Carlos Vela set the tone for LAFC on Saturday afternoon against the San Jose Earthquakes.
By Ivan Yeo
It was the Carlos Vela and Walker Zimmerman show at Banc of California Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The sweltering heat posed a challenge for LAFC and the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday afternoon. Fortunately for LAFC, they did not have expend too much energy in the game, as they rode a pair of Walker Zimmerman goals, both of them coming off Carlos Vela corner kick, and LAFC took care of business against the reeling Quakes following its 2-0 win.
“All around a good win,” LAFC head coach Bob Bradley said. “Afternoon games are never easy. We started the first half well, had a bit of a low in the middle of the half and finished the half in a good way. It’s important to get some goals off corners so the delivery was very good.
The win enables LAFC to keep pace in the race for the top spot in the Western Conference. LAFC is not tied for second place with FC Dallas and are also just one point back of Sporting Kanas City for the conference’s top seed.
The first Vela to Zimmerman connection came in the 41st minute. Lee Nguyen sent Diego Rossi into the 18-yard box in the 38th minute. Rossi shot the ball just outside the six, but James Marcinkowski parried ball over the end line. LAFC’s first two corners didn’t result in anything, but the third time was indeed the charm for LAFC, as Vela sent the corner into the six and Zimmerman charged in, leaped high and headed the ball far post into the back net.
The scenario repeated himself in the 68th minute, the only difference was that LAFC just needed one corner attempt to score the goal. Nevertheless, Vela sent the ball into the box and this time, Zimmerman came into the box unmarked and headed a ball on the ground past Marcinkowski to double the LAFC advantage.
“We’ve done a lot of short corners, and with this particular matchup, we could have a little bit more success putting it into the box,” Zimmerman said.
It wasn’t just the assists that made the newly named captain Vela a threat in the game, as Vela found himself with numerous scoring chances in the match. The first chance came in the 22nd minute, as Adam Diomande led a break on goal, played a weighted ball for Vela, who tried to curl a ball over Marcinkowski at the far post, but didn’t put enough on the ball and Marcinkowski made the easy save. Later in the half, Vela had a shot from distance that was on target and a free kick early in the second half, but both times were denied by Marcinkowski. Vela had one last chance in the 57th minute, as Marco Urena dispossessed Guram Kashia, then played a ball into the 18 for Vela, but Vela for a third time was denied point blank by Marcinkowski.
“Today I played more like a No. 10,” Vela said. “I tried to find the best spots to receive the ball and I felt really comfortable. Of course, I had chances to score. We have to try and score more goals to feel safe and play a little easier at the end of the game.”
While the LAFC offense was able to keep pressure, San Jose, playing its first game under interim manager Steve Ralston, did not do much in the match. The Quakes only had two real scoring chances in the match, which were both by Jackson Yueill. The Quakes first chance came in the 21st minute, as Valeri Qazaishvili crossed a ball into the penalty area, Chris Wondowlowski touched a ball backwards, but Yueil charged in, one-time a ball that took a dangerous bounce, but Tyler Miller kept his eyes on the ball and parried the ball away from goal. Yueill had another chance in the 54th minute in almost the same scenario, as he hit another one-timer off a cross towards goal, but this time, the ball missed the far post.
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