LOS ANGELES — Despite catching all the breaks it needed, the Los Angeles Football Club’s bid to advance to the knockout stage of the Leagues Cup fell short on Wednesday night.
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Drawing Querétaro, 1-1, at BMO Stadium – Denis Bounga leveled the score an hour into the game after Querétaro snatched the lead 12 minutes after kickoff – LAFC finished Phase One of the MLS-Liga MX 36-team tournament with its second penalty kick shootout victory in three games.
Sandwiched around a victory over Toluca, LAFC closed the points portion of the CONCACAF-sanctioned competition in need of additional help.
The Black & Gold can still move through to the quarterfinal round if Club América beats Austin FC or Cruz Azul defeats Chicago in regulation. Both Mexican teams are assured of advancing, however one can earn a home quarterfinal match based on results on Thursday night.
Thin across the roster while awaiting inbound transfers to materialize, LAFC head coach Marc Dos Santos opened with a makeshift lineup that looked out of sorts early on, especially at the back.
Replacing fullbacks Yevhen Cheberko and Ryan Hollingshead, who started LAFC’s previous six games since returning from the World Cup break, Ryan Raposo and Eddie Segura struggled to execute LAFC’s press over the first 15 minutes.
In the midfield, 17-year-old Jude Terry, who scored the decisive penalty to grab two points against Chivas de Guadalajara last week, took Timothy Tillman’s spot and was also less sharp than he needed to be.
Weathering LAFC’s early pressure, Querétaro found the lead in the 12th minute when a shot from distance by Bayron Duarte rebounded off the hands of goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and was headed in by 20-year-old former Galaxy product Alex Alcalá.
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Querétaro’s first goal of the tournament frustrated LAFC the remainder of the half, including the usually savvy Lloris who appeared to shove an opposing player in the head near the half-hour mark.
At the break, Dos Santos swapped Terry for Timothy Tillman and Shaffelburg for David Martínez.
Both changes helped LAFC get into the game, and in the 57th minute a Raposo cross inside the 6-yard box found Bouanga at the far post for a tap-in equalizer. The finish was Bouanga’s 15th in Leagues Cup play, one more than Lionel Messi for the tournament’s all-time lead.
Querétaro removed its goal scorer, Alcalá, a few minutes later and former LAFC academy and homegrown player Erik Dueñas entered the contest for the visitors.
After Toluca FC defeated FC Dallas, 3-1, LAFC played the last 30 minutes knowing a game-winning goal in regulation would be enough to see them through to the knockout stage.
Chances came and went.
Midfielder Mathieu Choinière duffed a shot on a rolling ball at the top of the box. Martínez and Son combined but were rebuffed by goalkeeper Guillermo Allison. Center back Nkosi Tafari couldn’t get on the end of a header. Allison hopped on the ball as it pinged around in front of the net. Bouanga nearly connected on a header in stoppage time.
LAFC earned its crucial second point with a 5-4 advantage in PKs. Querétaro’s Daniel Parra banged an attempt off the crossbar in the fifth round, and LAFC center back Ryan Porteous stepped up to hit the winner.
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More to come on this story.