LOS ANGELES — Throw records out the window when El Trafico comes calling.
The Los Angeles Football Club held off a Galaxy group that was unbeaten in their first matches to begin the Major League Soccer season, securing a 2-1 victory at BMO Stadium over their 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 team-leading third goals of the season for LAFC, offsetting the first MLS goal by Galaxy defender Julian Aude, all in the opening half.
Stutter-stepping their way into the first of three regular season El Traficos, 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 majority of the previous six seasons when the five-time MLS champions from Carson had a better record than LAFC in just 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, Mateusz Bogusz delivered the ball into the box. At the near post midfielder Ilie Sanchez flicked it beyond the Galaxy defenders, leaving Tillman, who looped in behind the white-shirted visitors, to redirect the early go-ahead goal.
Nearing the half-hour mark, the Galaxy leveled the match on the last of four shots over a five-second span, one more than they had the previous 29 minutes.
Midfielder Gaston Brugman provided Aude a pathway into the LAFC box, where he fired off a right-footed shot that would’ve beat goalkeeper Hugo Lloris had it not clanged off the post.
Aude snapped another shot off the rebound but LAFC center back Jesus Murillo stepped in the way and then blocked the next try by Gabriel Pec.
The ball fell to Aude again and the 21-year-old Argentinian struck it well with his left foot.
No one was there to deny Aude this time as he secured his first career goal in 28 appearances for the Galaxy.
The visiting players celebrated in the Southeast corner of BMO Stadium, where 600 of the five-time MLS Cup champion’s excited supporters were gathered for the occasion.
Their match-leveling enthusiasm wilted two minutes later when Bouanga went down in the box on a razor-thin foul by Japanese defender Miki Yamane, who caught last year’s Golden Boot winner’s trail leg with a slide tackle.
Related Articles
Lindsey Horan delivers as US defeats Japan at SheBelieves Cup
LAFC looks to jump-start season with El Trafico match against Galaxy
Galaxy enters first El Trafico meeting riding confident wave
Irvine Zeta FC eliminates Ventura County Futbol Club in U.S. Open Cup 2nd-round match
Galaxy adds defender Carlos Emiro Garces on loan from Deportivo Pereira in Colombia
Referee Jon Freemon conferred with video assistant review official Younes Marrakchi on the way to confirming the penalty, which Bouanga smashed up the middle for this third goal of the year, which held up as the game-winner.
The final 45 minutes, plus three stoppage time minutes, yielded a well-played, less frantic version of El Trafico than has often unfolded.
LAFC had numerous opportunities to put the game away, including from Bouanga who had a clear net in the 80th minute after a low cross by Cristian Olivera, but the French winger smashed his attempt over the crossbar.
The Galaxy forced Lloris to make three saves, notably a terrific reaction on a blast by the visitor’s leading goal scorer Dejan Jovelic in the 69th minute. Otherwise, LAFC held the Galaxy’s trio of designated players — the Killa P’s Riqui Puig, Gabriel Pec and Joseph Paintseil — at bay, allowing one shot on target between them.
On the opposite end John McCarthy, the 2022 MLS Cup most valuable player for LAFC, returned to the site of that game after signing as a free agent with the Galaxy in the offseason and made seven saves.
