Desperation causes people to do strange things. Like, chasing a ball you can’t reach. Diving feet first into another man, endangering him, and reducing your team to 10 men. All at a time when your side is building momentum despite being down on the score sheet.
Mahala Opoku is not a dirty player.
Like his team on Wednesday night, he found himself between a rock and a hard place. He’s desperate to score. Willing to do whatever it takes to help his team break its run of four matches in all competitions without a goal. But lacking a bit of sharpness, and probably a little fatigued physically and mentally, he made a rash decision in the moment.
He deservedly saw red. And while his team carried on, the momentum they’d worked so hard to create in the second half was gone.
Right now, that’s just the way it goes for the Black & Gold. A perfect storm has coalesced on Steve Cherundolo’s team and there’s no easy way out.
“It would be a mistake to panic, which we are certainly not,” Cherundolo said after the loss. “We have some injuries we’re carrying and just a few guys carrying the brunt of the minutes. And you can see that in the performances. When results don’t go your way, bounces don’t go your way, calls don’t go your way, that nicks away at your confidence as well.
“And I just think you’re seeing all of that come together. But there’s no major issues or things we can fix right away.”
Here are the Takeaways from LAFC’s 1-0 loss to the Houston Dynamo:
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Getting Creative By Necessity
A center back at right back. A left back in midfield. An 18-year-old starting his third consecutive match. Steve Cherundolo fielded a starting 11 we have not seen this season out of necessity.
Injuries and MLS’s insistence on playing through international windows forced the LAFC head coach’s hand in this instance. Kellyn Acosta, Timothy Tillman, and Sergi Palencia missed the match due to injury. While Denis Bouanga and José Cifuentes are away on international duty. Those players alone would make up half of a strong MLS starting squad.
But the show must go on. Denil Maldonado moved to right back. Chiqui Palacios stepped up into midfield. And it looked about how you’d expect a team with a left back in midfield and a center back on the right flank would look.
LAFC’s first-half performance was labored. They possessed the ball for the majority of the half but lacked incisiveness. The spacing and position of players often clashed and resulted in the ball having to go back and around to restart attacks.
Two To Tango
While we’ve been privileged to only focus on the Black & Gold most matches, we can’t forget there are two teams with opposing agendas on the pitch in every match. Some LAFC’s lack of offensive prowess in the first half can be explained by forced personnel choices but the Dynamo also had a part to play.
Ben Olsen’s team entered this match with a 0-6-2 record away from home with 19 goals conceded. As a result, Olsen set his team up to minimize its biggest weakness on the road.
The Dynamo came out in a low block. That allowed his two banks of four midfielders and four defenders to stay compact in a reduced area both horizontally and vertically. While his two forwards looked to optimistically pick off passes and start counterattacks.
To beat a team sitting deep and compressing the final third, you have to create your own space through quick and efficient ball movement. Move the ball to move the opponent and hopefully pull them apart. LAFC didn’t have the right solutions in the first half. But to the Dynamo’s credit, it takes a disciplined side to defend that way for long stretches.
Second Half Changes
To start the second half, Cherundolo set up his team in a more traditional manner. Mahala came on in place of Denil Maldonado. Ryan Hollingshead moved from left back to right back. Chiqui Palacios dropped to left back. And Mateusz Bogusz dropped into an advanced midfield role.
Hindsight is 20/20 but LAFC looked more comfortable going forward right away.
Palacios and Hollingshead gave LAFC ball progression options on both flanks, forcing Houston to stretch across the field. Bogusz took advantage of the resulting spaces created between the lines, helping LAFC generate more dangerous sequences of possession where the Dynamo were rushing toward their own goal.
To say there was an ease in the way LAFC moved the ball in the second half is probably being too generous. The Dynamo were still resolute in their deep block and intensity in closing down LAFC attackers. But LAFC was more efficient on the ball, taking fewer touches and moving quickly into dangerous areas. As a result, shots and entries into the opponent’s penalty area increased.
The Buck Stops Here
The second half was encouraging. But good vibes aside, the end product still wasn’t there. LAFC is without a goal in four matches. Even the underlying numbers weren’t great. The Black & Gold generated just 0.7 xG against Houston – its lowest xG total at home this season.
Carlos Vela stepped up to the spot in stoppage time against San Jose to convert a game-winning penalty on May 20. The LAFC captain’s lone goal in four matches coincided with LAFC’s only win in the same time period.
In open play, Vela’s drought extends to eight MLS matches. He isn’t shying from the issue.
“When I play bad, I’m the first guy that accepts that. I talk to myself. I say, ‘you are not doing well.’ The team needs more from me,” Vela said about his current form after the match. “And of course, everybody has to be honest with their own self to say, ‘what can I do better?’ It’s not about starting to say, ‘ah, he’s not playing good’ or put excuses or put the problem to the other side to the next guy. When you do that, you are a bad team.
“I think you have to start by saying, ‘Ok. Carlos, you are not scoring goals.’ If I don’t score goals how can we win? When I start to play better, I start to score goals, everything will be better for our team.”
Vela has been here numerous times in his career. He’s not only accepting the criticism, but he’s also taking it to heart and has vowed to work harder. Teammates have always said that Vela sets the tone in the locker room. And if he’s not happy with his own performance, you can be sure everyone in that locker room is following suit.
A Couple Of Bright Spots
I don’t want to leave you on a complete downer. It’s been a rough few weeks. And LAFC travels to face the hottest team in the Western Conference this week in Kansas City. Here are a couple of quick positive bits to end on.
Aaron Long returned to the pitch on Wednesday. The defender has been out of action since a nasty collision in the second leg of the Concacaf Champions League final.
A bandage protected the stitches on his right temple as he entered the match for Giorgio Chiellini. Long played the match’s final 21 minutes and didn’t shy away from headers or challenges. With the number of players on the training table for LAFC at this moment, it was a welcomed appearance.
Nathan Ordaz was another late substitute for LAFC. He packed a lot of action into a short cameo.
In just six minutes on the pitch, Ordaz ran directly at Houston defenders. His dribbles forced the Dynamo into surrendering dangerous set-piece opportunities and two yellow cards.
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