LAFC ties Austin FC but misses chance to gain more ground

Teenager David Martínez scores early in the second half as LAFC rallies for a 1-1 draw on a night when the Western Conference-leading Galaxy loses at Portland.

Sep 19, 2024 - 07:00

LAFC ties Austin FC but misses chance to gain more ground

LAFC forward Denis Bouanga, left, vies for the ball with Austin FC forward Jon Gallagher during the second half of their MLS match on Wednesday night at BMO Stadium. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)

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LOS ANGELES — A nod to the Los Angeles Football Club’s past preceded a look at its future.

Following a press conference on Wednesday addressing Carlos Vela’s re-signing following his 10-month stint as a free agent, LAFC hosted Austin FC in need of points and a boost off of its disappointing outcome against the Galaxy last weekend.

With Vela, 35, watching from the stands, earning cheers from the fans each time he was shown on the BMO Stadium video screen, 18-year-old David Martínez’s introduction to the action in the second half quickly made a difference. His goal in the 62nd minute leveled the match at 1-1, salvaging a point on a night that could have delivered much more than that for the hosts.

“I’m happy I was able to contribute to the draw,” Martínez said. “I’m happy for the input of the team. Not very happy because we’re at home and didn’t win, but despite all that the team gave a great effort coming back. It gives me great confidence because I have had a few games I wanted to play and I think that helps.”

When FC Dallas fell to Real Salt Lake earlier in the evening, LAFC could have clinched its sixth playoff berth in seven seasons had it won.

LAFC also missed out on a chance to gain three points on the first-place Galaxy, which lost 4-2 at Portland, but the point against Austin allowed the hosts to reclaim control of their own destiny for the top seed in the Western Conference with two games in hand on their rival.

Coach Steve Cherundolo’s team was slow to establish a rhythm and create chances in the opening half. To their credit, though, they gave up very little.

What should have been a scoreless game at the break became a 1-0 deficit on the last kick in stoppage time.

The door was left open for Austin (9-12-8, 35 points) thanks to a poor giveaway by defender Aaron Long near the box, which was immediately played to Austin’s Jáder Obrian, who calmly finished his sixth goal of the season on the visitor’s only shot on target through the first 45 minutes.

“We’ve seen that before in recent weeks and that’s impossible to win games in a fatigued state at this stage of the season if you’re making errors like that,” Cherundolo said.

Featuring a starting attack of Denis Bouanga, Olivier Giroud and Mateusz Bogusz, LAFC (14-7-7, 49 points) was unable to engineer much.

“I thought with the ball we could have created more in the first half but were too rushed and impatient,” Cherundolo said. “Our choice-making of passes was often times too risky, with not enough reward.”

Giroud managed the best chance for LAFC before halftime, connecting on a strike from just outside the box that forced a terrific diving save in the 25th minute from Austin goalkeeper Brad Stuver.

Introduced near the 1-hour mark to start a sequence of several substitutions for LAFC, Martínez’s equalizer unfolded when Giroud, making his fourth start in the club’s last five games, delivered a deft back pass to Eduard Atuesta.

The Colombian midfielder pushed toward the Austin box where he found Ryan Hollingshead, whose cross rolled neatly to Martínez in front of goal.

“David Martínez was good when he came in,” Cherundolo said. “It is nice to have him back and functioning and it made a difference.”

When the Venezuelan touched in his third goal in all competitions with the Black & Gold, a jolt sparked across the stadium for the first time since the close of Leagues Cup competition last month.

“The goal we scored was exactly what we showed the boys at the half,” Cherundolo said. “Staying patient. Finding one more pass. Getting off the edge, going from side-to-side, not just jamming it up the middle, and it ended up working for a good goal. There were more good solutions out there that we chose not to find. That’s the only disappointing thing in my eyes, really. We had a feeling it would be tight tonight and it could be a 1-0 game but an error made it 1-1.”

After piecing together a club-record 13-game unbeaten run up through a dominant victory in its Leagues Cup semifinal against Colorado, LAFC has gone 1-3-2 in its last six matches.

As Giroud assimilates and the team battles through a congested schedule with Vela once again on the roster – nearly half of whom he did not play with in 2023 – six MLS regular-season contests remain as well as the U.S. Open Cup final at home against Sporting Kansas City next week.

“I think something we all wanted was a club legend to come back,” said Martinez, one of the newcomers Vela will need to connect with. “We thank him for coming back and he can help us out as quickly as possible. Personally, I’m happy to be able to share the locker room and the pitch with him.”