LOS ANGELES — New coach. Old problems.
Playing for the first time under interim manager Xavi Tamarit following the firing of Marc Dos Santos two weeks ago, the Los Angeles Football Club operated nearly the entire match against the Vancouver Whitecaps with a man advantage.
Falling behind late in the first half before leveling the contest coming out of the break on Denis Bouanga’s 15th goal of the regular season, a draw was the best LAFC could muster Saturday at BMO Stadium.
“We had some very good moments without the ball and with the ball, and we had some bad moments in both, also,” said the 44-year-old Tamarit, who officially took over on Oct. 1. “When you change concepts, it’s like the most difficult to have continuity in the actions, so sometimes we were very close to what we are asking them right now, and sometimes we were a little far from the team we are trying to be.
“We didn’t have the consistency on what we wanted to do, but I knew that. It’s something that is normal when you have just one week for work.”
The 1-1 result pushed sixth-place LAFC (11-9-9, 42 points) to one win, four defeats and six draws since the start of August — a stretch that cost Dos Santos his spot at the helm as the Black & Gold struggled to dictate terms, find the back of the net, or keep pace with Western Conference rivals.
The first-place Whitecaps (15-7-6, 51 points) lost 3-1 in Chicago on Tuesday to open a run of five consecutive road games.
The visitors coveted a playoff-clinching performance against LAFC, and competing without center back Tristan Blackmon from the sixth minute on did not spoil that mission.
During a transition moment, Son Heung-min put the ball into space for Jacob Shaffelburg, leaving the Canadian winger one-on-one against Blackmon, an LAFC original in 2018. Whistled for a foul just outside the box, Vancouver’s last defender was shown a straight red by referee Guido Gonzales Jr.
Son drove the subsequent free kick from 22 yards inside the far post, but Japanese goalkeeper Yohei Takoaka pushed it aside.
Despite playing down a man, Vancouver put its leading scorer, center forward Brian White, in on goal against Hugo Lloris in the 22nd minute, yet his shot was struck directly at the French goalkeeper.
As the Whitecaps settled in, LAFC was tasked with working around and through a compact low block. Tamarit’s group struggled to do so and wouldn’t generate another chance until a cross from Armindo Sieb found Son in front of goal in the 27th minute.
“Sometimes we think it’s going to be easier against 10, but sometimes it’s like they get more together, more compact in a low block many times and it was hard for us,” Tamarit said. “But in the second half we tried to put more players in attack, much more players in attack. Wide players. We did a lot of crosses.”
That’s often how it looked under Dos Santos.
Following a successful international window with South Korea when Son finished three goals to become his nation’s all-time leading scorer, Tamarit started the attacker underneath Bouanga in a 4-2-3-1 formation, though much of the time they played beside one another.
“It’s different for me,” Bouanga said. “Everyone knows I love playing the side, but for helping the team, I can play as a 9 because I have the quality to take the space, to score the goal. We don’t have a real 9. Yes, I help the team in this position. It’s not my best position, but I need to follow the instructions.”
Son and Bouanga rarely combined, leaving LAFC’s attack, as it was, manifesting largely from the wings.
“It’s better when Sonny is close to me,” Bouanga said. “Today is different because Vancouver played with 10 players, and it’s difficult to break them because it’s too deep (defending). So difficult to find the solution.”
Bouanga’s equalizer, a drilled header from a perfect cross into the box by fullback Sergi Palencia, came in the 46th minute.
“I have some quality with my head,” Bouanga said, “but yes, I scored the goal finally – 1-1 is disappointing.”
LAFC took four shots on target to Vancouver’s three, and the visitors maintained the possession advantage.
Vancouver midfielder Oliver Larraz’s 43rd-minute goal, his first of the season, would not hold up as the game winner, but the Whitecaps remained unbeaten (14-0-2) when getting on the board before their opponent.
In addition to Tamarit’s introduction as interim head coach, Ecuadorian midfielder Sergio Vásquez received his first start for LAFC and was credited with an assist on Bouanga’s goal.
Finnish attacker Leo Walta, fresh off a four-goal effort for his country during the FIFA window, entered for the last half hour in his LAFC debut.
Brazilian forward Thayllon Roberth, 20, made his first appearance for the club as a late substitute.
Tamarit will not have much of a chance to train the team before LAFC’s match on Wednesday at home against Austin FC and a road trip to New York City next weekend, after which the club has three regular season games left.
“The good thing for me,” said the Spaniard, “is we have a game to analyze and we will have clips to correct what we don’t want and to keep going with the things the team did well.”