San Diego FC spoils Son Heung-Min’s home debut

It was an electric Sunday night in Los Angeles.

It was another sellout at BMO Stadium, but this night carried a little more juice. It was the long-awaited home-debut for Son Heung-Min for LAFC, and many from the Korean community descended upon BMO Stadium to finally get their first live closeup of its hero. On  top of that, the visitors were San Diego FC, who brought with them busloads of their fans, and Sunday night’s game had the feel of playoff-level intensity.

However, leave it to its newest regional rival to crash the party. Hirving Lozano and Andres Dreyer found the back net, and San Diego overcame Denis Bouanga’s opening strike and rallied from a one-goal deficit to steal the three points from LAFC with the 2-1 win.

“Today was very special,” Son said of his first match at BMO Stadium. “I feel the fans were amazing. That’s why I’m more upset. They deserve more than one goal or zero points. I think they were fantastic. I can’t wait to play again at home. It felt like really, really home. They welcomed me. I couldn’t wait for this night. I feel I let the fans down but we are gonna keep our heads up, accept the result. As a professional, you can’t always win the game.”

The win strengthens San Diego’s position atop the Western Conference. San Diego (17-7-5, 56 points) now holds a five-point advantage over Minnesota United for first place in the West, while LAFC (11-7-8, 41 points) is fifth in the conference, but are still within striking distance for homefield advantage in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs, as they trail the Seattle Sounders by just three points.

Things started off well for LAFC early in the first half. LAFC got on the board first in the 15th minute, as David Martinez sent a ball into the penalty area, Bouanga times his run perfectly to get behind the San Diego defense, let the ball bounce in front of him inside the 18-yard box, then chipped keeper CJ Dos Santos with a rare right-footed shot into the back net to stake LAFC to the lead.

“Everything I wanted to see tonight, to be dangerous against San Diego was there,” LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo said. “We created enough chances to win this game tonight, so there was nothing wrong with the performance, its just the execution.”

San Diego however soon showed why they are one of the top teams in MLS. San Diego leveled matters in the 33rd minute, as Dreyer played a ball foward, Lozano evaded defender Nkosi Tafari, took the ball inside the 18 and fired a shot that got past both Tafari and keeper Hugo Lloris into the back net for the equalizer. San Diego then pulled ahead in the 66th minute, as Jeppe Tverskov sent a ball through the LAFC defense, Dreyer chased the ball down from the right side, evaded LAFC defenders Artem Smolyakov and Eddie Segura, then fired a left-footed shot outside the six that deflected off Smolyakov, which may have prevented Lloris from making a play on the shot, as the shot went into the back net to put San Diego ahead.

LAFC in general, and Son in particular had their chances to put a stamp on the match. Son’s first chance came in the 42nd minute, as Son received a ball from Ryan Porteous, took a few touches, then seeing a sightline, fired a left-footed shot for the far post, but Dos Santos dove to his left and parried the ball over the endline. Son’s second good look was the most heartbreaking for him and LAFC, and it occurred in the 78th minute, as Bouanga played a ball to Son just outside the penalty area, Son took a few touches, gathered himself and fired a right-footed shot that was out of Dos Santos’ reach, but the San Diego keeper was saved by the framework, as Son’s shot bounced off the far post and harmlessly back into play.