Late goal salvages draw for Sporting Kansas City against San Jose Earthquakes

Wednesday night marked the first time in nearly 12 years that Sporting Kansas City played a competitive game without Peter Vermes on the sidelines.

With Vermes unable to coach because of MLS safety protocols for COVID-19, assistant coach Kerry Zavagnin got the call as Sporting KC scored late to earn a 1-1 tie with the San Jose Earthquakes at Children’s Mercy Park.

The Earthquakes opened the scoring in the 53rd minute against the run of play when centerback Nathan Cardoso flicked in a header.

Sporting players thought they had won a penalty in the 87th minute when Johnny Russell was caught by a trailing leg in the San Jose box. The KC captain stayed on his feet through the play.

After initially calling a penalty, center referee Joseph Dickerson consulted the Virtual Assistant Referee, or VAR, and rescinded it.

The call capped a busy night for center referee Joseph Dickerson, whose decision-making incurred the wrath of Vermes after the game. The coach called in to the post-game news conference via Zoom.

“Complete cluster, disrespect to our team, to the efforts put in by everybody every day, to the fanbase,” Vermes said. “It’s disrespectful. It’s just, I can’t even, I can’t understand it.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that player hits Johnny Russell,” he continued. “Hits him! Hits him! How you call that back, I have absolutely zero idea.”

But matter not, as just minutes later Daniel Salloi tied the game in the third minute of stoppage time, tapping in the rebound of a Russell free kick that doinked down off the left post.

Under Zavagnin, Kansas City played no differently than usual. Zavagnin has been Vermes’ assistant since the latter took over as head coach in 2009. So perhaps it should’ve come as no surprise that the tactical transition was a smooth one, even if the team was still called the Wizards — and playing at CommunityAmerica Ballpark — the last time Vermes wasn’t stoically pacing the coach’s box.

Kansas City was hurt by a lack of options. The team was already without Alan Pulido and Gianluca Busio because of their respective international call-ups.

The adversity was compounded Monday when the club announced that two unnamed players were unavailable due to league COVID protocols. Midfielder Felipe Hernandez also left the team temporarily this week for personal reasons.

“I thought the team was a little rusty for a lot of the game, undisciplined a little bit,” Vermes said. “It’s got a lot of changes in the lineup, I think that’s the reason why.”

Cameron Duke earned his first start of the season and looked the part. Every time the 20-year-old midfielder got the ball, he drove into the attack to make things happen. He won eight fouls, the most in an MLS game since Dom Dwyer in 2014, and anchored a KC midfield featuring two players returning from injury, Gadi Kinda and Remi Walter.

“I feel like that’s one of my qualities as a player because I’m so quick. I’m just always looking to turn and get into good pockets between the midfielders,” Duke said. “Whenever I can go at the defense I just do that and I try to lay it off or take a shot on goal.”

Duke was almost rewarded in the 22nd minute when he burst through on goal with no one ahead of him. But just as he pulled the trigger, a San Jose defender nicked in behind, ricocheting Duke’s shot into Quakes keeper TJ Marcinkowski.

Wilson Harris, meanwhile, made his first MLS start. Harris, 21, had a quiet night but offered some interesting movement during his 61 minutes on the field. He often dropped back and played quick passes with his midfielders, leading to opportunities likes Duke’s and a breakaway that he kept and fired into the keeper.

“Wilson actually did a really good job in the first half,” Vermes said. “I thought he came in between the lines and tried to help us in the build-out. I thought he made a couple of chances for himself as well.”

Harris was signed by Sporting KC in October from the club’s USL side, Sporting KC II, after becoming the youngest USL player to surpass 20 goals. He showed some of that prowess in the 39th minute, ripping a 25-yard shot off his left foot that Marcinkowski was able to save.

Graham Zusi also spent the second half at defensive midfield, a position he’d not played in since 2012.

Just minutes after Kansas City’s penalty was rescinded and nerves rose in CMP, Russell took things into his own hands. The Scotsman took a free kick from 25 yards out that pinged off the crossbar, then the post, and finally off Marcinkowski’s back; Salloi pounced, freezing San Jose’s players and poking in a short equalizer.

The goal was Salloi’s eighth of the season, pulling him into third in the Golden Boot race, just two goals off the lead.

“I’m trying to score every goal that I can, so I’m not letting anyone else touch that ball first,” Salloi said. “If I can touch it then I’ll score it.”

The Hungarian winger had a glorious chance in the ninth and final minute of stoppage time, too, but his effort was saved and the full-time whistle sounded soon after.

This story was originally published July 21, 2021 at 9:44 PM with the headline "Late goal salvages draw for Sporting Kansas City against San Jose Earthquakes."