By Josue Loepez
A questionable playoff system had a not-very-competitive march between the Los Angeles Football Club and the Vancouver Whitecaps. Set-piece goals, defensive mistakes, and efficiency in attack were some outcomes in a 5-2 result.
The Black and Gold step to BMO Stadium with Maxime Crepeou on goal, Jesus Murillo and
Giorgio Chiellini on defense; Diego Palacios and Rayan Holllingshead on the wings; Matheus Bogusz, Timothy Tilman, and Ilie Sanchez on the midfield; and Cristian Olivera, Denis Bouanga, and Carlos Vela on the attack.
At the 16th minute, Rayan Hollingshead left-footed the ball after a rebound from Whitecaps goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka. Eleven minutes later, Brian White took advantage of a great pass by Andres Cubas and a mistake by Jesus Murillo to put the tie on the score. Two minutes after that, Diego Palacios took the ball on the left side, assisting Denis Bouanga, scoring the 2-1. Another error by Colombian defender Jesus Murillo was finished by Sam Adekugbe, at the end of the first half,
The second half brought more set-piece goals, a goal by Denis Bouanga deflected by the Whitecaps defense, and the sixth goal by Rayan Holllingshead. In total, the Black and Gold had six shots on target scoring 5 times giving a 95% efficiency.
The next encounter between the Whitecaps and the Black and Gold will be on Sunday, November 5th at 4:30 pm at BC Place. If LAFC wins, it advances to the Conference semifinals; on the contrary, LAFC and Vancouver will play on Thursday, November 9th at BMO Stadium.