The Black and Gold got the scoring started early.
In the sixth minute, Carlos Vela capitalized off the mistake of Portland goalkeeper Jeff Atinella to make it 1-0. It’s not all that surprising to see Vela score his 16th goal of the season. However, what was surprising, was seeing Diego Rossi Score his second goal in the past 10 matches.
Rossi, who has struggled this season, was able to finally get on the board in the 34th minute.
The first half came to a close as Larrys Mabiala got a yellow card on a terrible challenge through the back of Carlos Vela.
The fact it only resulted in a yellow card was puzzling, but that’s neither here nor there.
That was only the beginning of many fouls in a game that would end with hard fouls by both sides. LAFC looked asleep to start the second half as Portland scored quickly. Then, LAFC asserted their dominance once again just minutes later as Latif Blessing scored off of a Jordan Harvey cross into the box to make it 3-1.
Portland put plenty of pressure on LAFC in the second half, but they were only able to score in the closing minutes of the game to finish 3-2.
Getting Comfortable With the “Bad Guy” Role
I wrote several weeks ago that LAFC was one of the most hated teams in the MLS in only their second season. If you didn’t get a chance to read it, the article can be found here.
The theme of “Bad guy” continued continued late into the night in Portland. As the final whistle sounded 11 minutes into the eight minutes of added time, boos reigned down on LAFC. The away team had spoiled the reopening of Providence Park in what became a chippy game with both players and coaches being heavily involved.
As I stated in the original article, Los Angeles is no stranger to being hated. In fact, many LA athletes would argue it fueled their desire to win and be the best. LAFC is now booed more than ever before, in the same place as many LA teams that have come before them. It’s a crossroads where the team must decide how to handle both the simultaneous success and hatred that follows them.
What will being hated do to the Black and Gold?
As fans, most of us relish being the team no one likes, mainly because it usually means the team is winning. As the season continues however, the fouls will only get harder, the boos will only get louder and the whispers will become roars. How will the Black and Gold respond? So far so good.
Let’s hope it stays that way.
