Category: Sporting KC

by Brian Turrel

Sporting Kansas City solidified its hold on second place in the MLS Western Conference by beating the third place Colorado Rapids 3-1 at Children’s Mercy Park on Wednesday evening.

Daniel Salloi scored two in the first half to ensure the win, his fifth and sixth goals of the season.

The first came in the 14th minute. Johnny Russell got a pass from Jaylin Lindsey and pushed deep near the Colorado end line before teeing the ball up for a one touch strike from Salloi.

Salloi struck again in the 38th minute off a centering pass from Felipe Hernandez. Salloi played the ball to his right to clear traffic and then fired off a shot that zipped into the narrow gap between the goalkeeper and the near post.

Salloi returned the favor to Hernandez in the second half, setting him up for his first MLS goal in the 64th minute. After a lengthy build-up along the left side, Salloi played the ball off to Hernandez, who fired across the mouth of the goal and inside the far post.

Colorado clawed one goal back off a rebound off the woodwork in the 84th minute, but never became a threat to equalize.

In his post-match press conference, Salloi was determined to turn the page on last year’s goalless campaign.

“I would like to, with all due respect, ask everybody to stop talking about last year,” the Hungarian striker said.  “Yes, it was bad and yes, I did not have enough confidence and now I do. So please let’s talk about this year.”

Sporting KC doesn’t have much time to relax. They play at home again on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. against Los Angeles FC.

A pair of MLS originals will renew their longstanding rivalry in a Western Conference match on Wednesday night when second-place Sporting Kansas City (5-3-2, 17 points) plays host to the third-place Colorado Rapids (5-2-1, 16 points) at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas.

Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. and tickets for the match are available at SeatGeek.com.

Former captain and goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen is scheduled to be inducted into the Sporting Legends hall of honor during a pregame ceremony on the field.

Wednesday’s encounter will be shown live on Bally Sports Kansas City Plus, Bally Sports Midwest Plus, BallySports.com and the Bally Sports app with three hours of live coverage starting at 7 p.m. The contest will also air locally on Sports Radio 810 WHB (English) and La Grande 1340 AM (Spanish), with The Final Whistle postgame show immediately following on 810 WHB. The Sporting KC app will provide additional in-game updates.

Nielsen’s induction into Sporting Legends is one of several reasons for fans to arrive early on Wednesday night. Beginning at 6 p.m. on the Mazuma Plaza, Nielsen will sign copies of the commemorative hardback book “One Club ,” which will be available to purchase at all SportingStyle locations. SportingStyle will also offer a 30% discount to all supporters who show proof of COVID-19 vaccination, with limitations applied to jerseys, The Victory Project T-shirt and the newly launched Negro Leagues Baseball Museum capsule collection.

The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, Health Department will administer COVID-19 vaccinations on the Mazuma Plaza starting at 6 p.m.

Despite slipping to a narrow 2-1 road loss against the Portland Timbers on Saturday, Sporting enters a pivotal double matchweek within striking distance of first place in the Supporters’ Shield table.

Manager Peter Vermes’ side leads MLS with 17 goals scored, having shown a penchant for turning deficits into positive results. Sporting’s 13 points from losing positions this season are a remarkable nine more than any other team.

Sporting’s high-octane attack has seen striker Alan Pulido (five goals, one assist), winger Daniel Salloi (four goals, two assists) and midfielder Gadi Kinda (three goals, one assist) play leading roles, while 19-year-old talisman Gianluca Busio has garnered additional headlines for his influential performances at multiple positions within Vermes’ 4-3-3 formation.

Sporting has been particularly effective in Children’s Mercy Park, where the team is unbeaten at 3-0-2 this season and boasts a club-record 20-game regular season scoring streak that began on Aug. 10, 2019.

The red-hot Rapids, meanwhile, have won five of their last six matches after opening the season with a draw and a loss.

Colorado suffered a 4-0 loss to Sporting in its most recent visit to Children’s Mercy Park on Oct. 24, 2020 — a one-sided match in which Pulido, Kinda and Andreu Fontas found the back of the net — but early returns in 2021 suggest Wednesday’s clash will be far more competitive. Colorado has a formidable 2-1-1 road record this year, having conceded just two goals in four away fixtures.

Under the guidance of head coach and MLS legend Robin Fraser, the Rapids have taken 15 of a possible 18 points since the start of May.

Former Sporting striker Diego Rubio leads the Rapids with three goals and midfielder Jack Price is tied for third in MLS with four assists. Wide midfielders Michael Barrios (two goals, three assists) and Cole Bassett (two goals, two assists) have also made palpable impacts in attack, while goalkeeper William Yarbrough and a stout back line of Auston Trusty, Danny Wilson, Keegan Rosenberry and Sam Vines have contributed to four clean sheets in eight games.

A longtime Sporting star is poised to reach a major milestone on Wednesday as goalkeeper Tim Melia approaches his 200th start and appearance for the club across all competitions.

The two-time Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup champion and 2017 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year has five wins and a draw in his last six regular season outings at Children’s Mercy Park, where Sporting haven’t lost since Sept. 23, 2020.

• Story from Sporting KC

Sporting Kansas City (5-3-2, 17 points) saw its four-game unbeaten run come to an end in a narrow 2-1 road loss to the Portland Timbers (4-4-0, 12 points) on Saturday night at Providence Park in Oregon.

Homegrown defender Jaylin Lindsey tallied his second goal of the season to give the visitors a first-half lead, but the Timbers struck twice before halftime through Dairon Asprilla and Marvin Loria to claim victory.

Still occupying second place in the Western Conference, Sporting will look to bounce back Wednesday when they play host to the third-place Colorado Rapids in a longtime rivalry match at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas.

Tickets for the 7:30 p.m. showdown are available at SeatGeek.com as former captain and goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen is inducted into the Sporting Legends hall of honor. Supporters can also catch the action live on Bally Sports Kansas City Plus and Bally Sports Midwest Plus.

With his team entering a busy stretch of three games in eight days, manager Peter Vermes made a trio of lineup changes from last weekend’s 1-1 home draw against Austin FC.

Midfielder Felipe Hernandez earned his first start of the season, replacing the injured Remi Walter, while Lindsey stepped in for the hamstrung right back Graham Zusi. In attack, striker Alan Pulido returned from international duty with Mexico to lead the front line as Khiry Shelton dropped to the bench.

Sporting goalkeeper Tim Melia entered the weekend with four clean sheets in five regular season appearances at Providence Park and stymied the home side within three minutes on Saturday. Asprilla was played into space on the left wing and sent a low, driven delivery into the box for Jeremy Ebobisse, whose backheel flick was palmed aside by Melia.

A delicately poised battle delivered its first goal off the foot of Lindsey in the 28th minute. Center back Andreu Fontas slipped a long through ball into the running lane of Luis Matins, whose cutback pass found Pulido at the top of the box.

His initial shot was blocked but Pulido did well to keep possession along the left endline and uncorked a deflected cross that reached Lindsey on the opposite side of the penalty area. The 21-year-old Sporting KC Academy product sent a superb first-time effort into the top right corner for his second goal in as many away matches.

The Timbers took only eight minutes to restore parity. An in-swinging Diego Valeri free kick was nodded clear only as far as Asprilla, whose initial strike was repelled by Lindsey. The Colombian found the back of the net with his second bite of the apple by beating Melia on a shot that nestled inside the near post.

The visitors suffered another setback on the stroke of halftime as Loria fired Portland ahead. The attacker went on a surging run into the box and saw his attempted pass carom fortuitously off Lindsey and skip back into his own path for the simplest of close-range finishes.

Loria bagged his second goal of the campaign on the play as Sporting fell behind for the eighth time in 10 games this year.

Sporting’s captain almost equalized two minutes into the second half as Johnny Russell’s turf-trimming strike was cast aside by the outstretched foot of Portland goalkeeper Steve Clark.

The chance fell to the winger seconds after Pulido’s shot was blocked. Clark thwarted Russell once more on the hour mark, dropping to save his curler and extinguish the danger.

Hernandez went agonizingly close to opening his MLS scoring account in the 67th minute. Another wave of Sporting pressure culminated with a Russell shot that pinged off a Portland defender and bounced to the 22-year-old homegrown midfielder, whose venomous blast at the top of the penalty area deflected inches wide of the mark.

Portland’s hearts were in their throats again in the second minute of second-half stoppage time. Lindsey’s searching pass from the right wing fizzed across the face of the goal to Pulido, who took a touch before rifling inches wide of the near post and into the side netting.

The missed opportunity proved to be Sporting’s final look of the evening as the Timbers clung on to collect all three points.

• Story from Sporting KC