Major League Soccer began its 30th season of play with today’s early match between LAFC and Minnesota United at BMO Stadium, resulting in a 1-0 loss for the visiting Loons. While it wasn’t a goal fest by any stretch of the imagination, plenty of end-to-end action kept this tight season opener interesting to the very last minute, leaving the Black and Blue disappointed to leave without any points for their efforts.
As expected, the Loons lined up in a 5-3-2, using a combination of Bongokuhle Hlongwane and Carlos Harvey to handle the high-powered threat of Denis Bouanga on the right side of the pitch. The strike partnership of Tani Oluwaseyi and Kelvin Yeboah took the lead ahead of the familiar midfield trio of Wil Trapp, Hassani Dotson, and Joaquín Pereyra, leaving Joseph Rosales at left wingback and Michael Boxall alongside Morris Duggan to complete the backline.
A back-and-forth first half saw calculated counter-attacks and a few opportune chances crop up from lackadaisical passes in the midfield, stymying the efforts of the attacking players on both teams. It wasn’t until the 43rd minute that we saw the first shot on target of the match, with the breakthrough waiting until LAFC’s clinical counter in the 78th, courtesy of Jeremy Ebobisse’s fantastic left-footed strike from the top of the box.
The Loons may have felt unlucky to not have gone ahead in the 12th minute following some heads-up defending from Kelvin Yeboah, who, after winning the ball in a dangerous area, drove forward and hit the inside of Hugo Lloris’ post with his subsequent shot. A deflected shot from substitute Sang Bin Jeong in the 88th minute clanged off the crossbar, effectively serving as the visiting team’s final hope of salvaging a point in a match that could have easily gone either way. Head Coach Eric Ramsay expressed his frustration about the result after the match.
“It felt like it was a game that we were in all the way through,” he said. “We had a couple of big, clear-cut chances early on in the game, and when you come somewhere like this, you need to take advantage of the relatively few chances that you’re going to get across the course of the game. I felt like we had enough to come away with at least a draw.”
The Loons ceded possession to their hosts for large portions of the match, opting not to keep hold of the ball for any real sustained pressure or buildup. Some wild attempts from Oluwaseyi in the first half showcased the Canadian international’s ambitious mindset, but proved ultimately fruitless in the end. A wonderful effort across the board in the first half ended with a bit of a whimper, though, as LAFC began piling on the pressure in the 40th minute before going on to play far more direct for the remainder of the match.
While the final score didn’t lean the way he would’ve liked, Coach Ramsay saw plenty to build from in his team’s performance.
“Today was about the result, to an extent, but the biggest thing for me was that we reflected a team that had a good six-week preseason,” he said. “I wanted the team to look competitive against a team that will likely be one of the top two teams in the division, if not the entire league this year, and we saw that. We didn’t dominate the ball, but that was by design. I didn’t feel like there were many occasions where we were opened up, and I think we controlled a lot of their top players intelligently and diligently in a very disciplined way. I was pleased with the crux of the performance, but I’m frustrated now for sure.”
As Coach Ramsay said, today wasn’t a total letdown for the Loons. Hlongwane and Harvey effectively shut Bouanga down for the first 70 minutes of the match, and while he found his moment in the end, he wasn’t allowed the space or success he’s used to in this league. Duggan’s solid performance in his first start for the club proved that this team has capable depth along the backline, with Nicolás Romero set to join the squad and Devin Padelford waiting in the wings as well. Kelvin Yeboah’s flashes of game-breaking ability kept the LAFC backline honest, keeping the hosts from putting too many numbers forward for fear of the threat he presented. But alas, none of it was enough to steal any points.
With plenty of positives to build from, the Black and Blue will be headed home to take on CF Montréal in next Saturday’s home opener at Allianz Field. Tune into MLS Season Pass at 7:30 p.m. to see if Coach Ramsay and the squad can bounce back from this opening defeat.
