LOS ANGELES — Denis Bouanga scored a brace, giving him goals in three straight games, as the Los Angeles Football Club came back twice in the second half to draw St. Louis City 2-2 on Sunday at BMO Stadium.
A statistically one-sided first half in LAFC’s favor yielded no goals for either side, but St. Louis broke the stalemate in the 52nd minute when forward Cedric Teuchert connected on his team’s first-ever goal against the Black & Gold.
After getting shut down by LAFC through four and a half games since entering the league in 2023, the visitors, who began the day with five goals in MLS this year — the fewest in the league — found the daylight it needed during the “Sunday Night Soccer” contest when defender Jannes Born’s deep cross curled perfectly into the middle of the box.
Teuchert took a touch and passed it beyond Hugo Lloris’s reach for the German’s second goal of the season.
With LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo serving a one-match suspension for the red card he received in last weekend’s draw at Portland, assistant Ante Razov pulled the strings and his first move immediately paid off.
Swapping starters Olivier Giroud and David Martínez for Nathan Ordaz and Cengiz Ünder in the 68th minute, LAFC leveled the match two minutes later thanks to the Turkish forward’s first assist for the Black & Gold with a cross that Bouanga tapped in at the far post.
It was the 450th goal for LAFC, which debuted in 2018. The club became the fastest to reach that mark, breaking the record set by the Galaxy in 2004 by 20 games.
Three minutes later, Bouanga sped around the edge against defender Joshua Yaro, who fouled the dominant Frenchman in the box, setting up what has been an almost automatic goal from the penalty spot.
But St. Louis goalkeeper Ben Lundt was up to the task, diving low and to his left to knock away Bouanga’s strike. It was only the second failed penalty for Bouanga against 17 made since he joined LAFC (4-4-2, 14 points) in the summer of 2022.
The miss might have haunted Bouanga had he not bailed out his team in stoppage time. The forward had to because St. Louis (2-4-4, 10 points) snatched an unlikely lead in the 89th minute on a set piece that resulted in an own goal on Ordaz following a mad scramble in front of the goal mouth.
With six minutes of stoppage time to try and salvage a point, Bouanga’s second of the game arrived in the 95th following a full on sprint down the left side, a nifty move past a defender in the box, a touch to his right and a rocket that shook the net in front of the supporters in the North End to make it 2-2.
Related Articles
LAFC’s Frankie Amaya ‘happy to be back in MLS and closer to home’ LAFC acquires Frankie Amaya on loan from Liga MX’s Toluca FC LAFC earns draw with Portland on Denis Bouanga’s late penalty LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo leaving at the end of the season Denis Bouanga’s late goal lifts LAFC past San Jose Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Denis Bouanga’s late heroics lift LAFC to tie with St. Louis )
Also on site :
- At Least 11 Dead After Driver Plowed Into Crowd at a Filipino Festival in Vancouver
- What to know about the trial of an ex-Michigan cop charged in the killing of a Black motorist
- U.S. Military Says Its Air Campaign Has Hit More Than 800 Targets in Yemen