A long grueling stretch has finally reached the end of the road for LAFC.
Following two months of midweek games, short rest and still not having recovered from competing in the CONCACAF Champions League and the US Open Cup, LAFC will finally have a full week off before a match, and with it, a chance to decompress, get some rest and have a normal opportunity of sorts to prepare for its next opponent. Judging however from its performance on Saturday night against the Vancouver Whitecaps, they most likely be using this full week off to shore up some details, as the Whitecaps jumped out to a quick lead, and successfully held off any LAFC charges to get the 3-2 win at BMO Stadium.
“It’s more of a mental break for us,” LAFC’s Danny Crisostomo said. “It’s a long season and back-to-back games is
hard on the body and mentally, so it’s good for us to take some time away from it. We can come back into the next week fresh, with a new mindset, and go back to our fundamentals, have time to actually have a full week of training and come prepared. That’s gonna be really big for us.”
Vancouver was paced by goals from Ranko Veselinovic, Brian White, and Ryan Gauld; and the Whitecaps overcame LAFC goals from its two main weapons, Denis Bouanga and Carlos Vela, to get its first road win of the season.
“I think it was just playing it a little more direct and using obviously two big strong forwards,” LLAFC Head coach Steve Cherundolo said of Vancouver’s effort. “If you’re gonna play with forwards like that you better put the ball up there and that’s what they did and it was okay.”
Vancouver surprised LAFC just two minutes in, as Ryan Gauld sent a corner kick into the penalty area and Veselinovic headed a ball to the far post, to a spot well out of the reach of keeper John McCarthy and into the back net to give the Whitecaps a 1-0 lead. Pedro Vite sprung Sebastian Cordova forward, Cordova dribbled, passed to Gauld, who then crossed into the penalty area, White out-jumped Ile Sanchez to head a ball that again, was out of McCarthy’s reach, and the ball snuck into the far post net that gave Vancouver a two-goal lead.
LAFC managed to pull one back just before halftime. Vela played a ball to Biuk in the penalty area, Biuk crossed into the six-yard box for Ryan Hollingshead, keeper Yohei Takaoka managed to get his hands on the ball, only for it to fall to Bouanga, and he buried the open net shot for what seemed like an important goal for LAFC just before the half that cut Vancouver’s lead to a goal.
However, in the second half, it was the Whitecaps that had its own response, and it occurred in the 63rd minute. An attempted clearance by Sanchez deflected of Vite and went the Whitecaps’ way, Vite chased down the ball, then played Cordova into the penalty area, Cordova dribbled near the six and fire the shot, McCarthy made he save, but the ball found the feet of Gauld, and he buried the rebound chance past McCarthy into the back net to restore Vancouver’s two-goal lead. LAFC, however, caught a break of its own in the 68th minute, as Veselinovic slipped while trying to clear a ball, which allowed Mateusz Bogusz to gain control of the ball, dribble into the penalty area, center a cross to Vela outside the six and Vela buried the point-blank shot into the back net to keep LAFC in the match. Vancouver however did not let LAFC get any further.
