Could LAFC be going through a CONCACAF Champions League hangover.
The results following its loss to Leon in the CCL final appear to be coming to that conclusion. The Houston Dynamo have certainly been making that case that past week, as for the second match in a row, the Dynamo go three points at the expense of LAFC.
“Tough game, hard to lose at home,” LAFC defender Ryan Hollingshead said. “We’re not in a great moment right now as a team and we need to bounce back.”
Micael’s goal early in the first half was all Houston needed to leave BMO Stadium with the three points and send LAFC to its first league loss at home and also a three-match winless streak. Things won’t be getting any easier for LAFC, as they will have three more matches over the next week’s span before they get any sort of meaningful rest and recuperation.
“I think you’re just seeing a really fatigued team who put a lot into the first third of the season, until the
champions league final, which was how we wanted to approach the season,” LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo said.
Houston got its one chance in the 23rd minute and made the most of it. The Dynamo had a free kick inside LAFC territory, Hector Herrera sent the free kick into the penalty area, Erik Sviatchenko flicked a ball at goal, keeper John McCarthy made the save, but the ball fell to Micael, and he buried the rebound chance near post to give Houston the lead.
Things got worse for LAFC in the 79th minute when Opoku, while trying to chase down a heavily touched ball, went studs up on a tackle of Artur, sending him to a hard fall on the pitch. Referee Guido Gonzales Jr. made the quick decision to issue Opoku a straight red card, forcing LAFC to play the final 11 minutes and five minutes of stoppage time a man down.
Both teams had goals called back for offside in the first half. LAFC thought they had taken the lead in the 19th minute when Carlos Vela sprung Mateusz Bogusz into the penalty area, Bogusz lobbed a ball over keeper Steve Clark into the back net. However, the goal was waived off, as Bogusz was judged to be a half step ahead when Vela made the pass, thus putting him in an offside position. On the other hand, Houston thought they had doubled their advantage in stoppage time, as Hector Herrera spring Amine Bassi with a long ball, Bassi then passed to Aliyu Ibrahim, who took a touch into the penalty area and fired the shot past McCarthy far post. Unfortunately for the Dynamo, that goal was also called back as Bassi was judged to be offside when Herrera played the pass.
