Unified LAFC faces tough showdown in Portland – Daily News

If the circumstances surrounding Los Angeles Football Club’s trip to Portland on Sunday sound familiar, it’s because they are.

As the team’s previous visit to the Pacific Northwest on July 21 approached, the frustration that set in with poor results in the first two and a half months of the season seemed to be behind them after LAFC have won three in a row and ended up in a Western Conference playoff berth.

Then, when Portland forward Felipe Mora won an unlikely game in the 93rd minute, one of the season’s worst losses toppled LAFC.

The result was the first of eight straight games without a win for LAFC, including four straight losses that brought the club down to the bottom of the Western Conference table as key injuries to Eddie Segura and Carlos Vela, and the conversation of transfer still present concerning Diego Rossi, suspended above the locker room.

“It put us on a stretch where we weren’t as consistent,” LAFC head coach Bob Bradley said on Saturday. “We have lost a little confidence. You know when you’re going through a season and sometimes you don’t have consistent lineups, if you lose a point on a given day, all of a sudden you’re playing well and you make a mistake and a game s escapes, it can eat away at confidence.

For Black & Gold, the poor results continued until a surprising 4-0 victory over Sporting Kansas City on September 3. Defeating Real Salt Lake last weekend and Austin FC on Wednesday put LAFC on their second three-game winning streak of the season, and pushed Bradley’s side to a playoff berth, one point behind Portland.

“I think we’ve had countless meetings as a team, coaches and players included, so that we can have conversations about what we need to be mentally and have the kind of attitude where we need to come together as a team. “South Korea said. defenseman Kim Moon-Hwan said. “Of course, winning helps. It changes the atmosphere and the attitude of the players on the training grounds and the kinds of conversations we have.

“But given the results we’ve achieved and how we’ve prepared to come out of the streak of bad results, we’ve come together to rally and put ourselves in a mentally together position where we support each other and encourage each other. each other. do our best. Right now, I really feel that our staff and our players are determined to turn the tide and get the best possible results. ”

While LAFC have scored 10 points in their last four games and with 30 points remaining in the regular season, including Sunday, Moon’s Ecuadorian teammate, midfielder Jose Cifuentes, said LAFC “is a lot. more united than before “.