Walking a tightrope from match to match, the Los Angeles Football Club eyes stable ground in the not-so-distant future.
It could take through the end of September to reestablish firm footing as incoming transfers and healthy players integrate into the squad, but before LAFC’s only home game of the month the team sees itself less as a group without a win since July and more like a group that’s lost only twice in the past 13 games.
“I think it’s important to look at the full picture,” LAFC defender Ryan Hollingshead said ahead of Wednesday night’s match against Red Bull New York (7-10-6, 27 points) at BMO Stadium.
“Even though there’s been a good streak of not a lot of defeats, we also haven’t gotten three points and gotten the wins like we know we can and like we are used to at this club. At the same time, you want to keep pushing yourself and push the team and get those results, but you don’t want to get too far caught up in the feeling of not getting results. We’re just so close and feel like we need one good result to push us over that edge and get us into a good rhythm.”
A third straight draw, 2-2 at Real Salt Lake on Saturday, yielded some good and some bad as LAFC (10-7-7, 37 points) clung to the third spot in the Western Conference standings.
Goals by Denis Bouanga (his 12th) and Son Heung-min (his fifth) snapped an eight-game spell when LAFC could not score more than once. The previous time they did the attacking duo was in the midst of delivering seven of LAFC’s 10 goals in three victories following the World Cup break.
The partnership benefited from a formation shift that brought them together more centrally, but the makeshift lineup elicited defensive confusion and required a thin midfield to cover more ground than usual.
The two conceded goals ended a stellar stretch over 12 games dating to mid-May that saw LAFC give up no more than one.
Sharing a spot on the scoresheet with Son again did little to soothe Bouanga after LAFC dropped the lead twice in Sandy, Utah.
“We need to forget this game and focus on Wednesday at home with our fans,” Bouanga said. “We need to get three points at home because we know going away is so difficult.”
New York is 1-5-2 since the World Cup and sits in 10th place in the Eastern Conference. Led by 18-year-old Julian Hall, who has a team-best nine goals to go with five assists, Red Bull played to a scoreless draw at Seattle last weekend.
Sandwiched between 10th in the West RSL and a trip to MLS-worst Sporting Kansas City on the weekend, Red Bull is LAFC’s lone opponent at BMO Stadium during a six-game run until Oct. 10, when Western Conference leader Vancouver arrives for a big-ticket showdown.
By then LAFC head coach Marc Dos Santos hopes a cadre of injured players will be back on the field, and young inbound transfers inject energy as they get up to speed.
Against New York, Brazilian defensive midfielder Igor Jesus is positioned to play his first minutes since tearing an ACL last summer.
Fullback Sergi Palencia has been earmarked to return at Sporting Kansas City on Saturday.
Timothy Tillman is poised to play at San Jose the following weekend (Sept. 19).
Spirited center back Ryan Porteous did not travel for the RSL match with a leg issue and is not available this week despite his protests to the staff. Eddie Segura is also dealing with a leg issue and could not play despite traveling to Utah.
Meanwhile, German forward Armindo Sieb made his first appearance for LAFC as a late substitute at RSL and is expected to increasingly contribute to a three-man attack.
“We need him,” Hollingshead said. “We need him big time. We need these guys coming in to step in and play big roles for us. He’s a guy we’re going to rely on and have to rely on. You can see glimpses where he can be really helpful, and we’re going to need him to do it on the field.”
New midfielders Leo Walta and Sergio Vasquez could debut against the Earthquakes or the following week in Dallas, Dos Santos said. It’s still too soon to say about 20-year-old Brazilian forward Thayllon Roberth’s availability.
Managing all of that and keeping the conference leaders within striking distance while holding off teams who have games in hand has its challenges, Dos Santos said, “but we also look at what it could look like in two weeks and then that’s encouraging.”
RED BULL NEW YORK AT LAFC
When: Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: BMO Stadium
TV/Radio: Apple TV/710 AM, 980 AM, 1230 AM