LAFC earn gritty road win over New England in Son's first start

Son Heung-min's first start helped power LAFC to a 2-0 victory over the New England Revolution on Saturday evening at Gillette Stadium. The Black and Gold improved to 11-7-6, bringing their all-time record against the Revs to 3-0-1 in the process.

"I think it's very clear to see his quality and intelligence out on the field," said head coach Steve Cherundolo, speaking on Son. "The first 120 minutes we've seen of Sonny with LAFC have been excellent, and it's definitely a great foundation to build and get better."

The two scores on the night for Los Angeles came from Mark Delgado and Mathieu Choinière, who delivered his first goal with the team. Before he could get in on the action, it was Delgado's strike from the top of the box in the 51st minute that broke a scoreless match to boost LAFC in front.

Finding the net for the third time this season, the midfielder found himself in the right place at the right time. With New England midfielder Matt Polster's challenge of Son freeing the ball, Delgado stepped up to drill it past Matt Turner and put Los Angeles on the board.

After it seemed as if the remainder of the contest would not see another score, it was Choinière who connected nicely with Son deep in stoppage time to drill the dagger. On a play that initially started with Nathan Ordaz finding Son down the middle of the pitch, he ultimately worked it left to Choinière, whose clean left-footed strike gave LAFC their second goal.

The 26-year-old Canadian made just his second appearance with Los Angeles in Saturday's victory, making a near immediate impact. Son was credited with the assist on the play, continuing to make his stardom and leadership felt in the early stages of his LAFC tenure.

"I'm very happy to score my first goal with the club," said Choinière after the win. "Playing with [Son] is just easier. He makes life easier for everybody on the pitch. He's been amazing, and you can see by what he did on the pitch today that he's here to work and help the team."

It was a strong response in the second half after the New England defense proved pesky through the opening 45 minutes. They did not give the Los Angeles attack very many chances, preventing any major threats in the final third.

Hugo Lloris put forth a shutout effort as he saved five shots total, turning away numerous New England scoring chances. He did a nice job of preventing an early blunder, diving to deflect an 11th-minute try from Leonardo Campana after Igor Jesus turned the ball over deep in LAFC territory.

Lloris once again came through in the 87th minute, using another leaping effort to turn away Brandon Bye's cross towards the middle of the box.

With one last stop on the road trip, LAFC will head westward for a battle with FC Dallas on Saturday, Aug. 23. At 7-8-11, Dallas currently sits 11th in the Western Conference. They fell victim to Los Angeles in a 2-0 defeat at BMO Stadium on July 12 in the two sides' previous matchup this season.

Kickoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. PT.