LAFC responds to fans' frustration with victory
For the first 12 minutes of Saturday afternoon's match between LAFC and the San Jose Earthquakes at Banc of California Stadium, The 3252 — the section behind the goal for LAFC's supporters — was eerily silent, perhaps as a sign of protest.
Three days after LAFC lost at the Galaxy to remain winless in its young franchise history as visitors against its crosstown rivals, a handwritten banner above the section read: “All we require is your very best.”
The fans barely began starting up the, “Dale, dale, dale, Black and Gold!” chant before the Black and Gold staked out a 2-0 lead.
For a team leading the race for the Supporters' Shield with 29 points but entered the day having lost three of its past four matches, LAFC's “very best” Saturday was good enough for a 3-2 win over the Earthquakes.
Head coach Steve Cherundolo understood the fans' frustration.
“We're frustrated, too,” Cherundolo said. “It's not like any of us woke up and said, `Ah don't worry about it. It was another game.'”
But Cherundolo was proud of how the team turned the frustration into “something constructive,” believing that his players have “mental strength and gut.”
“We know how important the fans are here in L.A., and of course you can hear when they're not there,” Cherundolo said. “I understand their reaction. Not a problem. But I will say this: I think we're all better together. And hopefully, we don't have to repeat that anymore because with them there and our players feeding off of that — you ask any other player who has played here. It's a very difficult place to come play.”
Brian Rodriguez scored the eventual game-winner shortly after halftime, taking a long, partially deflected cross from Jose Cifuentes and burying it past San Jose goalkeeper James Marcinkowski.
LAFC's Brian Rodríguez, right, maneuvers the ball around San Jose Earthquakes goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski.
THE SCORE
LAFC 3, SAN JOSE 2 Up next: LAFC at Seattle, June 18, noon, Ch. 7
The 47th-minute goal set the second half tone and was enough to close out a gritty win.
“I won't say it was a pretty goal, but I will admit it wasn't easy either,” Rodrigeuz said, via an interpreter. “I simply made the run in the box, when I saw Cifuentes, and I saw the possibility for a pass. And that's where I was able to capitalize.”
Ryan Hollingshead helped LAFC (9-3-2, 29 points) take a two-goal lead early. He was fouled in the penalty area in the seventh minute, leading to a penalty kick goal by Cristian Arango. Minutes later, the defender took a feed from Rodriguez from just inside the penalty spot, established the ball on his left foot and skipped a hard shot in behind Marcinkowski.
San Jose (3-6-5, 14 points) responded quickly. Jeremy Ebobisse recorded a brace in 15 minutes. Ebobisse's first goal came courtesy of a give-and-go with Jamiro Monteiro, and his second was off a corner kick by Cristian Espinoza to tie the score at the 31st minute.
LAFC entered the game shorthanded without captain Carlos Vela, who suffered a quad injury early in Wednesday's loss to the Galaxy in the U.S. Open Cup Round of 16. Defenders Jesus David Murillo (yellow card accumulation) and Diego
Palaocios (head injury) also missed the match.
On top of that, Cherundolo rolled out a tactical change midweek, switching from a 4-3-3 formation to a 3-5-2, a formation that pushes up five players to the midfield with the hopes of controlling more of the possession but could leave defenders more vulnerable. Cherundolo said the team responded well on short notice, and that the two quick goals that LAFC allowed in the first half were “purely simple mistakes” and a “lack of concentration.”
“Other than that, I think the guys implemented our tactics and our ideas very very well,” Cherundolo said. “I didn't have any feeling at any point of the game that we were going to lose this game, so we were always in control. That was a good feeling. It was also a reassurance that the tactics were the right choice for that day.”
LAFC wrapped up a busy stretch of eight matches in 28 days and now has a threeweek break before its next match June 18 in Seattle. Despite some recent adversity, Hollingshead said it's an accomplishment that the team is sitting in first and hasn't yet reached its peak.
“We keep talking as a team about just how scary it is that we don't feel like we're at our potential yet, and we're still sitting at the top of the table and playing well and winning games,” Hollingshead said. “It just shows what we believe to be true about ourselves and what kind of team we believe we are.”