Espinoza’s epic goal + one by Walter send Sporting KC to first comeback victory of year

Sporting Kansas City had not earned a point when trailing first this season. On Saturday night, the club collected three.

Sporting KC got a jaw-dropper of a goal from Roger Espinoza and one from Remi Walter to beat CF Montreal 2-1 in Canada. It was Sporting KC’s second Major League Soccer road win of the year.

Still, it was admittedly not the best game for Sporting KC.

“Sometimes you play well, and you don’t win the game,” Walter said. “Tonight was for sure not our best game, but we won. That’s it.”

Sporting was out-shot, had fewer chances, and less possession, but found a way to grind out a win on the road, despite conceding first.

Montreal opened the scoring inside the first 15 minutes. Romell Quioto found himself at the back post unmarked for a free header — the fourth header at the back post that Sporting has conceded in its last five goals allowed overall.

Sporting KC manager Peter Vermes praised the mentality of the squad to not falter after the goal, especially in the context of how this season has gone.

“I really think the discipline defensively and not losing ourselves in the game, and not panicking because we went down one-nil,” Vermes said. “That was the difference in the game.”

When it looked like Sporting KC (5-11-4) might fall out of contention early, Espinoza showed up in a massive way. It was a vintage performance, and one that the team needed, according to Vermes.

“Roger has done this his whole career,” Vermes said. “He always had this never-die mentality and attitude, and he showed that today. He stepped up big time. It’s what I asked him to do.”

Quioto was a bit too relaxed with a pass at midfield and the ball got away from him. Espinoza pounced, taking one touch before firing precisely from just inside the halfway line, up and over the top of Montreal keeper Joseph Breza and into the bottom-right corner of the net.

“It barely went in,” Espinoza said. “You could see it curling a little bit, but I’m happy for that.”

Espinoza also made a massive block toward the end of the opening half to keep it level into halftime.

Sporting came out firing in the second half, but the few chances KC created went unfinished. That changed in the 63rd minute when Khiry Shelton made a run into the corner and passed the ball into empty space at the top of the 18-yard box.

Walter made a late run to the top of the box and kept his shot low and hard to get it past Breza.

With the victory, Sporting escaped last place in the Western Conference, with 19 points in 20 games played.

“Today was one of those games where stuff went for us,” Espinoza said. “In others, it hasn’t. I don’t know if this is our break to start winning games, but it’s definitely a huge win for us here in Montreal.”

Saturday’s game was the first of a three-match road trip for Sporting KC. The club next plays Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Minnesota, then heads to Utah for a game at Real Salt Lake next Sunday, July 17.

Sporting KC doesn’t play at home again until July 23 against LAFC.

This story was originally published July 9, 2022 at 8:30 PM with the headline "Espinoza’s epic goal + one by Walter send Sporting KC to first comeback victory of year."