Scotland international celebrates Pocognoli call-up with rare assist but is left to rue 52 second mistake

Scotland international Ryan Porteous celebrated his recall to the national team by grabbing a rare assist for LAFC, but was left to rue an early mistake as his side fell to a 2-1 away defeat against Seattle Sounders on Sunday night.

Porteous, 27, was named in the Scotland squad by head coach Sebastien Pocognoli as an injury replacement for Stephen Welsh at the weekend, with the Swansea City defender ruled out after picking up an injury in the 3-1 EFL Championship defeat to Portsmouth last Tuesday.

It means Porteous could make his first Scotland appearance since he was introduced as a late substitute in the 1-0 Nations League play-off win in Greece back in March 2025, as the national team prepares for a double-header against North Macedonia and Switzerland later this week.

Porteous was involved in a defensive mix-up after just 52 seconds in LAFC's defeat to Seattle Sounders on Sunday night. | Getty Images

The former Hibs centre-back added to his successful week by picking up his first assist of the season for Los Angeles FC as they fell to a narrow defeat at Seattle in their last regular season game. However, the clash began in disastrous fashion for the visitors, with Slovakian international Albert Rusnak putting Seattle into the lead after just 52 seconds at Lumen Field.

With Los Angeles in possession of the ball from kick-off, Hugo Lloris’ attempt to pass the ball back to Porteous caused confusion, with the Scottish defender and Mathieu Choiniere appearing to get in each other’s way. The latter lost the ball under pressure, allowing Cristian Roldan to pinch the ball and cross for Rusnak to tap into an empty net to put the home side into an early lead.

The home side then added a second just after the half-hour mark through winger Sebastian Gomez, with the 20-year-old’s shot from just inside the area deflecting into the top corner beyond Lloris to put the hosts into a commanding first-half lead as they looked to get a win that would seal their place in the end-of-season MLS playoffs, which begins later this month.

LAFC did their best to launch a comeback, with the visitors having 13 attempts on goal in the second 45 to Seattle’s zero. However, they couldn’t to find a breakthrough until the 82nd minute, with Porteous rising highest to Leo Walta’s free-kick, and heading across goal for centre-back partner Eddie Segura to bullet home and reduce the deficit.

Porteous’ LAFC side will be in MLS playoff action against St. Louis City later this month. | Getty Images

In the end, though, the second-half onslaught was not enough to rescue a point in the Emerald City, as LAFC ended the regular Western Conference season in sixth place on 47 points, with 12 wins, 11 draws and 11 defeats, setting up a round of 16 clash with St. Louis City in the MLS playoffs on November 23.

“Conceding a goal inside the first minute completely changes the game plan,” lamented LAFC defender Segura. “We can't keep putting ourselves in a position where we are chasing matches from the opening whistle. It is a bad habit we have to fix immediately before the playoffs start.”