Sporting Kansas City gets to scoreboard first but loses 2-1 at the Houston Dynamo

It’s getting a little tough to predict Sporting Kansas City’s lineup.

Who’s going to start at left back? Where is Graham Zusi going to play? Who’s going to start on the forward line?

On Saturday night those questions led to a couple of surprises, but Sporting KC lost to the Houston Dynamo 2-1 at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston.

The answer to the first question came in the form of Amadou Dia, who made his first MLS start since 2016. Following the theme of firsts since 2016, Zusi also started at right wing, the first time since 2016 that Zusi made a start on the front line.

And as for the third question, not only did Zusi start on the right side of the offense but Erik Hurtado also made his first start of the season at center forward.

Even though Sporting came away without a point win, the decisions seemed to be effective ones. It was Hurtado, for instance, who got the opening goal after a dull opening 30 minutes.

But Houston’s Alberth Elis scored the equalizer moments after coming on as a substitute in the 59th minute. And it was another substitute, Mauro Manotas, who headed in the winning goal after squeezing between the center backs in the 85th.

But before we get to the goals, let’s start with Kansas City’s defensive performance, including Dia’s inclusion at left back.

Just one week ago, Houston traveled to Children’s Mercy Park and recorded a dominating 5-2 victory over KC.

That game saw the Dynamo’s Elis and Niko Hansen burn Jaylin Lindsey down the left side of defense time and time again. This time around Lindsey was shifted to right back and Dia was tasked with the mission of defending Houston’s right wing pair.

Dia was at fault for Houston’s equalizer, having been pulled inside and allowing Houston’s Darwin Ceren ample time at the back post. With Dia pulled inside, Ceren had the simple task of tapping the ball into the center of the box for Elis to tap home.

Otherwise, Dia and Lindsey did a much better job of keeping Houston’s wingers at bay. The pair sat deeper and didn’t allow Houston to make runs in behind. Late in the first half, Lindsey easily marshaled Houston star Darwin Quintero out of bounds on a dangerous attack, showing his growth and confidence in recent games.

“I think on that first goal (Dia) did get drawn inside,” Sporting KC coach Peter Vermes said. “I thought, though, during the game he was pretty good defensively against those guys. I thought he was pretty good.”

Down the other end of the field, Hurtado scored his second goal of the season to open the scoring in the 30th minute.

Offering a different threat to Sporting KC star Alan Pulido, who’s day-to-day, Hurtado offered a powerful poacher presence in the middle of the field. On one play he’s like a freight train with a deft touch running down the middle of Houston’s defense; on another he’s finding the right places to be to tuck home the ball.

Beautiful team play that featured 13 passes, including one from goalkeeper Tim Melia, led to Gadi Kinda threading the ball to Khiry Shelton. Shelton’s shot was saved but Hurtado was there to smash the rebound into the roof of the net from close range.

“We had some ideas about how he could get in behind them on some of the counters,” Vermes said. “I think (they, Houston) do a good job defensively, they fight for every ball and compete.

“I think Erik was opportunistic on the goal, and I think that he had a decent game and it was good for him to get the goal for us.”

Zusi became the first player since Jacob Peterson in 2014 to start three straight games on all three lines. He had a quiet night on the wing before dropping back to center midfield as KC attempted to hold onto a 1-1 tie.

“Graham is an all-around great player,” Hurtado said. “He can play in multiple positions, so wherever we put him he’s going to do well and it’s good linking up with him and playing with him. He’s got experience out there as well so it’s always good playing with him.”

KC dropped into a 5-4-1 formation with Zusi helping out transitioning the ball from back to front but ultimately was unable to help create a winner or prevent Houston from scoring in the final minutes.

“I would probably state that we probably started to get a little tired, tried to make some subs, tried to change the team around and went with five at the back,” Vermes said. “We knew what was going to happen: they were going to come forward with a lot of people, but we just couldn’t close the game out, unfortunately.”

This story was originally published September 5, 2020 at 9:45 PM with the headline "Sporting Kansas City gets to scoreboard first but loses 2-1 at the Houston Dynamo."