The first half was going great for LAFC.
Playing the third of three matches in a week, LAFC had taken the challenge to Sporting Kansas City in the first half, taking the lead in the 24th minute of the first goal of the season from Kim Moon-Hwan. LAFC seemed poised to feed off the momentum from Wednesday’s win over FC Dallas and get a big win over second-place Kansas City and thus get its season back on track.
However, things unraveled for LAFC in the second half in a big way. First came a red card to Triston Blackmon, which forced LAFC to play a man down for most of the second half, then Sporting scored two unanswered goals and Kansas City, which has developed a flair for the dramatic so far this season, stuck to the script on Saturday, as they dealt LAFC a crushing 2-1 loss at Children’s Mercy Park.
LAFC took the lead in the 24th minute. Jose Cifuentes played Kim into the penalty area, Kim cut inside and deked SKC’s Daniel Salloi in the process, Kim took another touch before he fired a left-footed shot that beat keeper Tim Melia near post to put LAFC in front, a lead LAFC took into the locker room.
In the second half however, things quickly went south for LAFC. The bad breaks began in the 57th minute, as Kansas City’s Gianluca Busio played a ball to Salloi, whose ensuing touch on the ball enabled him to get past an out-of-position Blackmon, and Blackmon resorted to grabbing Salloi from behind, bringing him to the ground just outside the penalty area, and referee Chris Penso made the decision to send off Blackmon. Kansas City almost immediately cashed in on the chance, as Busio sent the free kick past the LAFC wall and on target, only to see the ball hit off the crossbar and over the end line.
Being a man down however eventually took its toll on LAFC. Kansas City eventually equalized in the 61st minute, as Salloi sent a ball into the penalty area, Marco Farfan tried to clear the ball, but he sent the ball right to the feet of Alan Pulido, and the Mexican international one-timed a shot past Tomas Romero to level the match. Kansas City pulled ahead in the 87th minute, as Kansas City held the ball deep in LAFC territory, then Felipe Hernandez triggered the moment, as he played Salloi deeper into the penalty area and and Salloi’s right-footed shot beat Romero far post to give Sporting Kansas City what would eventually be its fifth come-from-behind win of the season.
