Sporting KC wins first home game in 77 days with early flurry of goals vs. Chicago Fire

There’s a fine line between being a hero and the villain as a goalkeeper in soccer.

You could make four saves in a game like the Chicago Fire’s Bobby Shuttleworth did Saturday night, but one slip-up and that’s all people remember.

Unfortunately for Shuttleworth, and fortunately for Sporting Kansas City, a costly error in the fourth minute will stand as the highlight of the game as Sporting KC defeated the Fire 2-0 at Children’s Mercy Park.

The win marked Sporting’s first home victory in 77 days: Sporting defeated LAFC 2-1 on June 26. It’s also the first time in 80 days Sporting hasn’t fallen behind at any point in a home game, dating to a 3-1 victory over Colorado on June 23.

“There have been some good games where we haven’t been able to find the game-winner, but today it was an important thing for us to get the first goal because we wanted to be out in front and let the other team have to chase the game a little bit,” Sporting KC head coach Peter Vermes said.

The Fire started the game looking mildly threatening, forcing a turnover in Kansas City’s defensive third before Fabian Herbers knocked a header just wide of both a scrambling Tim Melia and the right-hand post.

That aforementioned slip-up from Shuttleworth changed everything one minute later.

Picking up the ball in a crowded area of the pitch at the edge of the Chicago box, new Sporting KC midfielder Jose Mauri wriggled free of his mark and sent a low shot directly at Shuttleworth.

It was a routine save for anyone of Shuttleworth’s caliber. But in a complete lapse of concentration, the 13-year MLS veteran let the ball squeeze under his body, through his legs and into the back of the net.

The goal was the first of Mauri’s Sporting KC career, coming in his Children’s Mercy Park debut following his transfer from Argentinian club Talleres in early August.

“I’m happy for (Mauri) that he gets the goal,” Vermes said. “I know that it was a kind of routine deal and people make mistakes, if you don’t shoot you don’t score.”

The veteran goalkeeper Shuttleworth hardly covered himself in glory in the opening minutes, handing Sporting KC a second goal in the sixth. The second was a little more forgivable — Shuttleworth had to make a tough save off a shot from Daniel Salloi.

The Sporting KC winger broke down the left wing with speed, beating two players before firing toward the far post. Shuttleworth made the save but weakly pushed the ball directly to Sporting KC captain Johnny Russell, who tapped it home.

The victory was a big one for Russell for two reasons; First, it was his 100th MLS regular-season game, but it was also a big win coming off the back of last weekend’s 4-0 loss to LAFC.

Russell said that in the aftermath of the LAFC loss it was probably the worst he’s felt after a game since arriving in KC in 2018.

“It was a freak result, we know that one game wasn’t going to define our season as tough as it was to take,” Russell said. “This week was just about getting back to what we do, get everyone’s head right and focused on this game, and I think we showed the way we came out that there’s no hangover from last week.”

Sporting KC had a near-complete performance in the opening 45 minutes, limiting the Fire to two close-range headers and no shots on target.

A long-distance curler by Graham Zusi that went wide and an attempt from Alan Pulido that hit the inside of the post were the only things keeping Kansas City from entering the break up 4-0.

Sporting’s controlled and measured play continued throughout the second half. The Fire managed just three shots on target, and two of those came from outside the box. But that stat is also a little misleading, considering Chicago fired two shots off the crossbar midway through the half, and both were recorded as off-target.

Chicago was able to get off a few shots from distance because of a halftime tactical change that saw Mauri drop deeper from the midfield closer to Sporting’s defense. It was a change to both help Mauri, who’s still working up his fitness, and the KC defense to close up shop.

“Dropping Mauri a little deeper, we knew we were going to give them that space 35 yards out and they were going to connect a little bit more and have those shots and it was something that we were comfortable with,” Melia said, who made three saves on the night.

But the game did end on a sour note for Sporting KC when Pulido limped off the field in the 85th minute. Vermes said that he thinks Pulido only suffered a knock, but the Mexican forward will still be in a rush to regain his fitness for KC’s next game: against Minnesota United at home on Wednesday night.

This story was originally published September 11, 2021 at 9:44 PM with the headline "Sporting KC wins first home game in 77 days with early flurry of goals vs. Chicago Fire."