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A bad week for LAFC did not get any better on Mother’s day.
Four days after being eliminated from the CONCACAF Champions CUP, LAFC had hoped the friendly confines of BMO Stadium against a middling team such as the Houston Dynamo could enable a bounce back performance with the immediate sole focus on MLS play. Instead, Houston took advantage of an LAFC squad playing its 12th match this past month, as Houston got two first half goals, then answered LAFC’s lone goal with two more goals, and the Dynamo walked away with the 4-1 win.
“Mentally, we’re going to be tired just from travel, flight, big games,” LAFC’s Nathan Ordaz said. “We took a big loss against Toluca, which hurts. We tried to come out with a good reaction, and sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t”
Jack McGlynn was the catalyst for Houston on Sunday. McGlynn scored two goals, and while not officially credited with the assist, did have a hand in the Dynamo’s third goal.
“We’re paying a little bit of a price of everything since the beginning of the season, but I know we’ll get out of it,” LAFC head coach Marc Dos Santos said. “I know the group, I know the mentality, I know what they want, so full confidence that we’re going to bounce back.”
Houston opened the scoring in the 25th minute in spectacular fashion. McGlynn played a ball to Lawrence Ennali, who dribbled down the left side of the field into the penalty area, played a ball back outside the box and McGlynn came in and one-timed a left-footed shat that bended past keeper Hugo Lloris at the far post for an opening goal worthy of the highlight reels. The Dynamo had a chance to double the advantage in the 34th minute and capitalized, as the Dynamo had a free kick from about 24 yards out, Guilherme sent a free kick off the LAFC wall and the ball went into the back net and Houston suddenly had a two-goal lead.
LAFC managed to pull a goal back just before halftime. Son-Heung Min played Jacob Shaffelburg into the penalty area, Shaffelburg then crossed a ball above the six-yard box and Nathan Ordaz buried a point-blank shot just outside the six into the back net. LAFC certainly hoped that goal could get them going in the second half, but Houston had other ideas. The Dynamo restored its two-goal advantage in the 51 minute, as Guilherme intercepted a pass from Ordaz and dribbled forward, Guilherme stopped, played a ball to McGlynn, who then played Mateusz Bogusz into the penalty area, the former LAFC forward fired a right-footed shot at goal, Lloris made the save, but Bogusz tracked down the rebound, then fired a second shot off his left foot that deflected off LAFC defender Nkosi Tafari and went into the back net for goal number three for Houston. McGlynn got his brace in the 55th minute, as he sprung Guilherme down the left side of the field, Guilherme dribbled into the penalty area, played a ball to Ennali, who then passed to McGlynn, and just like the first goal, McGlynn started and finished the play, as he one-timed a left-footed shot that beat Lloris far post for a goal that basically put the match out of reach.
“Obviously if you’re playing more games, you’re going to be more tired, that’s just a fact,” Ordaz said of LAFC’s jam-packed schedule this past month. “It comes with the territory, I don’t think we’re gonna try to use that as an excuse, it’s true that we have played more games, but we still have to compete, we might be tired, but we’re not 4-1 tired,”
While its CONCACAF Champions Cup is over, LAFC will have to endured one more week of two matches in a week’s span, and they will have to do it on the road. First, LAFC heads to the Gateway City to face St. Louis City FC on Wednesday, followed by another road match, this time against Nashvillle SC.
