Carlos Vela made his return to the LAFC lineup on Sunday vs. The Portland Timbers.
By Ivan Yeo
It certainly doesn’t hurt to have a deep roster, especially for LAFC.
From injuries to players participating in the World Cup to a busy schedule that includes US Open Cup matches, LAFC’s roster has certainly been stretched to the limits these last few weeks. However, looking at their position in the Western Conference, LAFC seems to have weathered the storm just fine.
With another busy week ahead this week, with a US Open Cup match on Wednesday, followed by a road trip to Minnesota next Sunday, LAFC is surely glad to have its full complement of players back in the fold, especially since Sunday’s match with the Portland Timbers at Banc of California ended up in a scoreless stalemate.
“They are in a good position, playing fantastic games, so, it’s nice,” Vela said about LAFC’s play during the World Cup. “It’s nice to be here and trying to put the team on another level and trying to make a good competition inside the group because that’s the way to be a better group.”
Not many MLS teams can have the ability to bring players such as Latiff Blessing, Jordan Harvey and Marco Urena, which is what LAFC did on Sunday looking to get the three points. LAFC will surely be making full use of its deep roster this week. In addition to the US Open Cup game against these same Timbers on Wednesday night in the same stadium, LAFC will go into Sunday’s match at Minnesota without Lee Nguyen, who will miss that game after being red-carded in the 84th minute after a studs up tackle on Sebastian Blanco.
Despite the scoreless draw, both teams did have some chances in the match. Portland had the first best chance in the match in the fifth minute, as Diego Valeri swiped a ball from Benny Feilhaber just outside the penalty area, came in and fired a ball off his right foot, but Miller reached out with his left hand and parried the ball over the endline.
“Those are emotional plays that can really change a game,” Miller said about the play. “I wasn’t happy with how much time Benny took on the ball. But I mean that’s part of the game and that’s why I am there. Benny thanked me for it, but it’s just part of it.”
Portland had several other chances in the first half. A shot in the box by Alvas Powell as well as shots frim distance by Blanco and Valeri were all calmly handled by Miller. LAFC meanwhile struggled to solve Portland’s strategy to play five players in the back. Still LAFC had one great chance in the 31st minute, as Joao Moutinho lobbed a ball into the penalty area, Adama Diomande got behind the Portland backline into the six-yard box and one-time a close-range shot on goal, but Jeff Attinella parried the ball off the crossbar and into the stands. Portland again came close to breaking the deadlock, this time in the 49th minute, as Samuel Armenteros played a ball to Zarek Valentin, who then played a ball back to Armenteros in the box and he shot a ball past Miller, but hit off the far post.
Sunday’s match was also the first in the starting 11 for Carlos Vela, who returned to the team from the World Cup last week as a second-half substitute in last week’s match vs. Orlando City. Marco Urena made his second straight appearance off the bench, though the roles of those two could possibly switch for Wednesday’s USOC match.
“Maybe from the side it’s a little bit strange because we are playing in a system now with different guys, you have to maybe change a little bit,” Vela said about having to readjust to his new teammates. “I think we know what kind of team we have, how they want to play, how I want to play, so we have to keep working because we are in
a good moment, in a good position so we want to stay there.”
So LAFC is now back to full strength. Its World Cup players are back into the fold, and its latest acquisition, Andre Horta, has yet to feature for the squad. While there are challenges to having such a deep roster, such as finding playing time for so many players, it’s a problem that LAFC surely loves to have as they head towards the stretch run of its inaugural season.
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