Category: Sporting KC

by William Crum

Sporting Kansas City scored the first goal at Friday’s home win against Dallas at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan.

The goal was by Krisztian Nemeth and was assisted by Kevin Ellis and Graham Zusi.

The heat was on. Sporting Kansas City won the game in a 4-0 victory over FC Dallas, truly an experience.

The second goal was by Benny Feilhaber and the final two goals were by Kevin Ellis and Graham Zusi.

In the locker room, captain Matt Besler said, “We really played as a team. We all worked hard to get this victory. This is why we won.”

Sporting Kansas City will begin a highly anticipated three-game homestand on Friday with an 8 p.m. kickoff against FC Dallas at Sporting Park.

Gates will open at 6 p.m. and the first 10,000 fans will receive a Sporting KC T-shirt.

Friday’s match will be nationally televised on UniMas and Univision Deportes Network with commentary available in both English (via SAP) and Spanish. KMCI-TV 38 the Spot will also provide three hours of coverage for local viewers beginning at 7:30 p.m. CT, along with a simulcast on Sports Radio 810 WHB and a Spanish-language broadcast on La Grande 1340 AM.

Sporting Kansas City enters the encounter just three points back of FC Dallas for second place in the Western Conference thanks to a five-game unbeaten streak that has included road results at both conference leaders and back-to-back home victories. The club’s two losses are fewest in MLS and only the historic 2000 season saw the team start a year with fewer defeats through 12 games.

However, Sporting KC suffered one of those losses at the hands of FC Dallas in a 3-1 setback at Toyota Stadium in Week 2. Blas Perez scored twice and leads FC Dallas with five goals in 2015, while Fabian Castillo recorded his first of four goals and five assists this season.

Both charter clubs of Major League Soccer since the inaugural 1996 season, Sporting Kansas City and FC Dallas have split the 50 all-time regular season meetings with identical 20-20-10 records in the series. Friday is the second of three meetings this season and the match-up comes amidst contrasting circumstances for the two clubs.

Sporting Kansas City begins a three-game homestand with their next two matches coming against the top two teams in the MLS power rankings, followed by a I-70 showdown with St. Louis FC in the U.S. Open Cup. The team is unbeaten (3-0-3) at home this season but lists nine players on this week’s injury report after failing to field a full 18-player gameday roster in each of the past two matches.

FC Dallas, meanwhile, continues a five-game MLS road trip – the longest in team history – that began with a 2-1 loss in Montreal last Saturday. Manager Oscar Pareja signed Panamanian midfielder Rolando Escobar earlier this week and the team’s lone absence will be homegrown midfielder Kellyn Acosta, who is with Sporting KC defender Erik Palmer-Brown and the U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team in New Zealand for the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

In-game updates will be available at SportingKC.com/GameOn, via Twitter courtesy of @SKCGameday and through the Sporting Club Uphoria mobile app.

Following Friday’s match at Sporting Park, all fans are invited to “Sporting Kansas City Extra Time” at Turn 2 Sports Bar and Restaurant inside nearby Hollywood Casino for a watch party. The United States’ opening match of the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup will be shown at 11 p.m. on FOX Sports 1 and Elite DJ will provide musical entertainment.

For tonight’s game at Sporting Park, a limited number of tickets, including standing room only tickets, are available online at Ticketmaster.com or at the stadium box offices on gameday while supplies last.

Sporting Kansas City forward Krisztian Nemeth has been named to the Hungary Men’s National Team for two upcoming matches.

Hungary will play an international friendly against Lithuania at 11:30 a.m. on June 5 in Debrecen, Hungary, followed by a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier versus Finland at 11 a.m. on June 13 in Helsinki, Finland.

“I am excited to be back with the national team for this very important qualifier,” Nemeth said. “Every game is significant at this stage and I am proud to be a part of the squad to continue our qualifying campaign for the European Championship.”

Nemeth leads Sporting Kansas City with five goals this season, second most among all MLS newcomers. Last week, the 26-year-old scored twice and added an assist in the team’s 4-2 victory over New England at Sporting Park. The five-point performance was the most by a Sporting KC player since June 2011 (Graham Zusi) and matched the MLS season-high in 2015.

All five of Nemeth’s shots on target this season have resulted in goals, making him one of only four players in MLS history to score on each of their first five shots on goal during the regular season. Charlie Davies (2011) and Jesse Marsch (1996-98) also scored on the first five shots on goal of their MLS careers, while Claudio Suarez (2006-07) set the all-time mark with seven goals on his first seven shots on target.

Acquired in December with 10 years of professional experience in Europe, Nemeth has played in England, Greece, Netherlands and his native Hungary. He has 15 international appearances for the Hungary Men’s National Team, debuting in 2010 and most recently representing his country in 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying.

Hungary, No. 43 in the latest FIFA rankings, is currently third in Group F of UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying with a 2-1-2 record after five of the team’s 10 scheduled matches. The top two teams advance directly to UEFA Euro 2016, while third-place teams remain in contention through an automatic berth for the best overall finisher and two-legged playoffs for the other eight nations.

Nemeth will join the Hungary Men’s National Team in Budapest on June 1. He will miss Sporting Kansas City’s regular season match against the Seattle Sounders FC on June 6 at Sporting Park while away on international duty.
– Story from Sporting KC