Vela bags brace as LAFC puts on 6-goal spectacle
LOS ANGELES — If there’s one trait that stands out about this year’s LAFC squad, it’s swag.
Bob Bradley’s side lost its second game of the season June 28 to the last-place Colorado Rapids. How did the black and gold react? A 5-1 thrashing of Sporting Kansas City.
The first defeat of the season was up in Vancouver on April 17. And after not playing a home league game since May 26, LAFC was back at Banc of California Stadium Saturday against that same Whitecaps squad, avenging the loss with a 6-1 spectacle.
In the grand scheme, the loss in Canada was just a bump in the road. But for a team that oozes bravado, this one was a chance at making a statement.
The message was sent loudly as possible.
Believe it or not, LAFC trailed at one point in the game. An early miscue between defender Dejan Jakovic and keeper Pablo Sisniega turned into a Whitecaps goal five minutes in. That did nothing but wake up a sleeping giant.
From there on it was an offensive rampage for the home side, but it was ironically an own goal off a corner kick that leveled the game in the 35th minute. LAFC spotted a golden opportunity because minutes later Carlos Vela delivered a clinical set-piece corner far post for an Adama Diomande header.
Up 2-1 at halftime, the latter 45 minutes turned into perhaps the best frame of soccer this season for Bradley’s side.
First it was Kaye making a strong run and finally cashing in on one of those outside shots he continuously attempted.
“After coming back from the Canada camp I had been working on it a little after training,” said Kaye about shooting from distance. “I think because the first two shots were very close, it gave me enough confidence to keep going. I’m gonna keep working on it because I feel like that’s something I can add to my game and it could be valuable to the team.”
MLS-leading goal scorer Vela followed by shaking the crowd up with a brace in 16 minutes. One off his signature left foot, the other a scramble in the box that resulted in a header for the Mexican, who now has 19 goals in as many games this season. “M-V-P” chants led by the 3,252 floated into the cool Los Angeles night.
You could still hear echos in the stadium when Diego Rossi struck a shot off the bottom of the crossbar just two minutes later for LAFC’s sixth.
“We try to keep getting better,” explained Bradley. “I think everyone on the inside appreciates the way we go about it, the ways we challenge guys, the kind of football we try to play.”
In the midst of their toughest stretch of the season, the black and gold have now scored 11 goals in the past four days. That’s all the confidence needed heading into the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal match vs. Portland on Wednesday. The quest for the club’s first trophy continues, and to their benefit it’s a home game. LAFC has yet to lose at Banc of California Stadium this season.
“We are doing really good things but the important thing for us is we want more because we know if we don’t win the MLS Cup, this is nothing,” said Vela. “We scored six today but at the end we tried to score more. That’s the way LAFC play.”
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