Sergi Palencia and Denis Bouanga each scored in the match’s final 25 minutes Saturday night and LAFC made it stand up for a 2-1 win over the visiting San Jose Earthquakes.
LAFC (4-4-0, 12 points) was out-chanced for most of the match but cashed in its opportunities late. Bouanga was part of both goals.
Attacking from the left side, Bouanga tried a long shot that backup goalie Earl Edwards Jr. punched out to the top of the 18-yard box. It came right on Palencia’s right foot and he sizzled a shot to the upper left corner that Edwards couldn’t react to until it was in the net in the 65th minute.
Bouanga tacked on another in the 86th minute as Edwards made a lazy pass that resulted in a turnover and a 3-on-1 chance. After Olivier Giroud’s shot was denied by Edwards, Bouanga converted the rebound inside the left post.
It was a goal that seemed like window dressing at the time. But it came into sharper focus when Cristian Espinoza scored for San Jose (3-4-1, 10 points) in the fifth minute of stoppage time with Josef Martinez feeding Espinoza’s left foot for a strike inside the right post.
LAFC locked it down from there, earning the three points despite getting outshot 17-12 and generating only four corners, two fewer than the Earthquakes. Each team got four shots on frame with Hugo Lloris saving three for LAFC.
Edwards finished with two saves after replacing Daniel, who left the match in the 20th minute with an apparent injury.
LAFC entered the fixture in a tailspin, losing four of its previous five matches, including a 1-0 decision in Houston on April 5, when the Dynamo were winless in their first six contests. San Jose was coming off a 6-1 rout of D.C. United last Sunday behind Martinez’s hat trick.
While the Earthquakes appeared to have the run of play for the majority of the first half, neither team found the net’s backside. San Jose finished the half with a 4-2 advantage in shots.
–Field Level Media
