VANCOUVER, B.C. -- After giving up nine goals in the last three halves of soccer, LAFC responded in the best way possible -- keeping a clean sheet on the road against a team unbeaten in their last 11 home matches.
If there were concerns about LAFC's defense, they answered them in some style, coming away with a comfortable 2-0 win at the Vancouver Whitecaps on Friday night.
LAFC were fairly untroubled throughout the 90 minutes and for head coach Bob Bradley, it was the perfect answer to the criticism his team has taken over their last two games.
"Really strong response," Bradley told reporters after the match. "We talk about getting better week to week. We talk about it from the standpoint of our football and also having a competitive edge and how to win different kind of games.
"Today, I think a lot goes into that second category. Vancouver's a difficult team to play against. Our competitiveness, our concentration, were very good today."
Second-half goals from Carlos Vela and Diego Rossi saw LAFC come away with all three points, with Vela turning in another strong performance in the attack, and the Mexican was delighted with how the team bounced back from two straight road losses.
"For us, we talked this week that we have to change something," Vela told reporters. "We did something wrong in the past. We talked that we had to defend better. We have to be a team. We have to be compact. Then in the front we have good players and we have to take chances. We did it and that's nice."
Vela and Rossi have eight goals between them to start the season, four apiece, and Vela is enjoying the relationship the two have quickly struck up and what it holds in store for the rest of the season.
"I feel a really good link with him," Vela said. "We are Latin players, we are similar players, and we understand how we are and how we play. It's easy to play with Diego, with Marco [Ureña], with Benny [Feilhaber]. We understand the same football and it's easy for us to play [together]."
The importance of Vela to this LAFC team is clear and Bradley has been delighted with what the 29-year-old has brought to his team to start the season,
"Carlos is still a player who, at any moment of the game, can take a ball, go by people," Bradley said of his striker. "His ability when he gets closer to the goal in terms of his finishing with his left foot and within our team in terms of the quality he brings every day. His personality, his professionalism, has been so important in the way he's come in and embraced everybody."
