LAFC Vs Vancouver Whitecaps: The hard work starts now for the newcomers

LAFC suffered quite the blip, conceding nine goals without reply. Well, they righted some of those wrong this weekend with a 2-0 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps. Unfortunately for the newcomers, though, the hard work starts now.

It was quite the blip for Los Angeles FC. After a truly blistering start to the season that saw them take the league by storm, they partook in the inaugural El Trafico. It was all going swimmingly. A dominant first-half performance had them two goals to the good at the break, only for that advantage to be compounded with an early own-goal in the second half. Unfortunately for LAFC, that was where the good news ended.

It was in the shape of quite a sizable swede that LA Galaxy mounted their comeback. First, a stunning volley from 40-yards out. Then, a planted header to secure the unlikely victory for his team in the dying moments. Zlatan Ibrahimovic truly wouldn’t have it any other way.

Inevitably, much of the post-match circus focused on the man-mountain of a centre-forward. He was the story of the match. But in the furore, LAFC were plainly overlooked. This was a four-goal collapse that involved a goalkeeper being lobbed from near the halfway line. It was hardly a lesson in how to see out a lead.

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They then coalesced that collapse with their worst performance of the season. Although, perhaps it wasn’t their worst performance of the season. It just looked like the worst performance of the season because of the scoreline. Atlanta United may have put five past Timmy Miller, three of those goals came in the 88th minute or after. And two of those three were penalties, though there can be few gripes about the decision. More significantly, though, LAFC dominated the shot-count, 17 to 11, and controlled the game with 59% possession. This was not a normal 5-0 defeat.

Nevertheless, Bob Bradley’s team, had slipped from a 100% record in their first two games to just a 0.500 win ratio, conceding nine goals without a reply of their own. It would be fair to say that this was not a happy time for the league’s latest newcomers.

And so, it is in this context that their 2-0 away win against the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday takes on a new meaning. This was no routine two-goal win with a clean sheet to boot. There was pressure on this game. This, for me, sets the stage perfectly for this team.

When the season opened, while splash signings had been made like Carlos Vela and Diego Rossi, both of whom have vindicated their designated-player value, quickly establishing themselves as the primary dual-threat of this viciously quick and free-flowing Los Angeles attack, expectations were relatively low. And that suited this team. They could play without shackles or the weight of anticipation. They were free to experiment, to risk, to try things that other teams with more pressure on them could not. And that perfectly suited the players they had in the team, especially those of the attacking variety.

But that is now no longer the case. Expectation, as it always does with wins, has risen. That is why there nine-goal blip was so surprising and so widely discussed. It was seen as hugely detrimental to a team that were not the newcomers of the league with no chance of the postseason but the team that was leading the way in expansive, exciting MLS play. That is now who LAFC are. And so, the hard work starts.

Next: MLS: Week 7 Power Rankings

It’s easy to play nice football, score lovely goals, play risky passes, win games with style and panache when there is no expectation. It is a very different prospect when you are expected to win. That is now the change in context for LAFC. They are expected to win. Whether they can handle it or not, remains to be seen, but Saturday’s victory over the Whitecaps was an excellent start to a positive answer. Long may it continue, I guess.

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