Sporting KC falls short of victory at home again, but earns a 1-1 tie with Colorado

For as long as Sporting Kansas City has played in Children’s Mercy Park, the venue has been one of the toughest stadiums for road teams in Major League Soccer.

But for the fifth straight game in all competitions, Sporting Kansas City failed to win on home turf, tying against the Colorado Rapids 1-1 on Saturday night.

A 17th-minute goal from Colorado’s Jonathan Lewis was neutralized by a Johnny Russell free kick for Sporting late in the first half on Saturday.

And once again, Kansas City controlled the passage of play over the course of play in front of its home crowd but couldn’t find that winning goal.

“It’s the same old story at home,” Russell said. “We’re making it hard for ourselves, we’re allowing teams to get a foothold in the game before we really start.”

The home side finished with 58% of possession, and that dominance showed as Sporting KC created chance after chance.

But it was the Rapids who opened the scoring on a fortunate bounce off a blocked shot from Graham Zusi that fell right back to Lewis who was able to dispatch the rebound.

The goal signaled the eighth time that Sporting KC has given up the first goal this season.

The opener was a flash in a pan for Colorado, which sat back in its own half for most of the game. Midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye hit the post midway through the second half, and substitute Cole Bassett missed in the final minutes for Colorado’s only opportunities in the second half.

Otherwise, it was all Kansas City.

The home side peppered Colorado’s goal throughout the game, including a header off the top of the crossbar from Russell in the 36th minute.

The Sporting KC captain bounced back from that disappointment, managing to find the equalizer in the 41st minute, dispatching a 25-yard free kick following a foul on Gadi Kinda.

Both Russell and forward Alan Pulido stood over the dead ball, with the latter looking most likely to take the shot. But Russell took a quick run up, lifting the ball over the wall and into the back of the net.

The shot didn’t come close to the corner, but the speed and dip on the ball left Colorado goalkeeper William Yarbrough frozen as the ball squeezed under the bar and into the back of the net.

“I think the goalkeeper was maybe thinking Alan would go his side or I would go his side,” Russell said. “So he leaves that side open … Always had my mind to go up and over the wall, obviously put not too much power on it because it’s difficult to control it from that distance.”

Sporting came close on several occasions throughout the second half, most notably seeing an attempt from Russell cleared off the goal line in the 89th minute.

“I get a good connection on it and as my foot’s coming back down I hit the ball again which takes the speed out of it which I think stops it going in, to be honest,” Russell said.

Attempts from winger Daniel Salloi and midfielder Ilie Sanchez were also scuppered by the Rapids’ Yarbrough throughout the half.

But it was Colorado that missed the chance of the game in the fourth minute of stoppage time.

Attacking on the break, the Rapids’ Bassett found himself unmarked in the box but smacked his shot off the crossbar from 10 yards out on the final play of the game.

“The guys, I can’t say anything but great about their effort, their commitment, all of it,” Sporting KC coach Peter Vermes said. “It was a really high, high level performance today, their attitude and mentality and to play the way they did for as long as they did was a heck of a performance from that perspective.”

The tie keeps Sporting KC ahead of the Rapids in the Western Conference standings, but Colorado is just two points behind with two games in hand on Sporting KC.

This story was originally published August 28, 2021 at 10:53 PM with the headline "Sporting KC falls short of victory at home again, but earns a 1-1 tie with Colorado."