LAFC takes over first place again in the Western Conference, while Vancouver stays mired at the bottom of the standings
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It didn’t take long for the Vancouver Whitecaps’ plan for the Great Banc Robbery to unravel.
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A few stolen points seemed close at hand when a clever set piece goal put the visitors up 1-0 before fans had finished filtering into the Banc of California Stadium for Sunday’s game against Los Angeles FC, but, following in the footsteps of recent history, LAFC imposed themselves on the game and wound up cruising to a 3-1 victory.
Centre-back Triston Blackmon scored for Vancouver (0-3-1), who are winless to start 2022 but have two weeks to right the ship with MLS shutting down for the international break.
NEXT GAME
Saturday, April 2
Sporting Kansas City vs. Vancouver Whitecaps
5 pm, BC Place. TV: TSN1, Radio: AM730
Ryan Hollingshead, with two, and Carlos Vela scored for LAFC (3-0-1), who jumped back above Real Salt Lake into first place in the West.
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Here’s what we learned…
MANDATORY STORYLINES
All eyes were on Max Crepeau and Marc Dos Santos in this one, with the goalkeeper and coach taking differing routes to an off-season landing spot in LA.
Caps social media crowed when Blackmon ruined Crepeau’s shutout bid, but fell silent as the game went on. The former Vancouver No. 1 was far busier than the new No. 1, as he just had to make two simple saves on the night.
Thomas Hasal had to make some dynamic diving stops in the nine shots on target he received on Sunday, and it would be unfair to lay the blame on him for any of the goals.
Hollingshead scored an easy header over the defense of Sebastian Berhalter, a half-foot shorter than the lanky fullback, with his powerful redirection of the corner giving Hasal no chance.
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LA’s Kwadwo Opoku then turned three Whitecaps defenders into pylons before finding Vela at the near post, with the Mexican star lashing home the rebound of his own shot.
Hollingshead capped off his night with a 22-yard volley that lasered through traffic and scorched past Hasal.
Former Caps centre-back Doneil Henry also saw action in the game, coming on as an 81st minute substitute. He made a huge block on a Deiber Caicedo shot heading toward open net in injury time to deny any late drama.
IT’S NOT HOW YOU START
In five of their last six visits to the Banc of California Stadium, the Whitecaps have scored the first goal.
They haven’t won any of them.
Sunday’s game started brightly with Blackmon’s 12th minute opener, but two goals in an 11-minute span late in the half put the home side in front.
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Vancouver had tied in their last two trips to LA, and lost the previous two by a combined 12-1 scoreline, though they did open the scoring in a 6-1 loss in July 2019.
Scoring first was an issue the past two seasons. The first time they drew blood in 2021 came at LAFC, 14 games into the season.
ONE PLAYER, DIFFERENT TEAMS
Blackmon, a former MLS SuperDraft pick the Caps acquired to shore up their back line, scored his first goal for his new team.
LAFC replaced him with Hollingshead, a former MLS SuperDraft pick, who also scored his first goal for his new team, having been acquired by LA in the off-season.
It was the first career brace for the 30-year-old Hollingshead, who blasted home a volley in the 70th minute to make it 3-1.
