LAFC: Sometimes, ugly is exactly what is needed

It wasn’t pretty. It perhaps wasn’t deserved. But in a hard-fought, last-gasp match, LAFC overcome the Seattle Sounders. Someone, ugly is exactly what is needed.

The MLS season is not a sprint. As the old adage goes, it is certainly of the marathon variety. Stretching March all the way through the summer and into the fall, the league campaign is the greatest test of consistency and endurance of quality.

Unlike a cup competition, for instance, fleeting and fluctuating form is not rewarded. It is important that winning does not only happen when confidence is flowing as form is flying; in a league campaign, it is not necessarily the peaks that determine a side’s success but their ability to consistently perform at close to that best level.

That is what MLS-expansion side Los Angeles FC are in the process of learning. Bob Bradley’s side enjoyed the inauguration of the Banc of California Stadium at the weekend. They hosted the Seattle Sounders in a repeat of their season-opener. But this time, the Sounders had the likes of Clint Dempsey to call on. Gone was the rotation of the CONCACAF Champions League; here was the near full-strength outing.

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This then, for LAFC, was no easy opener. And so it would prove to be. An almost 50:50 share of the possession; 15 shots to 13; five shots on target to six; four corners to six. Whatever way you slice this game, you will discover an extremely even and balanced encounter, one that could very easily have tipped in either direction without much encouragement. And yet, it was LAFC that went home with the three points in their back pocket.

It was not without strife. Clearances off the line, handling mistakes by Timothy Miller, missed chances by Dempsey. Seattle certainly had the opportunities to score the goal that would, given their defensive solidarity, secure the victory. But LA hung on. They did not bend; they did not break. And they were rewarded for their resolve.

Laurent Ciman was the man who scored the only goal of the game. It did not come until the 93rd minute of the match. It was a fairly speculative free-kick from distance. In fact, some initially thought that it would simply be clipped into the penalty area in the hope of a header or knock-down resulting in a better opportunity. But Ciman struck it, and with venom. Nevertheless, it was a simple save. While pacy, it was straight down the throat of Stefan Frei. The veteran goalkeeper should have collected it comfortably. He didn’t. As he knelt to scoop it into his body, the ball careered off his hands and into the corner of the net.

It was not a pretty goal by any stretch of the imagination. It was not a pretty win. In fact, I could very easily listen to an argument that Seattle was the better team, even if LAFC did miss some good chances and ended the game in the ascendancy. But this was a victory and there are no extra points for style. It does not matter how you win. What matters is that you win, and that is exactly what LAFC did.

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So in their pursuit of postseason soccer in their first season as a professional club, LAFC are making excellent progress. They have assembled a blistering attack. They know how to score goals. They are a cohesive, connected, disciplined machine that is managed by an experienced coach. And they now know how to win games the ugly way. That may be their biggest help.

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