There’s nothing more dangerous than a wounded animal.
After suffering a US Open Cup exit at the hands of their closest nemesis, the LA Galaxy, Los Angeles FC host fellow California rivals San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday.
The Quakes are smarting from their own Open Cup exit at the hands of USL side Sacramento Republic but in MLS play, are four games unbeaten, taking eight points during that time.
Black and Gold midfielder Kellyn Acosta is under no illusions that this will be another tough match, but believes it’s a chance for LAFC to ‘bounce back’ quickly.
“It’s another opportunity for us to continue on the right path, obviously coming off a tough last couple days,” he told reporters. “We want to bounce back. We’re playing at home against a good San Jose side and it’s going to be a tough matchup. But I think the guys, we got our bodies back, we recovered well and we’ll be ready for [Saturday].
“It’s a good opportunity for us to be back where we want to be. Right now we’re going on the right path with the league, and tomorrow’s another test for us. San Jose’s a good side, they’re not going to be a team that’s going to be falling over, they’re a team that’s been scoring a lot of goals and winning some matches. So for us, it’s to get back on track and go into the break on a high note.”
Despite their Cup disappointment, LAFC remain top of the Supporters’ Shield standings with 26 points from 13 games. Head coach Steve Cherundolo believes it’ll be easy to put the midweek loss in the rearview mirror by focusing on their impressive MLS form – even without star forward Carlos Vela and defender Diego Palacios through injury, and the suspended Jesus Murillo.
“Everybody else is ready to go after our disappointing exit in the Open Cup,” he said. “But this is MLS, it’s a different competition, different opponent, completely different scenario for tomorrow and we have prepared for that and we’re ready and looking forward to it.”
