LOS ANGELES — When El Trafico comes calling, throw win-loss records out the window.
The up-and-down Los Angeles Football Club held off an L.A. Galaxy group that was unbeaten in six matches to begin the Major League Soccer season, securing an uplifting 2-1 win at BMO Stadium over their resurgent rivals.
The first of three regular season derby meetings came down the wire as LAFC could not put the game away and the Galaxy failed to penetrate the home side’s effective defense, which accounted for eight block shots in front of goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
Timothy Tillman and Denis Bouanga bagged their LAFC leading third goals of the season, offsetting the first MLS goal for Galaxy defender Julian Aude — each in the first half.
Stutter-stepping into the match, LAFC (3-3-1, 10 points) sat ninth in the standings compared to the top-of-the-table Galaxy (3-1-3, 12 points). This marked a reversal from the previous six seasons when the five-time MLS champions from Carson had a better record than LAFC in only four of their 17 league contests.
Tillman’s simple finish at the far post in the fourth minute gave LAFC what it covets most against any opponent: a lead.
After Bouanga earned a corner kick, the versatile Mateusz Bogusz delivered the ball into the box. At the near post midfielder Ilie Sanchez flicked it beyond the Galaxy defense, leaving Tillman, who looped in behind the white-shirted visitors, to knock in the early go-ahead goal.
A short time later, Tillman spoiled a breakaway by denying a quick transition from an LAFC set piece with a foul on Gabriel Pec in the 21st minute. But the yellow card did not dissuade Tillman from making his presence felt on the field the rest of the way.
“You need to be smart then,” said Tillman, who played through the final whistle. “I think I’m a smart player. I could deal with it. Of course there are some situations you have to stop maybe or take a step back before trying too much and ending up in a foul. It’s just about effort. If you try hard enough, if you keep chasing the ball you still have a chance to win it.”
Nearing the half-hour mark, the Galaxy leveled the score on the last of four rapid-fire shots over a five-second span — one more than they managed the first 29 minutes.
Galaxy midfielder Gaston Brugman gave Aude a pathway into the LAFC box, and the defender fired off a right-footed shot that would’ve beat goalkeeper Hugo Lloris had it not clanged off the post.
Aude snapped another one off the rebound but LAFC center back Jesus Murillo jumped in front of the shot before blocking the next try from Pec. The ball fell to Aude once more and no one was there to deny the 21-year-old Argentinian.
The visitors celebrated in the southeast corner of the stadium, where 600 of their supporters had gathered for the occasion among an announced crowd of 22,321.
The Galaxy’s enthusiasm waned two minutes later when Bouanga went down in the box on a razor-thin foul call on Japanese defender Miki Yamane, who caught last year’s Golden Boot winner’s trail leg with a slide tackle.
Referee Jon Freemon conferred with video assistant review official Younes Marrakchi on the way to confirming the penalty, which Bouanga smashed up the middle.
“It’s a frustrating game,” Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney said. “These big games come down to moments and emotions. When goals happen, the first one is us not executing, and the second is a tough one to swallow.”
The second half plus three stoppage time minutes yielded a well-played, less frantic version of El Trafico than has been typical for the series.
LAFC had numerous opportunities to put the game away, including by Bouanga who was wide open in the 80th minute after a low cross courtesy of Cristian Olivera was smashed over the crossbar.
“The only thing we’re not happy with is closing the game out,” Cherundolo said. “We had clear chances to go 3-1 up in the second half. Those need to happen and then the game becomes much easier to finish.”
The Galaxy forced Lloris to make three saves in his El Trafico debut. A terrific jumping reaction by the 37-year-old Frenchman denied a blast by the visitor’s leading goal scorer Dejan Jovelic in the 69th minute. Otherwise, LAFC held down the Galaxy’s trio of designated players — the Killa P’s Riqui Puig, Joseph Paintsil and Pec — conceding one shot on target between them.
Starting in goal for the Galaxy, John McCarthy, the 2022 MLS Cup most valuable player for LAFC, returned to the site of that game after leaving as a free agent and made seven saves.
“They’re a good team,” McCarthy said. “I think some results didn’t go their way this year. That’s part of a long running season. I think we had to lose at some point. Unfortunately it was today, but it happens. It’s a long season and we have to build off of it.”
