By Jorge Hernandez
20 Oct 2024, 1:55 PM EDT
LAFC assured Saturday night first place in the Western Conference of the MLS, after a very close fight against the galaxy most of the championship.
The Black & Gold secured the position on the last day of the championship, after defeating the San Jose Earthquakes 3-1 in combination with the Galaxy’s fall at the hands of the Houston Dynamo 2-1.
LAFC was three points behind the leader entering the final week and needed to win by two goals, in addition to a loss by any score for the Galaxy. The outlook did not look encouraging for the team led by Steve Cherundolo; However, the feat was achieved and they finished at the top of the West.
Thus, both teams finished the regular season with identical records of 19-8-7 (64 points), but Marlon’s goal in the 91st minute gave LAFC the two-goal lead it needed to take first place in the Western Conference in a goal difference tiebreaker.
In the duel against the Quakes things were not looking good for LAFC in front of their fans at Banc of California Stadium, as After 45 minutes of their match they were 0-1 down on the scoreboard with a goal from Yackson Yueill and a performance that left much to be desired, since they could not knock on their rival’s door once.
But in the second half the Black & Gold compensated everything that happened in the first half and they returned to the field unrecognizable, producing 11 shots on goal and scoring three goals.
Denis Bouanga equalized for LAFC in the 64th minutecollecting a bad clearance inside the penalty area and shooting a shot past San José goalkeeper Daniel to tie the score at one.
Eleven minutes later, just 28 seconds after entering the game, Eduard Atuesta put LAFC up on the scoreboard for the first time in the game, making a great play with Kei Kamara at the top of the box before firing a low right-footed shot that hit the post, making the score 2-1 in the 75th minute.
LAFC, still needing at least one more goal to have a chance to win the West, continued to press and left San Jose’s Amahl Pellegrino alone for a breakaway, but LAFC goalkeeper Hugo Lloris made a point-blank save after a close-range shot in the 88th minute. Just a few minutes later, In the first minute of added time, LAFC scored the third when Marlon headed in an Atuesta free kick and scored the first goal of his MLS career.giving LAFC the 3-1 victory.
Watch LAFC’s goals here.
Who will LAFC and LA Galaxy play in the playoffs?
The benefit of finishing as leaders means that the LAFC will open the playoffs and against the winner of the wild card match next Wednesday between the Vancouver Whitecaps and the Portland Timbers. The date and time of the first game of that first-round best-of-3 series will be announced soon.
For its part, the Galaxy will face the Colorado Rapidsin the crossroads that pits the second place against the seventh in the conference next weekend in a three-game series where whoever wins two will advance.
Keep reading:
· Ilie Sánchez keeps LAFC in the fight with LA Galaxy for the West of the MLS
· LAFC breaks bad streak in finals and wins the US Open Cup
· Steve Cherundolo praises Venezuelan David Martínez, LAFC’s young talent