An AT&T Goal of the Year candidate, several top-quality saves, a superstar’s unexpected early exit, a red card, late heroics in front of the home supporters’ end and, to top it all off, some ill-tempered jawing after the final whistle.
Sunday night’s LAFC-Portland Timbers showdown at Banc of California Stadium had just about everything, extending the madcap traditions of #MLSAfterDark with some Audi MLS Cup Playoffs-level intensity in early March.
The 1-1 deadlock also drove home why those involved – not the marketing specialists, but the players and coaches themselves – do not hesitate to tag this a rivalry matchup.
“It’s great, I love it, relish that,” said LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo postgame. “It's a clash of two styles of football, and that's always going to be heated. We believe in this, they believe in that, and we'll see who comes out on top. It's a great rivalry. It's great for the league, it's great for our conference, so I can't wait for more.”
Cherundolo's team controlled the tempo for long stretches and created ample danger in the final third. But they lost their talisman Carlos Vela to a halftime substitution and had to dig out an injury-time equalizer, Brian Rodriguez’s twinkle-toed endline run setting up Mamadou Fall for a point-blank tap-in some 74 minutes after Yimmi Chara’s second jaw-dropping overhead-kick golazo in as many weeks.
LAFC’s biggest question of the night – the health of the injury-prone Vela – will have to remain unanswered for the time being, it seems.
“Carlos, we took up at halftime, just precautionary, we're still assessing exactly what it is. But it doesn't seem severe,” said Cherundolo of his showpiece attacker, who was lively in the first half, playing two key passes and forcing a superb save from Timbers goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic in the 33rd minute.
“Carlos always feels something,” Cherundolo responded when asked a follow-up question about the circumstances of Vela’s exit. “No, like I said, just precautionary. I don't think it's anything serious. But our doctors are still assessing.”
Chara’s early wonderstrike put the visitors right where they like to be, especially against aggressive attacking opponents like LAFC: In the advantage, with scope to sit deep and hit on the counter. It wasn’t a surprise to anyone watching, but it worked, at least until Claudio Bravo’s second yellow card forced the Timbers to sweat out the game’s final stages with 10 men.
“Look, we all know Portland, we know what they do well, and they're very successful at playing that way,” said Cherundolo. “Very result-oriented, pragmatic. They're very good at it – compliments to Portland for defending very well. It's not easy to stay disciplined for that long. And then with a man down as well.”
Finally that parked bus was breached when “Rayo” Rodriguez isolated Marvin Loria along the left channel, bewitched him with a few stepovers, then found a wide-open Fall on the doorstep for the simplest of finishes with the tired Timbers defense caught sleepy and static.
“It is frustrating from the players’ standpoint,” said Timbers boss Gio Savarese, who was yellow-carded for his protestations to referee Ismail Elfath about what he considered some unbalanced decisions. “For my part, the only thing I can say is the sacrifice the players put in. Yes, we wanted to get three points, we wanted to win the game, but the guys sacrificed enough in the game to achieve that.”
Fall lustily celebrated his dramatic leveler in front of the 3252 supporters' section, but afterward the 19-year-old center back emphasized what a team goal it was.
“It’s always great to score, but it was the work of the team. Everybody got involved,” said the talented young Senegalese defender. “It was just like, they were just cooking and they served me a plate and I’ve got to eat my dinner.”
Noted Cherundolo: “In those situations, you need special players making special plays, and Brian made one in the end.”
While his coach said the Black & Gold “have to be happy with a draw,” Rodriguez cut a proud but frustrated figure in his postgame availability.
“The fighting spirit let us draw. We shouldn't suffer as much as we did today, especially at home. Especially with a man [advantage],” said the Uruguayan. “However, we continue growing. It's early, second match. So we'll continue to improve and we'll continue growing from here.”
