LOS ANGELES — It was the perfect night for LAFC fans at BMO Stadium on Wednesday night. Their team was cruising, the stadium was rocking and the defense was denying everything. A spot in the Leagues Cup final and a 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup was just about sewn up. All they needed was a goal from their new arrival who debuted in Leagues Cup.
And they got it - just not from the new arrival fans expected to score. Lewis O’Brien put the cherry on top of a 4-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids in the Leagues Cup semifinal with a driven left-footed shot from inside the D at the top of the box in the 75th minute.
That earned O’Brien the privilege of leading the supporters in the 3252 in the “Sha-la-la-la-la, la la! L-A-F-C!” song after the match, taking the megaphone after getting instruction from Denis Bouanga, a veteran of the post-match ritual.
“I’ve said over the past couple days I don’t score many goals, but to come to the home stadium and score my first goal is a massive thing,” O’Brien said after the match. The fans “are fantastic. I’ve never seen a fan base that sings the whole way through the game, but they’ve definitely come and inspired us and been the 12th people here.”
You can understand why the 3252 thought they might get to celebrate a debut goal from Olivier Giroud as well. The French star stood on the penalty spot set to take a kick in the 66th minute only to see the decision to award the kick erased after a video review. He bracketed that moment with good opportunities as well, with Rapids goalkeeper Zack Steffen making a limber leg save in the 72nd minute on a shot that looked destined to be Giroud’s account-opener.
“This first goal is so, so important for confidence. Lewis scored tonight, and I tried with the penalty to give it to Olivier,” said Bouanga, who got on the scoreboard himself with an impressive charge from midfield at the hour mark. “He’s eager to score. We can see it, so we’ll try to help him score.”
Other than Giroud not getting off the mark, the only thing that may have dampened the mood was knowledge that LAFC now must face the Columbus Crew in the final. The Crew have been a ‘bogey team’ for the Black and Gold, with the Ohio side lifting MLS Cup after a victory over LAFC last year. The Crew then pinned a 5-1 defeat on LA in last month’s rematch in league play - the only team to beat LAFC at home this season.
But even that memory couldn’t keep LAFC from enjoying a well-won semifinal.
“We already worked through that in the days following the match. I don’t think anybody has thought about that. We worked through what’s wrong and since then I’ve seen nothing but improvement,” LAFC manager Steve Cherundolo said in his post-match news conference. “That doesn’t play a factor any more.”
That may be up for debate, but just as Rapids manager Chris Armas said he’s eager to get another crack at LAFC after enduring a tough defeat, many of Cherundolo’s players are relishing the opportunity to exert some revenge.
“We are so excited to be in the final and to play also against them. It's a huge game,” LAFC defender Sergi Palencia said. “We want to face the better opponents, and they are the best in their conference. We are the best in ours. We proved it today, and we're really excited.
“We know what went wrong when we played against them. We will try to improve it. We'll try to get better, (correcting) our mistakes. And I think we are ready to face them and to give joy to our fans.”
For now, that is the dominant feeling around BMO Stadium and around LAFC as a whole: Joy.
Why wouldn’t it be? It was a perfect night that saw the fans cheer many goals and send off their players to the Leagues Cup final after a dominant performance. It was a performance that leaves plenty of room for hope. Maybe this time will be different. Maybe the defensive switch to a back five will fluster Columbus. Maybe Giroud will score in the final as Cherundolo suggested he might and spark a celebration in the away section, at watch parties and in homes.
That would make for another perfect night in LA.
