by Brian Turrel
Alan Pulido’s return to the Sporting Kansas City lineup helped fuel a masterful 4-0 win over the Colorado Rapids Saturday night at Children’s Mercy Park.
A measure of the achievement was that Colorado’s first shot came in the 76th minute of the game, and Sporting finished the game with a 23-5 shot advantage.
Sporting controlled the first half of the game, but was unable to tally a goal. The Kansas City offense had success playing up the middle, with midfielder Ilie Sanchez finding pockets of space near the center stripe and working diagonal passes to the front line.
Sporting tested Colorado goalkeeper William Yarbrough four times in the first half, with the most notable a Johnny Russell free kick that Yarbrough knocked aside.
Colorado was returning to game action after a month’s delay due to COVID-19 concerns. Led by former Kansas City forward Diego Rubio, the Rapids applied an aggressive high press on the Kansas City back line, but were unable to generate the offensive opportunities they were seeking.
Kansas City kept hold of the match in the second half, and the flood gates started to open on the Rapids.
Pulido, back from service with the Mexican national team and the required travel quarantine, scored first in the 54th minute. He took a touch from Roger Espinoza near the top of the penalty area, and dribbled slightly to his right to stretch out Colorado defender Lalas Abubakar. Then he fired a shot between Abubakar’s legs to collect his sixth goal of the season.
Defender Andreu Fontas put Kansas City ahead 2-0 in the 67th minute. He earned his MLS goal, volleying in a shot from the right side as the ball rattled around the penalty area off a Kansas City free kick.
Gadi Kinda was the next in line for a goal, putting Kansas City up 3-0 in the 88th minute. He made a long run from near midfield, and juked defender Danny Wilson off balance to get a shot from 12 yards out.
In stoppage time, Gerso Fernandes, on as a late substitute, got on the end of a long clearance near midfield and raced Wilson to the penalty area, where he chipped the goalkeeper for the 4-0 final score.
The win moves Kansas City one point ahead of Portland and Seattle in what has become a three-way battle for the Western Conference title in the waning days of the MLS regular season. Although the tight standings mean that they have not yet locked up a playoff berth, Kansas City is in a great position to host one or more post-season games at Children’s Mercy Park.
Only three games remain, the next on the road at Cincinnati on Oct. 28. They will play at home against Minnesota on Nov. 1, and finish at Salt Lake on Nov. 8.
