By Edgardo Avelar
A three-goal lead could seem definitive in the Concachampionsbut the LAFC’s Dusky & Gold They prioritized the duel against Cruz Azul in the middle of the week by playing without several starters, especially the South Korean Son Heung-min, which caused them to lose their undefeated record in the MLS at the hands of the Portland Timbers 2-1.
The defeat left behind a streak of seven games without losing and when it was expected that the lineup of the golden squad could keep the Los Angeles team’s unbeaten record afloat, in the end the only notable note It was the first goal in the League for Mexican, Argentine and American youth player Jude Terry.
Los Angeles FC used a simple team and put forward people like Denis Bouanga, Nathan Ordaz and Tyler Boyd; together with Nkosi Tafari and Mathieu Choinièrerepresented the recurring essence of LAFC this tournament and sought to solve the absences of the Venezuelan David Martínez, the South Korean Heung Min Son and the French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
For that reason, the only highlight of the match was the score by LAFC youth player Jude Terryfor whom three flags are fighting: Mexico, Argentina and the United States, due to his origins, starting with his maternal grandparents with Aztec blood, his father of Pampero origin and American due to his birthplace in Chula Vista, California.
Terry lives a very diverse identity, with the hot blood of the Latinos, his Argentine heritage with European overtones and the icing on the cake is his Californian origin, which puts him in a very advantageous situation to decide which shirt to defend as he matures.
His proximity to the Mexican border made him adopt the Latin customs of this country, such as speaking fluent Spanish, having a taste for meat and spicy food, that differentiate him from his teammates, but that make him have that mischief necessary for this sport.
The Dusky & Gold jumped onto the lumberjacks’ playing field with eight new faces and the starting point was the arch with Thomas Hasalgoalkeeper who suffered an accident half an hour into the match and abandoned the opportunity of his career.
Cabral Carter debuted at the age of 21 as a Californian goalkeeper and unfortunately, two minutes after the change, the Timbers opened the scoreboard in the 32nd minute through Kristoffer Velde; Then, in the 49th minute, Jude Terry scored a historic goal for the 17-year-old rookie in his most important game.
Then came the Venezuelan Kevin Kelsy to kill the aspirations of Los Angeles, with more than half the starting team out of action ahead of the duel against Cruz Azul in the middle of the week in the Concachampions, to make it 2-1 at minute 90+6, causing the Angelenos’ undefeated record to end
In this way, Canadian coach Marc Dos Santos He will know next Wednesday if his bet on the Concachampions was the right one in his outlook.
Continue reading:
– David Martínez, the Venezuelan gem who gave Cruz Azul headaches
– Larcamón takes the blame for the crusade against LAFC, but is the job at stake vs. America?
– Cruz Azul made a mistake in the Concachampions and LAFC put them on the brink of elimination: 3-0
