MLS
LAFC slip up again after defeat in Charlotte
The Black & Gold were punished by the side from North Carolina and now trail St. Louis by four points in the Western Conference.
Los Angeles FC were back in MLS action on Saturday night at the Black and Gold looked to put their Leagues Cup defeat at the hands of Monterrey behind them.
The trip to the Bank of America Stadium for the game against Charlotte FC turned out to be another disappointment and was a dent in the side from LA’s quest to stay in contention for first place in the Western Conference as Cherundolo’s men fell to their seventh MLS loss of the season.
One of the positives of the night for the Black and Gold was that leaders St. Louis City SC also lost on their visit to Orlando City (2-1), which sees Steve Cherundolo’s team stay in second place after Houston Dynamo beat Real Salt Lake (0-3) in a match that was delayed due to bad weather in Utah.
Carlos Vela plays for an hour
The captain of the Black & Gold played 63 minutes before being replaced by Uruguayan Cristian Olivera, who already managed to score on his LAFC debut. Vela delivered a discreet performance and never really threatened the Charlotte goal.
Denis Bouanga however was a constant threat for LAFC with the striker disappointed to see a first half goal chalked off for offside but it was his assist that set up new signing Mario González who skipped past Kristijan Kahlina to tie the game in the 67th minute.
Charlotte bounce back
Canadian Scott Arfield, who recently played in Scotland with Rangers bagged the winner with just fifteen minutes remaining when he latched on to a rebound from LAFC keeper John McCarthy who could only palm out a powerful shot from Swiderski and the 34-year-old Scot poked the ball home.
Next up: Vela vs Messi
The next MLS regular season game for LAFC will be against Inter Miami at BMO Stadium on Sunday next (3 September) and is undoubtedly one of the most attractive fixtures of the season as the defending MLS Cup champions face the star studded Herons with Alba, Busquets and Messi now in the ranks.
- 1 Kristijan Kahlina
- 29 Adilson Malanda (88')
- 24 Jaylin Lindsay
- 34 Andrew Privett
- 14 Nathan Byrne (71')
- 20 Derrick Jones (72')
- 10 Brecht Dejaeghere (83')
- 13 Brandt Bronico
- 8 Ashley Westwood
- 15 Ben Bender (71')
- 11 Swiderski
- Substitutes
- 25 Afful
- 37 Arfield (72')
- 7 Jozwiak (71')
- 3 Jere Uronen (71')
- 18 Kerwin Vargas
- 31 George Marks
- 22 Justin Meram (83')
- 33 Patrick Agyemang
- 2 Jan Sobocinski (88')
- 77 John McCarthy
- 30 Palencia
- 33 Aaron Long
- 24 Ryan Hollingshead
- 2 Denil Maldonado
- 11 Timothy Tillman (62')
- 19 Mateusz Bogusz (87')
- 6 Ilie (62')
- 9 Mario González (77')
- 10 Vela (62')
- 99 Denis Bouanga
- Substitutes
- 25 Cristian Olivera (62')
- 27 Nathan Ordaz (87')
- 7 Stipe Biuk (77')
- 5 Mamadou Fall
- 50 Filip Yavorov Krastev (62')
- 18 Erik Duenas
- 17 Danny Crisostomo
- 16 Maxime Crépeau
- 23 Kellyn Acosta (62')
Substitutions
Cristian Olivera (62', Carlos Vela), Kellyn Acosta (62', Ilie Sánchez), Filip Krastev (62', Timothy Tillman), Kamil Józwiak (71', Ben Bender), Jere Uronen (71', Nathan Byrne), Scott Arfield (72', Derrick Jones), Stipe Biuk (77', Mario González), Justin Meram (83', Brecht Dejaegere), Nathan Ordaz (87', Mateusz Bogusz), Jan Sobocinski (88', Adilson Malanda)
Goals
1-0, 28': Ashley Westwood, 1-1, 66': Mario González, 2-1, 74': Arfield
Cards
Referee: Victor Rivas
VAR Referee: Jorge Gonzalez, Jeff Muschik
Adilson Malanda (7',Yellow) Swiderski (12',Yellow) Timothy Tillman (18',Yellow) Brandt Bronico (95',Yellow)
