LAFC didn’t take the most direct route or the smoothest routes, but the team got where they wanted to go on Wednesday, netting a MLS playoff berth with a 2-1 victory over the Houston Dynamo
But the celebration at an empty Banc of California stadium has been cut short as reaching the playoffs is just the first step on a much longer journey, coach Bob Bradley says the team won’t end if she doesn’t clean some things quickly
« We have high standards and I don’t think a game like tonight is good enough in any way, » he said. “You have to really try to play the playoffs with confidence, with acuity and with the mentality that we are a team that is going to fight every game.
« So we were pretty critical after tonight’s game because it’s a message everyone needs to understand »
The fact that the team were treating their first positive test for the coronavirus also escalated the mood A player failed a test on Tuesday, a spokesperson said, and remains isolated The rest of the team and the staff underwent rapid tests on Wednesday that came back negative, allowing the game to go as planned
As far as the playoffs go, LAFC has been there before, reaching the playoffs in its first two seasons – then winning just one game once it got there this season, it waited until there are two games left to accept his playoff invite, the deepest he’s gone in a season without one
Wednesday’s win was only the second time LAFC (9-7-4) have won back-to-back games this year; three times he entered a game with a loss record This never happened in the team’s first two years
LAFC appears to be gaining momentum at the right time, however, having lost just one of their last six games while edging opponents 12-6 in that span The squad is also in good health with Carlos Vela, who returns from a knee injury, playing consecutive games for the first time since early March. Vela, the reigning league MVP, played 30 minutes off the bench on Wednesday
« I want the passage to be sharper, » he said « When you have advantages, I want to end the chances When you lose balls, I want the reactions to be faster
« This is how you become a great team. We were able to do it sometimes, but tonight there was very little of it all »
The goals, both in the first half, came from Diego Rossi and Eddie Segura while Kenneth Vermeer, starting in front of goals for the first time in two months, made a smothering save from Mauro Manotas’ penalty at the 33rd minute
Houston thought they had another chance at PK in the dying moments, but this was called off after a video review
The first score, in the ninth minute, came at the end of a nice five-pass streak that ended with Rossi kicking the ball to the left post for his 13th league-leading goal of the season Segura doubled the lead a short time later when he managed a pass from Jesús David Murillo through traffic and into the net
Ariel Lassiter came off the Houston bench during intermission and halved the lead a minute later But Dynamo, who played the final 30 minutes on the shorthand after Matias Vera received two yellow cards for unsportsmanlike and expelled behavior, did not come close
The win was Bradley’s 170th in MLS, breaking the tie with Dominic Kinnear at third on the league’s all-time win list Only the late Sigi Schmid and Bruce Arena, now with New England, have won more often as a manager
Los Angeles FC, Houston Dynamo, MLS, Diego Rossi, LA Galaxy, Playoffs
World News – USA – LAFC clinches MLS playoff spot with victory over Houston Dynamo
SOURCE: https://www.w24news.com
