Every minute that has moved away in the second half of the MLS elimination match without Friday goal with the Vancouver Whitecaps brought Laftc Closer to what could have been the end of his season.
Without objective, the best that the team could hope was a penalty shootout, the football version of a Flip of room. However, the LAFC offensive had shown little sign of life or emergency, spending more than an hour without a target shot.
But this pressure has produced balance, not panic. It inspired confidence, not confusion. And it was rewarded when Mateusz BoguszThe purpose of the 62nd minute gave Lafc a 1-0 victory and a place in the semi-finals of the Western Conference for a third consecutive season.
“This list has been built with many leaders and leadership and guys who can intervene in great times,” said Captain Aaron Long. “So, yes, there was no panic.”
“There was no panic,” said goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. “The experience of the team and the club and also of the coaching staff, they brought their calm.”
Lafc had reasons to be calm. Three of the players he had on the field had played in a World Cup; Two had lifted the trophy. Four others had won an MLS cup. Regarding the big games, the decisive match of the playoffs in the first round of the best of the three against Vancouver was far from their first rodeo.
“We have experience in these games,” said Coach Steve CherundoloWho took the team to the MLS Cup final in each of their first two seasons in charge. “At halftime, our message to the guys was, look, it's 0-0. We know what we can do in bigger games. And that's what we saw in the second period.”
The second half also saw two tactical changes from Cherundolo which had an impact on the result. The first was to go from a 3-4-3 training to a 4-3-3, which gave the dangerous Bogusz more space to operate. The other exchanged the winger Cristian Olivera, who drink in the locker room at halftime, with the attacker Olivier Giroud. This pushed Bogusz from the center of the attack to a wider position.
“We were killing them,” said Vancouver coach Vanni Sartini. “So they had to do it.”
Maybe. However, whatever the reason, he paid immediate dividends with the LAFC offensive, dormant throughout the first half, winning six corner kicks in the first 16 minutes of the second half.
“The guys adapted very well and felt comfortable,” said Cherundolo. “It was not perfect, but it was quite good and we certainly showed that we have different equipment.”
This momentum finally paid with an objective when Long led a head of the midfielder deeply in the Vancouver. Whitecaps midfielder Andrés, Cubas Mishit, his attempted clearance and Bogusz bounced on the loose ball, pushing it by defender Ranko Veseelinovic before beating goalkeeper Yohei Takoka with a left shot in the center of the box.
Lloris and the defense did the rest, closing the Whitecaps for their 13th laundering of the season. The MLS qualifiers are now taking a two-week break for an international break from FIFA before taking over the LAFC welcoming the Sounders of Seattle in a semi-final of a West Conference match.
Lafc has not lost nine games with Seattle, including a 1-0 victory in the semi-finals of last season's conference. In addition, the match will be played at BMO Stadium, where Lafc won 20 games in all competitions and has the second best home record in the League. Lafc, the only MLS team to reach the conference semi-finals during each of the last three seasons, is to make a third consecutive appearance in the league championship match.
No team has done this since 2007. The road to come, however, will only become more difficult.
“We have had a very good regular season. But serious matches are starting now,” said Bogusz, who will take the international break for Poland in the UEFA Nations League. “In this club, we still want to play in the final.”
After all, this time of year is designed for teams that react to pressure with balance and confusion with confidence. This is why LaFC has lost only two qualifying games and an post-season series in the last three seasons.
No other team can say that – yet the best could still be to come.
“There is still room to improve,” said Bogusz, who has marked 20 times in all competitions this season. “We can always play better. And the next game, we are going to play better.”
