Tag: Sporting KC

by Brian Turrel

A late giveaway by Sporting Kansas City defender Graham Zusi cost the team its opportunity to retake the top spot in the MLS Western Conference. The 82nd minute goal by FC Dallas put it ahead 3-2, overcoming a second-half brace by Johnny Russell.

Franco Jara scored Dallas’s first goal in the 42nd minute, diving to head in a cross from defender John Nelson. He scored again just after halftime by knocking in the rebound off a Dallas corner kick.

Kansas City battled back from the two-goal deficit, with its halftime tactical and personnel changes paying off in scoring opportunities. To create more offensive action, head coach Peter Vermes brought in center midfielder Ilie Sanchez. Sanchez, missing from game action since Sporting left the MLS Is Back tournament in late July, got a warm reception from the fans.

Russell scored his first goal in the 53rd minute by sending back an attempted clearance off a Sporting corner kick. The ball zipped low just inside the left goalpost and gave Dallas goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer little chance of a save.

Russell struck again in the 83rd minute, redirecting a free kick from Gianluca Busio into the upper right corner of the net. After the game, Russell commended Busio’s assist.

“Busio strikes it great,” he said, “and any touch from us, Dallas players, or even if it misses everyone, is on target. With that power, it can always go in.”.

Russell’s enthusiasm after his score fired up the limited-attendance crowd with visions of a come-from-behind victory, but those visions departed moments later when longtime defensive standout Graham Zusi hit a weak back pass to goalkeeper Tim Melia.

With the ball stranded between Zusi and Melia, diminutive Dallas forward Michael Barrios seized the opportunity. Melia blocked Barrios’s attempt, but the rebound fell to forward Ryan Hollingshead to put away the winner.

Dallas’s delaying tactics late in the game drew the wrath of its opponents, the crowd, and the officials, who handed out four yellow cards for time-wasting. Dallas midfielder Bryan Acosta was also sent off in the 90th minute for a foul that earned his second yellow card of the match.

Even with the man advantage and six minutes of stoppage, Sporting wasn’t able to earn the equalizer, and a direct kick opportunity in the closing seconds was stopped by Dallas.

The loss, combined with Seattle’s Friday night win, drops Sporting KC to second place, jostling for playoff position in a crowded field. Sporting will play at home against Orlando City FC on Sept. 23 at 7:30 p.m.

First-place Sporting Kansas City (6-3-2, 20 points) will play FC Dallas (4-2-4, 16 points) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas.

Live match coverage will begin nationwide at 2:30 p.m. on Univision and TUDN during National Hispanic Heritage Month.

Tickets for the Western Conference clash between the pair of MLS charter clubs can be purchased online at SeatGeek.com as Sporting KC plays the club’s 200th match at the world-class venue with comprehensive health and safety protocols in place for a reduced-capacity crowd of 18 percent.

In addition to the nationally televised Spanish-language broadcasts, FOX Sports Kansas City and FOX Sports Midwest Plus will broadcast three hours of on-site commentary from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. Live streams will be available to viewers on Twitter and FOX Sports GO, as well as local radio coverage on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM.

Sporting Kansas City vaulted to first place in the ultra-competitive Western Conference with a 1-0 victory over Minnesota United FC on Sunday, courtesy of a late game-winner from Johnny Russell and a strong defensive performance in which the Loons were held without a shot on goal for the first time in their 114-game MLS history.

Sporting will now continue a three-game homestand as the 2020 campaign reaches its midway point in Week 12 of the abbreviated 23-game MLS regular season.

FC Dallas won just two of its first eight games in 2020 – and did not participate in the MLS is Back Tournament in Florida – but has found its rhythm in the past week with back-to-back home wins, beating rivals Houston by a 2-1 scoreline on Saturday before Santiago Mosquera’s hat trick lifted Dallas to a 4-1 win over Colorado on Wednesday.

With six points in five days, FC Dallas is now fourth in the West and is the only team in the conference to emerge victorious in its past two outings.

Saturday’s showdown will serve as a rematch of the 1-1 draw between the two sides on Sept. 2 at Children’s Mercy Park, which saw Franco Jara and Khiry Shelton trade first-half goals as Sporting outshot Dallas by a 22-5 margin.

Iowa native Kyle Zobeck made his MLS debut in net for FC Dallas that night, replacing Jimmy Maurer in the first half due to injury, and the former 2013 MLS SuperDraft pick has since started each of the last three games for the Western Conference’s stingiest defense.

As indicated by the last meeting, the regular season series between the MLS originals is deadlocked at 25-25-13 through 63 meetings dating back to Kansas City’s first ever road match in April 1996. However, Sporting is 8-2-3 against Dallas in its last 13 home games across all competitions – highlighted by a 10-game unbeaten run from 2012-2018 – despite going 0-2-1 in the most recent three encounters in KC.

Saturday’s splendid forecast calls for 72 degrees and sunny skies throughout the mid-day match. Across all competitions, Sporting boasts an 18-0-9 record in 27 all-time home matches at Children’s Mercy Park that have kicked off at 4 p.m. or earlier.

While Sporting aims to keep that run going in the race for first place, below are four additional statistical milestones of potential note on Saturday:

• Sporting’s 11-game scoring streak is one shy of matching the club record for most consecutive games without being shutout to start a season.
• Vermes is one shy of the 150th regular season win of his coaching career, an achievement reached by four previous MLS managers.
• Saturday will be Sporting’s 200th match at Children’s Mercy Park (including friendlies) since the stadium opened on June 9, 2011.
• Sporting is one shy of the team’s 250th home win in club history across all competitions.

SportingStyle locations will be selling Kick Childhood Cancer retail items, including limited-edition scarves and beanies, in support of The Victory Project and Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. For every beanie sold, Sporting KC will donate a beanie to Children’s Mercy Hospital for patients battling cancer.

• Story from Sporting KC

by Brian Turrel

Sporting Kansas City put on a show of offensive dominance against Minnesota United FC, but it was all nearly for naught until Johnny Russell raced onto a long direct pass from Graham Zusi and buried it in the net in the 80th minute of Sunday night’s contest.

The win over their Midwestern rivals puts Sporting back on top of the MLS Western Conference standings after a four-game winless streak had dropped them to second behind the Seattle Sounders.

The rapid pace of Gadi Kinda and Gerso Fernandes up front helped Sporting create opportunities in the attacking half, and the defensive persistence of midfielder Felipe Hernandez kept Minnesota from advancing the ball cleanly.

Sporting held a 15-to-1 advantage on shots going into halftime, but hadn’t found the net. Manager Peter Vermes felt the team could break through if they stayed patient. After the game he recounted his halftime message to the team.

Vermes said, “The biggest thing that can’t happen is that we lose our discipline to our shape and we can’t get impatient with the fact that we’ve created a bunch of chances and we just haven’t put one in the goal yet.”

As the game neared the final minutes, Sporting found its winning opportunity in response to a rare burst of Minnesota offense.

Defender Matt Besler intercepted a Minnesota pass, heading it to Graham Zusi in the center of the field. Zusi spotted Russell sprinting ahead through Minnesota’s spread out defense and laid the ball into his path. Russell struck the ball low to the right corner of the goal, beating Minnesota goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair.

After the game, Zusi recounted, “I just curled it right down the middle of the field and let Johnny’s momentum take him into the path of the ball. He did the rest.”

The game was played before a limited audience of fans, but the offensive show on the field kept them at high volume throughout the game. Covid-19 protocols were in evidence throughout the stadium. One Sporting player tested positive earlier in the week, but the team has not identified the player.

MLS has announced their schedule through the end of September. Sporting will play at home on Sept. 19 against FC Dallas, quickly followed by another home match against Orlando on Sept. 23.