El Trafico was in all its glory on Thursday night.
Only LAFC and the LA Galaxy could put on the type of show that the 22,000 plus at Banc of California Stadium. Facing each other in the playoffs for the second time in four years, the two rivals staged another classic, going back-and-forth and providing the sort of drama unmatched by any rivalry in MLS.
This being the MLS Cup playoffs, there unfortunately had to be a loser, and it was the Galaxy that wound up on the short end of the stick. Despite equalizing twice in the match, Cristian Arango ensured there would be no extra time needed to settle matters, as his goal following a corner kick in stoppage time enabled LAFC to hold off a determined Galaxy squad and move onto the Western Conference finals with the 3-2 win.
“Where do I start,” LAFC’s Kellyn Acosta said. “That game was electric, it had a bit of everything, a bunch of goals, a bit of everything,
Tied at two three minutes into six-minutes of stoppage time, it appeared that an extra 30 minutes and perhaps a penalty shootout were looking like a realistic possibility for both sides. LAFC however had a corner kick in the 93rd minute, Kellyn Acosta sent the corner into the penalty area to the back post, Bounanga one-times a shot at goal, keeper Jonathan Bond made the save, but Arango and Ryan Hollingshead were unmarked inside the six-yard box and it was Arango who put in the rebound shot to send the capacity crowd save for the Galaxy fans, into a frenzied pitch. LAFC was able to kill off the remaining time to seal its second trip to the conference final in franchise history.
“The Galaxy had a great performance,” LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo said. “It took our very best to beat them, but our performance, our aggression and our ideas gave us and edge.”
Arango was the hero, but Denis Bouanga was the catalyst, as he scored LAFC’s first two goals in the match. Arango and Bouanga’s performance was key in sealing LAFC’s trip to the conference final on Sunday, October 30, where they await the winner of the Austin FC/FC Dallas matchup.
The fireworks that defined this budding rivalry began just 12 minutes into the match. It started when the the Galaxy’s Riqui Puig tried to dribble into the penalty area, LAFC’s Eddie Segura defended Puig and stuck his right arm out and Puig went to the ground, though referee Allen Chapman was not convinced that a foul was committed. However, things quickly escalated when Jesus David Murillo appeared to taunt Puig, and he quickly got back up and appeared to head butt Murillo, a scuffle ensued, Chapman quickly pulled Puig away from the pile and perhaps to the relief of Puig and the Galaxy, Chapman showed yellow to Puig.
LAFC soon provided some fireworks on the field. Carlos Vela received a ball from Segura and passed inside the penalty area to Bouanga, who fought off Douglas Costa’s challenge, took a quick touch and fired a shot that beat Bond into the back net to stake LAFC to the lead. The Galaxy though were up for the challenge, pushing across an equalizer with just a minute remaining in the first half, as Samuel Grandsir fired a right-footed volley that beat keeper Maxime Crepeau far post.
“I’m proud of the growth that the group made,” Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney said. “I think they, you know, especially here in the playoffs, they played two big games where there was a lot on the line. We played a number of games down the stretch of the season where we felt like every game mattered. That’s something this group needed to go through. Is to play these types of important matches. I’ve seen the group kind of grow together as men. And, the qualities of the group came out.”
The back-and-forth resumed late in the second half. Bouanga pushed LAFC back in front in the 80th minute, as Arango played RYan Hollingshead into the penalty area, both Bouanga and Kwadao Opoku made runs into the six-yard box, Hollingshead crossed into the six, Opoku could not stretch out for the ball, but Bouanga swooped in at the back post to tap in the open net shot to put LAFC back ahead. The Galaxy however refused to go down without a fight, equalizing in the 85th minute, as Victor Vasquez played a ball forward that looked intended for Chicharito Hernandez, but Dejan Jovelic, who had entered as a sub just a minute earlier, fired a right-footed volley just outside the penalty area, that beat Crepeau into the upper right corner.
