KC Current learned this lesson in loss to Angel City. They can prove it vs. San Diego

Within 15 minutes of Sunday’s match against Angel City, the Kansas City Current went from nearly being 1-0 up to 3-0 down. It was a blitz of offense from Angel City, who put the Current in a place they thought they had moved past.

There have been similar moments this season. During Matt Potter’s last match in charge of KC, the Chicago Red Stars went from being up 1-0 on the Current at the start of the second half to up 4-0 just 15 minutes later.

The way the Current (2-4-0) responded on Sunday, fighting back to score two goals, gave them hope against Angel City — and also provided a learning opportunity to see how they could get out of the situation they created.

Asked what they learned from that match on Sunday, interim coach Caroline Sjöblom said the team needs to find a better structure after conceding goals.

“The problem with the situation is that we almost scored right before, and then we almost scored again 30 seconds after the first goal,” Sjöblom said. “Players felt like, ‘We are better than this, we can score, we can go,’ so we stretched the team a little bit too much as we wanted to go for a tie before halftime.

“But instead, we should have just sat down, kept it a little slower, and found the structure.”

That can be hard when the opponent does everything possible to make the game take on a frenetic pace. Angel City goalkeeper DiDi Haracic did everything she could to get off her line quickly. When she saved a chance from the Current, she pushed the tempo in her distribution, immediately putting KC on the back foot.

Players and coaches alike will admit they lost their heads a bit through the end of the half, but they came out determined and nearly came back. As they now look forward to the incoming San Diego Wave this weekend, they have that experience under their belt.

“We know how San Diego wants to play,” Sjöblom said. “Of course, they want to find Alex Morgan. They’re kind of straightforward as well. So we need to decide how we want to play formation-wise and with what players we want to start with.”

The Current seem much more equipped to run a back four than earlier in the season. While they trotted it out and looked disjointed in their first two games with that formation, they pulled that tactical switch out in the second half against Angel City and looked much more comfortable.

“We actually trained in a back four quite often in the preseason, so I think we all kind of knew our roles,” Cece Kizer said.

Rookie forward Michelle Cooper noted how the extra midfielder helped them in their push to equalize.

“As you could see, it helped us,” Cooper said. “We got two goals, and we wanted to push for a third, but unfortunately it didn’t happen.”

Sjöblom will tell you the back four is what she prefers, but it also seems like she envisions it more as an opportunity when players are more used to it and the club has its full roster available.

Whatever the Current choose to use against the Wave, they’ll do so in front of an anticipated record-breaking crowd. A source indicated that the number of tickets sold is nearing 12,000 for Sunday evening’s match at Children’s Mercy Park.

The Current’s record of 11,301 was set earlier this year in their home-opening loss to the Portland Thorns.