Sporting KC won a come-from-behind game 3-1 over San Jose on the road Saturday.
Defender Jaylin Lindsey scored his first professional goal and forwards Alan Pulido and Daniel Salloi scored for the second straight game for Sporting KC.
After Eduardo Lopez lifted San Jose into an early lead, Lindsey provided a first-half equalizer and Pulido fired Sporting ahead with a stunning effort in the 60th minute.
Salloi sealed the game with 15 minutes to play as Sporting collected its second straight victory and moved into second place in the Western Conference.
Saturday’s game saw Sporting improve to 7-1-3 in its last 11 competitive meetings against San Jose and claim its league-leading third win from a losing position this season.
Injuries in the Sporting Kansas City backline prompted manager Peter Vermes to make two changes to the starting 11 from last weekend’s 3-0 home win over Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Lindsey stepped in for right back Graham Zusi, who was sidelined with a quad ailment, while center back Andreu Fontas missed out with an adductor strain and was replaced by 19-year-old Kaveh Rad.
San Jose scored first inside four minutes on a strike from Lopez. The 26-year-old settled Cristian Espinoza’s corner kick at the top of the box and curled a 20-yard effort into the top left corner for his second tally of the season and the earliest goal Sporting has conceded in 2021.
An unlikely goal scorer pulled Sporting level in the 15th minute. Pulido drew a pair of San Jose defenders and flicked a diagonal ball to the Lindsey, who took a touch on the right side of the box and slotted low across Earthquakes goalkeeper J.T. Marcinkowski and into the far corner to open his MLS scoring account.
Pulido notched his sixth career MLS assist on the play and continues to lead the league with 0.99 goals and primary assists per 90 minutes since the start of 2020 (regular season and playoffs, minimum 750 minutes).
In the remainder of the half, both sides exchanged attacking punches. In the 23rd minute, 18-year-old Gianluca Busio made a foray into the final third before spreading it right to Pulido, who lashed his shot wide of the near post.
Sporting goalkeeper Tim Melia produced a save less than a minute later, diving left to cast aside 17-year-old Cade Cowell’s bending attempt.
Shortly thereafter, an intricate passing combination from Sporting culminated with Pulido cutting the ball to an unmarked Gadi Kinda, who forced Marcinkowski into a save of his own.
Melia remained busy at the opposite end, sprawling to thwart Lopez in the 31st minute, before Marcinkowski denied Pulido from close range in the 39th minute after Salloi won possession off a San Jose giveaway.
The second stanza belonged to Sporting, although the Earthquakes threatened twice within 15 minutes of the restart. Espinoza’s long-range turf trimmer was palmed away by Melia and although Cowell was well positioned for the rebound, his shot was blocked by the sliding Lindsey in the 52nd minute. A few moments later, Andy Rios fluffed an open header after running onto a pass lobbed across the face of goal from San Jose captain Jackson Yueill.
Pulido struck in emphatic fashion on the hour mark, breaking the tie with a goal that ultimately stood as the match winner. The 30-year-old received a diagonal pass from Salloi and uncorked a sledgehammer that took a slight deflection and caromed into the net off the underside of the crossbar. Pulido has three goals in his last two games and his four strikes on the season are tied for third most in MLS.
The in-form striker thought he had bagged his second goal of the night in the 63rd minute, but Pulido’s blast into the roof of the net from a tight angle was nullified for Kinda’s offside infraction in the buildup. Kinda had a chance himself in the 71st minute, and although he was unable to make clean contact on the breakaway, Sporting retained possession and Luis Martins’ cross was headed marginally wide by Salloi.
In the 75th minute, Salloi made no mistake by curling a jaw-dropping shot inside the far post from the edge of the penalty area. The 24-year-old Sporting KC Academy product has three goals and two assists this year after recording one goal and one assist in the previous two seasons combined.
The game was stretched in the dying embers, with Yueill seeing his shot smothered by Melia at close range and Marcinkowski tipping Kinda’s audacious 35-yard belter over the crossbar. Sporting preserved its 3-1 advantage until the full-time whistle, handing San Jose its third consecutive home loss at PayPal Park.
With momentum firmly on its side, Sporting will return home next Saturday to play host to rivals Houston Dynamo FC (3-2-2, 11 points) in the first full-capacity match at Children’s Mercy Park since March 7, 2020. Tickets for the match are available at SeatGeek.com.
- Story from Sporting KC