A 3-1 win for the team that the table, in concurrence with the eyeball test, says is the best in the United States may seem like a ho-hum result, and completely devoid of The Magic of the Cup. That wasn’t the case in Los Angeles, though, with the hometown LAFC ultimately prevailing over the San Jose Earthquakes, 3-1, but in a much more exciting game than may have been expected.
After falling behind early, LAFC scored three unanswered goals by Diego Rossi, Adama Diomande and Carlos Vela to send the club into the Quarterfinals for the second year in a row. For the second year in a row, they will host the Portland Timbers on July 10 at Banc of California Stadium. Last year, LAFC won 3-2.
The visitors got the scoring started early. US youth international Jackson Yueill controlled a ball deep in his own end, and launched a through-ball up the right sideline, where right winger Carlos Espinoza found himself in behind the defense all alone. Inside the top of the LAFC penalty area, Espinoza squared the ball to Valeri “Vako” Qazaishvili, and the Georgian made no mistake finishing past keeper Pablo Sisniega.
Goals from Diego Rossi, Adama Diamonde & Carlos Vela saw @LAFC claw back from a goal down to knock out @SJEarthquakes & move through to a Quarterfinal date with high-flying @TimbersFC.#USOC2019 | ? Highlights pic.twitter.com/XAdkoatEpF
— U.S. Open Cup (@opencup) June 21, 2019
San Jose looked to have doubled their lead in the 20th, when an early cross landed directly on the forehead of MLS all-time leading scorer Chris Wondolowski. Wondolowski did what he does best – finish – but had been in an offside position at the time of the pass, keeping the San Jose lead at just one goal.
That lead would shrink to zero before the first half was completed. LAFC midfielder Lee Nguyen found space in the left channel of the Earthquakes’ defense, and cut inside at the top of the box before slipping a through ball to winger Diego Rossi. A clever chip from a short angle allowed him to level the proceedings with his sixth career US Open Cup goal. Last year, Rossi finished second in the tournament in scoring with five goals and despite losing in the Semifinals, was still a finalist for TheCup.us Player of the Tournament.
From there, a battle of contrasting styles settled in. LAFC put its efforts toward trying to out-possess the opponent and build beautifully, while San Jose was content to answer with counter-attacks.
It would be the former that broke the deadlock – with a little help from transition play, too. A loose ball in LAFC’s defensive third quickly found its way upfield to Rossi in the 60th minute. The Uruguayan slipped a through ball to striker Adama Dioumande, who then rounded the keeper before slamming the ball home. It was a lead LAFC wouldn’t relinquish, even though Espinoza had a chance on the break. His shot was saved by LAFC goalkeeper Pablo Sisniega, and the Quakes would not threaten again.
For Sisniega, it was part of a solid performance, filling in for regular starter Tyler Miller who is away on international duty with the U.S. National Team. The Mexican netminder made eight saves, including several exceptional stops which was recognized after the game.
“ excellent saves, three or four excellent saves and I think everybody on the team is so excited for him,” said LAFC head coach Bob Bradley. “He’s come in, yes, he’s missed some time, he’s excited for this opportunity, Tyler has done a good job setting an example and also supporting Pablo .”
“It was a very physical game, but we played our football.”
Diego Rossi after a hard-fought win. pic.twitter.com/ySApGSV3YZ
— LAFC (@LAFC) June 21, 2019
Mexican international Carlos Vela put the final touches on LAFC’s victory in the 85th minute, cutting in from the right wing, dribbling past two defenders, and wrong-footing San Jose keeper Andrew Tarbell to provide the final margin. It was Vela’s second goal of the tournament and the third of his career.
“Last year we said the Cup was important. The way the draw went, we didn’t play MLS teams in the first two rounds,” said Bradley. “ having to go to Salt Lake for the first game, we immediately discussed amongst ourselves that you earn the Cup every round and there are teams that sometimes rotate and maybe if they get far enough in the tournament they start to take it more seriously. We’ve tried to put the best team that we can on the field.”
That approach has paid off as LAFC remains undefeated (5-0-1, 0-1 PKs) in their first two years in US Open Cup play. Their lone blemish on their record is a penalty kick shootout loss to eventual champion Houston Dynamo in last year’s Semifinal (match officially listed as a draw). The schedule worked
“We’re a good team, we need to show that every game, it doesn’t matter who we’re playing.” @11carlosV after our 3-1 win over @SJEarthquakes. pic.twitter.com/eBexlIQeXI
— LAFC (@LAFC) June 21, 2019