by Brian Turrel
Sporting Kansas City’s first match at Children’s Mercy Park in 171 days was a memorable game they will want to forget. The Houston Dynamo, last in the Western Conference, gave Sporting a 5-2 drubbing in front of the nearly 2,300 fans fortunate enough to get tickets to the limited-attendance game.
Sporting started the match with initiative, pushing high up the field and creating offensive opportunities. However, in the 17th minute, in a sign of things to come, Houston’s attack found space among KC’s widely spread defense and Alberth Elis tapped in a cross for the first goal.
Sporting answered back in the 26th minute when Johnny Russell volleyed in a rebound off the crossbar to equalize.
Houston pushed back in front just before halftime, swinging the ball to the right side to catch Kansas City’s defense out of position.
The Dynamo came out firing again after halftime. Niko Hansen received a smooth pass forward from Christian Ramirez, then outraced the retreating KC defense before beating Sporting goalkeeper Tim Melia one on one.
Sporting pulled back within one goal a minute later when Gadi Kinda knocked in a rebound off a header by Alan Pulido.
Houston put the game out of reach with two goals by Darwin Quintero in the 57th and 61st minutes, sapping most of the remaining energy from the stands.
In the final 30 minutes, Sporting KC made a series of substitutions to create offensive pressure, but Houston stayed solid defensively, venturing out only infrequently for counter-attacks.
Sporting KC manager Peter Vermes said that he would not judge his players’ performance by one game, saying that it “was just a bad game.” He noted that the team had started “chasing shadows” after their promising start, and that the defense had “been late” at times.
Despite the loss, Sporting Kansas City maintains their first place standing in the Western Conference, with a 5-0-2 record. They will play next against the Colorado Rapids in Denver on Saturday, Aug. 29, and they’ll be back at home against FC Dallas on Sept 2.
