Los Angeles FC double dream alive after US Open Cup win / Photo: Frederic J. Brown - AFP
Los Angeles FC double dream alive after US Open Cup win
Olivier Giroud was on target as Los Angeles FC kept their dream of a rare domestic double alive after defeating Sporting Kansas City 3-1 to win the US Open Cup final on Wednesday.
Extra-time goals from Mexican defender Omar Campos and Kei Kamara sealed victory for LAFC, who are also on course to reach this season's MLS Cup playoffs.
The game had gone to extra-time after former France striker Giroud's opener was cancelled out by Kansas City's Erik Thommy.
The victory was sweet for French veteran Giroud, who had also scored in LAFC's 3-1 Leagues Cup final defeat to Columbus Crew last month.
"I came here, as I said, to win trophies and to play that kind of final," the 37-year-old said. "I was really sad and disappointed for the team regarding the Leagues Cup.
"We've been in a difficult run these last weeks, but we stuck together, and we really wanted to win this trophy for the fans, for the club... It does matter for me, for the boys, and I'm so happy to score in this final and to help the team."
Giroud, France's international record goalscorer, fired Los Angeles ahead after 53 minutes, calmly tucking away a low finish from Mateusz Bogusz on the right.
LAFC's raucous BMO Stadium erupted in celebrations, but the revelry was short-lived as seven minutes later Kansas City equalised.
Midfielder Thommy burst into space and beat France's 2018 World Cup-winning goalkeeper Hugo Lloris at the near post with a shot that took a slight deflection as it flew into the net.
Thommy's strike was enough to send the final to extra-time, although LAFC squandered a golden chance to re-take the lead when Bogusz somehow missed from close range with only Sporting goalkeeper Tim Melia to beat.
LAFC found another gear in extra-time, however, and took the lead in the 102nd minute courtesy of Campos's individual goal.
The Mexican defender jinked in from the left and shot low into the bottom corner before being mobbed by teammates.
With the clock running down, it was LAFC's 40-year-old veteran Kamara who made the game safe, emphatically heading home a Denis Bouanga cross in the 109th minute.
Los Angeles, who are currently in fourth place in Major League Soccer's Western Conference standings and poised for a place in the playoffs, are bidding to become only the third team since MLS was launched in 1996 to complete the domestic league and cup double.
Los Angeles Galaxy were the last team to achieve the feat in 2005, joining D.C. United and Chicago Fire as the only teams to win both competitions in the same season.
The US Open Cup is the oldest national football competition in the United States, having first been held in the 1913-1914 season.
R.Sutherland--EWJ
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