Photo courtesy of LAFC
Everything was going well for LAFC.
Playing a home matinee on Saturday against crosstown rival NYCFC, LAFC grabbed the lead early in the second half, and even after NYCFC leveled, looked in prime position to get the three points as NYCFC’s Nicolas Acevedo was red-carded late in the match, giving LAFC the man advantage with a mere minutes plus stoppage time to go.
Instead, NYCFC made the most of one opportunity and ended up snatching all the points from LAFC. Ismael Tajouri-Shradi scored his second goal of the match at the start of stoppage time and just like that, NYCFC stole the match with a 2-1 win at Banc of California Stadium.
“In the end, a very frustrating day,” LAFC head coach Bob Bradley said. “A Frustrating way to have a game at home, feel like we’re playing pretty well and then not come away with any points.”
After a scoreless first half, LAFC utilized its trademark passing game to edge ahead in the 56th minute. Triston Blackmon played a ball to Diego Rossi, who dribbled around Malte Amundson, then played Mark-Anthony Kaye into the penalty area, Kaye crossed into the six-yard box and and Corey Baird buried the point-blank shot to give LAFC the lead.
NYCFC equalized in the 70th minute thanks to some timely marking. Tajouri-Shradi crossed into the penalty area, Kaye cut off the cross and held the ball near the end line. Kaye immediately found himself under pressure from Tajouri-Shradi and Talled Mango and while Kaye managed to get a pass off, NYCFC’s Anton Tinderholm beat two LAFC players to the ball, pass to Medina, who gathered himself and bended a left-footed shot that beat keeper Pablo Sisniega far post to level the match.
NYCFC however caught two bad breaks over a two-minute stretch. It started in the 85th minute when Tajouri-Shradi launched a left-footed volley from about 27 yards out that bounced off the far post, then a minute later, it went from bad to worse as Latiff Blessing dribbled forward, Nicolas Acevedo tried to catch him and ended up pushing Blessing from behind, sending the LAFC forward tumbling to the ground. The end result was referee Kevin Stott issuing Acevedo’s second yellow card, thus ending his afternoon.
Having to play a man-down against a very good LAFC squad on the road, especially with such little time remaining would be a death knell for a lot of teams. However, just as quickly as the breaks went against against NYCFC over that two-minute stretch, it swung back in NYCFC’s favor with one moment. NYCFC had a corner kick in the 90th minute, Medina sent the corner into the penalty area, Alfredo Morales headed a ball into the six at the back post and Tajouri-Shradi was in the right place at the right time, as he slotted the ball past Sisniega far post to put NYCFC in the lead.
“Our mentality and focus slipped,” Baird said.
MLS is off for the next two weeks due a slew of CONCACAF competitions, staring with the Nations League tournament, followed by Word Cup Qualifiers. Both LAFC and NYCFC will resume play on June 19.
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