Denis Bouanga to the rescue again for LAFC.
Not only is the Gabonese forward starting to get his scoring touch back, but he also having a flair for the dramatic. One week after scoring in stoppage time to preserve a draw (and with it a point) against the New York Red Bulls, Bouanga did it again on another Saturday night, only this time, Bouanga’s stoppage time goal against the Portland Timbers rescued all three points, as LAFC escaped with the 3-2 win.
“It was a tough game, they have great players and it was going to be a tough match,” LAFC defender Jesus David Murillo said. “First half, we did well. We closed a lot of their spaces, stopping lines and stopping counterattacks. Second half, they find two goals out of nowhere. [That] definitely made it harder for us but we maintained our intensity and I think we were rewarded with the third goal.”
The win averted what would’ve been a demoralizing result for LAFC, as they had allowed the Timbers to come back from a two-goal deficit. Instead, LAFC keeps pace in and increasingly competitive Western Conference, as they are in a three-way tie for fifth place and are also one point out of third place and three points out of the top spot.
The moment came for Bouanga and LAFC in the 94th minute. Eduard Atuesta sent a corner kick into the penalty area, Kei Kamara headed the corner right at goal, keeper Maxime Crepeau parried the ball away, but the Timbers could not clear the ball out of the penalty area, and Bouanga came in and fired a right footed shot that got past Crepeau, hit off the far post but crossed the goal line to send BMO Stadium into a frenzy and fire up Bouanga as well.
“I’ve always been like that,” Bouanga said of his reaction to the goal. “I just hate to lose, I just want to win. I’m addicted to victory. So if I can score in the 94th minute, I’ll do everything [I can]. I love to hear the fans shouting my name, shouting the team’s name and everybody. So that’s why I was fired up.”
Bouanga’s winner came after the Timbers had come alive in the second half. Trailing 2-0, Portland pulled a goal back, as Santiago Moreno crossed into the penalty area, LAFC right back Shane Palencia cut off the cross, but the ball fell to the feet of Jonathan Rodriguez, and he took a touch before firing at the top of the penalty area that beat keeper Hugo Lloris near post. The Timbers caught LAFC in the 73rd minute, as Claudio Bravo sent a left-footed cross into the penalty area, center back Maxime Chanot cleared the cross, but ended up gifting Moreno a chance, as Moreno fired a ball past Lloris that deflected off the far post and across the goal line for the equalizer. Portland however left an opening for LAFC to grab the win in the 76th minute, as Diego Chara picked up his second yellow card, forcing the Timbers to finish the match a match down.
“I was quite disappointed with it,” LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo said of Portland’s rally. “It’s not professional, and totally unnecessary. Too many guys are cheating and being lazy defensively and not following the
rules. You get yourselves into trouble against teams who have attacking pieces who can beat you with shots or set pieces. So yeah, not good enough.”
After 43 minutes of buzzing, but not being able to cash in, LAFC finally found the back of the net twice late in the first half. The first goal came in the 44th minute, as Denis Bouanga dribbled down the left side and crossed into the penalty area, the ball was intended for Tillman, Portland’s Kamal Miller cut off the cross, but it took a bad deflection, as the ball went one way while Crepeau went another way, and the end result was a Timbers own goal that gave LAFC the lead. Tillman then provided a strike for LAFC right as stoppage time was ending. Cristian Olivera dribbled down the right side towards the end line, Olivera then played a back pass to a trailing Tillman, and he immediately one-timed a right-footed volley that got past Crepeau, bounced off the far post and across the goal line to double the LAFC advantage.
“I just saw [Cristian Olivera] one-on-one with one defender, (and) honestly, I just wanted him to pass the defender and just score that one,” Tilman said of the buildup to his goal. “I knew ‘Okay, if he’s going to need an option to pass back I have to be there.’ So I started running and then he just laid it off for me and I was like ‘Okay, hit or miss.’ It turned out to be a nice goal.”
LAFC were the aggressors right from the start. LAFC thought they had struck in the 25th minute, as Tillman split the Timbers defense with a through ball that sprung Bouanga down the left side and Bouanga chipped a ball over Crepeau into the back net. However, referee Ismail Elfath got the call for Video Review, and what it caught was the ball going off Tillman’s left hand area, and the movement on the ball following the contact was enough for Elfath to nullify the goal.
