Oh, Diego Rossi! The man who scored the first goal against the Sounders etched his name once again into the MLS history books, and he picked Derby Day in the Covid Cup to do it!
Episode 105 of Defenders of the Banc is upon us, and, for the first time in months, the boys are together in world famous Filimonster Studios, recording together! The episode kicks off with a soliloquy of epic proportions by Filly, fresh out of the hospital where he clearly had a ton of time on his hands. After a short history lesson from Scarf, it’s time to get right in to the Covid Cup, Group F, and LAFC’s first two games of the tournament.
We quickly break down the 3-3 draw against the Houston Human Highlighters, including the lows of the first half, the highs of the second half, and the dynamic debut of Bradley Wright-Phillips. And, oh-by-the-way, BRIAN RODRIGUEZ FINALLY SCORED! Could the prophecy of Scarfstradamus come true? (Hint… not quite yet.) After one match day in Group F, LAFC sat tied for second behind Portland, who took down Carson, 2-1.
However, the meat in the tasty sandwich that is Episode 105 is our breakdown of the Carson’s Derby Day Disaster. A disturbing trend for LAFC has been their tendency to fall behind early, and the same came true tonight. Just 5 minutes into the match, Latif bangs one home… for Carson. More defensive dishevelment on the back line, and LAFC is down 1-0. A pair of PK’s would follow, with both Diego Rossi and Christian Pavon slotting their chances through for a 2-1 Carson lead. A second Rossi tally just before the half would even things at 2.
It certainly was the tale of two halves, as Diego Rossi netted another brace to put his total to FOUR goals in the match, the first LAFC player to net 4 in a match! BWP strikes again and the offensive defender, Mohamed El-Munir deposits another in his Black and Gold account. Just like that, what was a close, tight 2-2 match at the half is blown open, and LAFC takes this round of the Battle of Los Angeles, 6-2. In the process, Rossi became the first player in MLS history to be involved in 5 goals in a match… twice! As Filly so astutely asserted on this episode, “Diego Rossi is good.”
Our boys look almost assured of reaching the knockout stage of Covid Cup, needing a result against Portland, who is already in to the next round, to advance. Will Diego Rossi score again in game three of Group F? Will Rayito continue to build on a positive showing and add to his goal total? Will BWP make it three in three games? We’ll have all those answers, and a new episode of Defenders of the Banc, in just 5 days! Until then, let’s enjoy the fact that we have Diego Rossi… and no one else does!