LOS ANGELES_The Los Angeles Football Club was born amid hype and expectation in a small Hollywood movie studio four years ago this week. And Thursday its first Major League Soccer season ended in frustration and disappointment, with Real Salt Lake scoring two unanswered goals for a 3-2 playoff victory that was repeatedly interrupted by fans throwing debris on the field.
In the final minutes the angry sellout crowd of 22,000 also loudly revived a homophobic chant that hadn't been heard at Banc of California since LAFC's home opener.
It was an inglorious end to what had been a glorious season, one that saw LAFC set a record for a first-year team by earning 57 points while becoming just the fifth expansion club to reach the playoffs. But despite outshooting RSL 21-4 and controlling the ball nearly two-thirds of the time, LAFC's postseason stay was a short one, ending in the unforgiving one-game knockout stage of the MLS postseason.
"It's hard to think you can lose a game like that," LAFC coach Bob Bradley said. "Three shots, three goals. It's awfully hard to figure out.
"We thought we had a good team going into the playoffs and could win the MLS Cup."
LAFC's goals came from Danilo Silva in the first half and Christian Ramirez in the second. Croatian forward Damir Kreilach had two goals for RSL, one in each half, then helped set up the game-winner from Jefferson Savarino _ a goal that ricocheted in off LAFC defender Walker Zimmerman. It was the eighth time LAFC let a second-half lead get away this year, and this time it ended the team's season.
When the final whistle sounded several LAFC players dropped their heads in disbelief while their opponents from RSL, which only narrowly slipped into the playoffs thanks to a Galaxy loss on Sunday, danced around them, celebrating their second win since Sept. 2. Salt Lake goes on to play Sporting Kansas City, the top seed, in the two-leg Western Conference semifinals beginning Sunday.
LAFC, working primarily against the right side of the RSL defense, dominated the early going but keeper Nick Rimando stopped the only two shots he saw in the first half hour, clutching a Diego Rossi shot to his chest, then redirecting another over the crossbar. That allowed Salt Lake to strike first, turning a play that appeared to be going nowhere into goal midway through the first half.
The sequence began with defender Brooks Lennon running down a ball a step from the end line in the right corner, spinning quickly and flicking a low right-footed cross into the penalty area toward Kreilach. Silva, the LAFC center back closest to the RSL forward, leapt at the ball but mistimed his jump, allowing Kreilach to chest the ball down before one-hopping a shot just inside the left post.
Silva made up for the mistake 10 minutes later, heading in a Carlos Vela free kick to tie the game, then celebrating his first MLS goal by leaping into the first row of the supporter's section behind the RSL goal. Fans in that section also celebrated by throwing debris on the field for a second time in the first half, leading to a three-minute stoppage in play and a warning from the stadium public-address announcer that the match could be suspended.
"We had to stop the game for things being thrown?" RSL coach Mike Petke said. "That's a new one for me."
A third PA warning was made just after intermission, this time threatening arrest for anyone caught throwing objects on the field. Once the soccer resumed, LAFC began peppering the RSL net again, with Rimando smothering a shot by Diego Rossi then watching another from Latif Blessing go high in the first eight minutes.
Ramirez, a second-half substitute playing multiple minutes for the first time in more than a month, finally found the target in the 54th minute, timing his run after a Lee Nguyen through ball perfectly, settling it just as he entered the penalty area, then booming a left-footed into the top of the net.
Four minutes later a poor clearance attempt by Silva sent the ball right to Kreilach, whose leaping shot from just outside the box beat keeper Tyler Miller cleanly to tie the score. Kreilach then sent up the go-ahead goal, slipping a pass out to the right edge of the penalty area for Savarino, whose shot deflected in off LAFC defender Walker Zimmerman.
LAFC had a shot at pulling that back with 15 minutes left in regulation but Blessing's rolling cross along the front of the goal just missed at the far post. Rossi collected the loose ball there, but his shot went into the side netting.
The team's last shot _ a bouncing try from Vela _ died in Rimando's gloved hands in the 89th minute, his sixth save of the night. Moments later, debris rained down on the RSL goal again, then time from the south end zone, sending Rimando scurrying for cover as a number of LAFC players waved for the crowd to stop.
"This LAFC team that we beat," Petke said "was one of the best teams in the league."
