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By Dan Cancian
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Los Angeles FC and Real Salt Lake played out an MLS classic in the first round of the playoffs but LAFC fans made the headlines for all the wrong reasons on Thursday night.
Referee Marc Geiger was forced to suspend the game for five minutes in the first half after LAFC fans pelted Real Salt Lake goalkeeper Nick Rimando with objects from the stands.
Down 1-0 through a Damir Kreilach's goal, LAFC defender Danilo Silva brought the home side level with 30 minutes gone in the first half sparking jubilant scenes at Banc of California Stadium. Unfortunately, celebrations got out of hand and fans in the stands behind Rimando began bombarding him with debris. Footage of Silva's celebrations shared on Twitter from the MLS's official account clearly shows missiles raining onto the pitch and onto Rimando.
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As if throwing objects onto the pitch wasn't enough, a number of LAFC fans also continued to air a homophobic chant that has previously landed them in hot water with the MLS. The Spanish-language slur, first made the headlines in May during a game against the Seattle Sounders and MLS commissioner Don Garber vowed to put a stop to fans using the derogatory term.
The unsavory scenes on Thursday night were not the first time LAFC have got themselves into trouble in the club's debut season. In July, six fans were arrested and 19 ejected after incidents marred the first all-Los Angeles affair in MLS history, as LAFC took on the LA Galaxy.
While Galaxy fans were found to have ripped off $7,500 worth of seats in the away end of Banc of California, LAFC had to issue a statement reminding their supporters certain behaviors would not be tolerated.
Thursday night's incident briefly took the gloss off a match that will go undoubtedly go down as one of the great MLS playoffs games.
Following Silva's equalizer, Christian Ramirez put LAFC in front with 10 minutes gone in the second half with a crisp left-footed finish in the top corner. The hosts' joy was short-lived, however, as Kreilach notched his second of the night with a spectacular effort from outside the box, before an own goal from LAFC defender Walker Zimmerman sealed a 3-2 win for the visitors with 20 minutes left.
Speaking after the game, Real Salt Lake coach Mike Petke underline the significance of knocking out third-seeded LAFC.
"We worked a lot over the last seven to 10 days because we had that extra rest, on how the game was going to unfold, how we wanted it to unfold," he was quoted as saying by the MLS website. "This LAFC team that we beat tonight, is, for me, one of the best if not the best expansion teams. But if you [pretend] they've been in the league for 10 years, then my opinion wouldn't change. They are one of the best teams in this league, player for player, coaching."
The reward for knocking out LAFC is a meeting with Sporting Kansas City in the semifinals. Real Salt Lake host the number one-ranked team in the Western Conference in the first leg on November 4 at 10 p.m. EST, with the return leg scheduled for November 11.
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