Ryan Hollingshead is often the tireless beating heart of a hugely talented LAFC side, and after recovering from a dramatic loss to the Columbus Crew in Sunday’s Leagues Cup final, he is now more than ready to step into the breach again with a place in another final – this time the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup – at stake against the Seattle Sounders in Tukwila, Washington.

Having won the country’s oldest award with FC Dallas in 2016, Hollingshead knows better than most how “huge it would be” if LAFC brought home an Open Cup trophy for the first time…

My condolences for the bitter defeat in the Leagues Cup final on Sunday. Is it good to be able to move straight into another knockout game – the US Open Cup semi-final against the Seattle Sounders?

Ryan Hollingshead: No matter what competition it is or who the opponent is, you just want to get back on the field and play a game as soon as possible. It was a huge disappointment for us to be seconds away from the shootout and have a chance to win the game. It’s hard to bounce back, but that’s the thing with sports – you don’t have time to feel bad or sad or wallow in the situation. You have to get back on your feet right away. There’s a game right after that and you just want to get back on the field and keep going.

It goes very quickly from an away final on Sunday to an away semi-final on Wednesday – what do the days in between look like?

SECTION HR-V: At this stage of the season, when the midweek games come quickly, there is not a lot of training. You just try to do as much as you can, prepare your body and get the rest you need. We have a good rotation, with guys who have started some games and others on the bench ready to step in and get going. That’s important in these circumstances.