by Brian Turrel
Sporting KC came away from Saturday evening’s match against Dallas FC with a confident 2 – 0 victory and three points that put them back atop the standings in the MLS Western Conference.
Dallas and Sporting Kansas City traded attacking runs in the first 30 minutes with neither side able to gain an advantage.
In the late stages of the first half, Sporting turned up the pressure, moving the ball around the Dallas end with accurate passing. The pressure finally paid off with a Diego Rubio goal in the 42nd minute, played in off a Graham Zusi corner kick.
Sporting avoided late-game drama with offense and defense in the closing minutes of the second half. Goalkeeper Tim Melia made a diving save to keep the one goal advantage.
A few minutes later, in stoppage time, late-game substitute Gerso outran his defender to put a long Graham Zusi pass into the upper left corner of the goal from just inside the penalty area.
Sporting KC now holds a three-point advantage over rivals Houston, Portland and Seattle for the top position in the Western Conference.
Sporting goes on the road to Houston, New York FC, and Columbus before returning home on Sept. 19 against the New England Revolution.
Photos copyright 2017 by Brian Turrel
