the Portland Timbers. Meanwhile, LAFC has seven games left.

“I think what we saw (Saturday night) for us and the message in there was the win shows exactly why it’s so important to win the West and be able to play this game or this type of game in the playoffs in this building,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said. “Because when we started going and the energy started to get going and the momentum started to go, the fans got behind us because we finally brought them into the game and that’s what you want on a playoff night or a big night when you’ve got to get a result.”

The quest for the Supporters’ Shield might be out of reach for the Galaxy (16-6-7, 55 points), with Inter Miami on top with 62 points. The final stretch for the Galaxy, after the trip to Portland, will be home against Vancouver on Saturday, followed by a trip to Colorado on Oct. 2, then the final home game Oct. 5 against Austin FC and the final game of the regular season Oct. 19 at Houston.

“I think that the team can beat all the teams of MLS,” Galaxy midfielder Riqui Puig said. “I think that we have a really good level. Against Miami, we have maybe 80 minutes that we are winning, and we lose the last five minutes, we tie. I think that this year, we have the pieces that maybe two years before, we don’t have, and that’s really good for me because we have players on top really fast with the speed, and that’s difficult for the other teams to defend.”

This is the second meeting this season against the Timbers. In the July 20 game at Dignity Health Sports Park, the Galaxy took a 2-0 lead on goals by Gabriel Pec (38th minute) and Puig (48th). After Portland cut the deficit in half, Joseph Paintsil restored the two-goal advantage in the 58th minute and the Galaxy closed out a 3-2 win. Portland currently sits in the eighth place, four points behind the seventh and final playoff spot.

“As far as sealing the playoff spot, as I said to the guys in there, I think after last year, you don’t take anything for granted,” Vanney said. “It’s been a little while where we felt like we were going to be in the playoffs, and so to have that behind us, I think it’s good that we get it early enough. It’s behind us.