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LAFC holds on for El Trafico win against Galaxy at the Rose Bowl

July 5, 2024

LA Galaxy defender Maya Yoshida, right, vies for the ball against Los Angeles FC forward Denis Bouanga during the first half of an MLS soccer match at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, Calif. on Thursday, July 4, 2024. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)

LA Galaxy forward Joseph Paintsil, right, dribbles the ball against Los Angeles FC midfielder Eduard Atuesta during the first half of an MLS soccer match at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, Calif. on Thursday, July 4, 2024. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)

LA Galaxy defender Julián Aude, front, is upended by Los Angeles FC midfielder Timothy Tillman during the first half of an MLS soccer match at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, Calif. on Thursday, July 4, 2024. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)

LA Galaxy midfielder Marco Delgado, left, vies for the ball with Los Angeles FC forward Denis Bouanga during the first half of an MLS soccer match at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, Calif. on Thursday, July 4, 2024. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)

Los Angeles FC forward Denis Bouanga celebrates after scoring a goal against the LA Galaxy during the first half of an MLS soccer match at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, Calif. on Thursday, July 4, 2024. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)

Los Angeles FC forward Denis Bouanga converts a penalty kicks for a goal against the LA Galaxy during the first half of an MLS soccer match at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, Calif. on Thursday, July 4, 2024. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)

Los Angeles FC forward Kei Kamara, top, heads the ball for a goal against the LA Galaxy during the first half of an MLS soccer match at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, Calif. on Thursday, July 4, 2024. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)

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PASADENA — It didn’t take long for the Los Angeles Football Club to provide the fireworks.

In a scoreless game, late in the first half, LAFC’s pressure ticked up, leading to a Kei Kamara goal off of a corner kick in the 40th minute and Denis Bouanga converted a penalty kick in the 44th for a two-goal halftime lead against the Galaxy at the Rose Bowl.

The Galaxy found some life in the second half. The Galaxy cut the deficit in half on Gabriel Pec’s goal in the 56th minute and had another good chance minutes later, but couldn’t convert and LAFC held on for a 2-1 win in front of 70,076 Thursday.

“We were purposeless in the first half,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said. “It was like we were going to win the game putting together 10,000 passes and going nowhere. We were down 2-0 because we deserved to be down 2-0. We had three shots in the first half, all of them from 25 yards away. I don’t how many touches we had inside of the box, not many, we had 6 or 7 guys in the build and 3-4 guys in the attack, that’s never going to hurt them.

“It was so passive. The second half, we got more numbers higher, people were sprinting ahead of the ball, we forced them to have to defend moving backward …the second half we put them on their heels. To me it was a proactive team with a purpose in the second half.”

The rivalry series has only produced three shutout games and never a scoreless draw. The win was the third consecutive for LAFC in the El Trafico series, increased their unbeaten streak on the season to 10 games and moves the club into sole possession of first place in the Western Conference (13-4-4, 43 points).

The loss snapped the Galaxy’s (11-4-7, 40 points four-game winning streak.

This was the second consecutive meeting between the city rivals at the Rose Bowl, home of the Galaxy from their start in 1996 until 2003. Last season, the Galaxy won 2-1 in front of 82,110.

This meeting had a little bit extra motivation. Both teams entered the game tied for first place in the Western Conference. This was also the first time in their brief, but loud rivalry that both teams have been at or near the top of the conference.

Riqui Puig had the first and only real opportunity for the Galaxy in the first half. Puig, who was back in the starting lineup, raced 75 yards from the defensive end and fired a shot from outside the 18 that Hugo Lloris was able to play out for a corner.

Aside from that, it was a quiet first half for the Galaxy as Paintsil, Pec and Joveljic were unable to put any real pressure on the LAFC defense.

On the other side, LAFC first real opportunity on goal came in the 14th minute, Eduard Atuesta’s shot from 20 yards hit the post. The chances started to come fluidly later in the half. Mateusz Bogusz forced Galaxy goalkeeper John McCarthy into action with a diving save.

In the 40th minute, Kamara cashed in the pressure as he rose up and banged in a header off of a corner kick. A couple of minutes later, Eduard Atuesta was fouled by Galaxy defender Julian Aude. Referee Drew Fischer went to the video monitor and ruled it was a penalty kick, which Bouanga converted for the 2-0 lead.

“I felt we were very good in the first half,” LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo said “We executed our game plan perfect. Second half, just lacking a little control in our transitions not to goal at the time and possess the ball a bit, take the sting out of the Galaxy.”

The teams will conclude their regular-season series Sept. 14 at Dignity Health Sports Park. LAFC won the first game this season 2-1, back on April 6.

“The first game for me was a little bit of an early trial an early test for us, we were a mishmash, Eddie (Cerrillo) was in the backline, we had two guys who were fresh to the club,” Vanney said. “This is one that’s a little bit of where you at? In the first half, we weren’t there, the second half we were there. The question is can we be there for 90 minutes?”

Both teams have a short turnaround for the weekend. LAFC will be on the road against the Houston Dynamo and the Galaxy will home against Minnesota United.

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LAFC holds on for El Trafico win against Galaxy at the Rose Bowl

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