Sporting Kansas City stormed to a 3-0 victory over Minnesota United FC on Saturday afternoon at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas.
Sporting KC vaulted back into first place in the Western Conference with goals from Ike Opara, Jimmy Medranda and Saad Abdul-Salaam.
The dominant performance saw Abdul-Salaam open his MLS scoring account, while Opara and Medranda both scored for the first time since July 2016 as Sporting Kansas City (7-4-4, 25 points) extended their club-record home unbeaten streak to 16 matches and avenged a 2-0 loss to expansion side Minnesota (4-8-2, 14 points) just four weeks earlier.
A national television audience on ESPN was witness to Sporting Kansas City’s sixth consecutive home win – and its fourth straight shutout. Manager Peter Vermes’ men have bagged 11 goals without reply at Children’s Mercy Park and are now one victory shy of tying the longest regular season home winning streak in team history at seven games.
A retooled lineup included two changes from last weekend’s 1-0 defeat at the Colorado Rapids.
Making his first start of 2017, Abdul-Salaam replaced Graham Zusi – who has joined the U.S. Men’s National Team ahead of World Cup qualifying in the Hexagonal – while Soony Saad entered the fold to lead a three-man attack that also featured Gerso and Latif Blessing.
Medranda dropped into the midfield in place of the suspended Roger Espinoza, and Matt Besler returned from his week-long stint with the U.S. MNT to anchor the backline alongside Opara, who was making the 100th regular season appearance of his MLS career.
The hosts wasted no time asserting their supremacy, as Gerso and Blessing both fired marginally wide within the first four minutes. Minnesota’s precarious start was worsened in the seventh minute when influential midfielder Miguel Ibarra was forced to exit with a leg injury.
Blessing was on the receiving end of another chance in the 17th minute when Medranda’s cross from the right wing was headed high into the air.
The Ghanaian adjusted himself well and performed an acrobatic bicycle kick from 12 yards that glanced narrowly off target.
Gerso and Medranda combined down the right side only a minute later before the latter’s strike was saved by Minnesota goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth.
Gerso was left to rue his luck in the 20th minute when his audacious side volley screamed inches above the crossbar after Medranda’s initial attempt was saved.
The designated player then turned chance creator on the half-hour mark, teeing up a Medranda blast that was blocked inside the penalty area, before Saad was played through on goal only to be thwarted by Shuttleworth.
Sporting Kansas City would end the first half with 17 shot attempts, the most in a half by an MLS team this season, but their marked dominance wasn’t rewarded until the stroke of halftime.
Opara took a pass from Besler and exploited a pocket of space in the attacking third before unleashing a 35-yard banger that flashed through Medranda’s legs on the edge of the box and nestled inside the near post, giving the defender his first MLS goal since July 10, 2016.
Action continued to be one-sided after intermission, although Tim Melia was asked to make his lone save in the 53rd minute on a well-struck effort from Christian Ramirez.
Melia’s league-leading eighth clean sheet of the year tied his regular season career-high, matching the total he reached in both 2015 and 2016.
Bizarre circumstances led to Sporting Kansas City’s second goal in the 54th minute. Referee Jorge Gonzalez played an advantage when the streaking Gerso was hauled down just outside the 18, allowing Blessing to set up Saad for a shot atop the box.
Saad’s wonderfully hit effort smacked off the crossbar and caromed off the left post before bouncing into the path of Medranda, who cushioned a header into the corner of the net for the second goal of his MLS career and his first of 2017.
Saad made way for Dom Dwyer in the 62nd minute, giving the Englishman his first appearance since May 17 after overcoming a knee injury. Fellow substitute Soni Mustivar tested Shuttleworth with a piledriving attempt in the 77th minute before the Minnesota gloveman parried Dwyer’s curling shot wide a minute later.
Abdul-Salaam added gloss to the victory with his maiden MLS goal in the 87th minute, slotting into the corner from point-blank range after Dwyer’s effort was blocked. Dwyer spurned a glorious chance to add a fourth in second-half stoppage time when he lifted Feilhaber’s free kick over the bar from six yards out.
Sporting Kansas City will remain home next Saturday to play host to Eastern Conference outfit Montreal Impact at 7 p.m. Tickets for the match are available via SeatGeek.com as Vermes’ side looks to continue its form at Children’s Mercy Park.
– Story from Sporting KC