LAFC salvages draw against Portland

Not the worst result, but it had to feel like a lost opportunity for LAFC.

Coming off back-to-back losses, LAFC looked to Saturday night’s match against the Portland Timbers as an opportunity to get back on track. The urgency was certainly there, even as LAFC fell behind in the match, as the took 34 shots in the match. When 90 minutes were up at BMO Stadium, LAFC only had a goal to show for its efforts, as they had to settle for a 1-1 draw.

“They pushed all game, pressed, counterpressed, number of ball recovered in Portland’s half, created shots, (but) there’s nights like that,” LAFC head coach Marc Dos Santos said.

While there is certainly no shame in getting a point, Saturday’s result had to feel like a letdown of sorts, as the point earned in this match was the only point out of this stretch of three matches LAFC got out of this stretch of matches. LAFC is still in the thick of the race for the top spot in the Western Conference, as they are five points back of Vancouver for the top spot and two points back of the Houston Dynamo for second. Still LAFC must have a feeling a lost opportunity to close the gap in the standings.

“We wanted six points minimum, so to end with just one is super disappointing,” LAFC center back Aaron Long said.

LAFC held the ball inside Portland’s side of the field, Jude Terry passed to Bouanga, who dragged the ball further forward, then made his move, as he cut inside, waited for a sightline, then fired a right-footed shot that sailed past keeper James Artemis and beat him to the far post to level the match.

Portland surprised LAFC just four minutes into the match. Bouanga’s pass intended for Eddie Segura never reached him, Kristoffer Velde chased down the loose ball and once he got to the ball, dribbled down the left side. Velde pulled back, made a cutting move inside, then played a perfect ball to David Da Costa, who was unmarked inside the penalty area, and DaCosta fired a left-footed shot that beat keeper Hugo Lloris near post to stake the Timbers to the early lead.

LAFC did its best to get an early equalizer. LAFC came awfully close to tying the match in the seventh minute, as Mathieu Choiniere won back possession, worked a one-two with Timothy Tillman, dribbled through the Portland defense, then fired a right-footed shot, but Pantemis made the kick-save, and even as the ball continued forward, it hit off the crossbar and back into play.

“I told the guys after the game that if we show up like this every game, we’re going to win a lot of games,” Dos Santos said.

LAFC not begins a challenging stretch where it will play five of its next six matches on the road, starting next Saturday when they travel to the nation’s capital to face DC United.