Guillermo Barros Schelotto’s decision to rest the staters mid-week would bear fruit. The LA Galaxy may have crashed out of the Open Cup but the team made the most of the sacrifice: A strong lineup rode an early two goal advantage to a relatively comfortable 2-0 win over FC Cincinnati Saturday afternoon.

With several starters missing including Jonathan dos Santos, there was speculation as to how LA would perform against a weakened opponent in the expansion club.

Two goals in four minutes would seal the result early. Emmanuel Boateng got on the end of a through ball and patiently waited before pulling a low strike into Spencer Richey’s side netting to put LA ahead. Moments later, a comedy of errors from the FCC back line presented Favio Alvarez with a gift wrap of a shot inside the box, and the Argentine playmaker made no mistake to double the Galaxy advantage.

Cincinnati would grow into the match but LA’s defense managed to shut down the attack with relative ease. Ibra might not have gotten on the scoresheet, but the Galaxy head back to California with a third straight road win.