Sporting KC was moments from an impressive road win. Then ... an equalizer & red card
There’s little margin for error if Sporting Kansas City is going to make a run at the playoffs over the last month-and-a-half of the MLS season — with six regular-season matches remaining after Saturday.
That may make Saturday’s result all the more frustrating, after Sporting conceded a tying goal in the 89th minute and saw defender Jake Davis sent off after receiving two yellow cards in a span of five minutes.
Sporting and the New York Red Bulls played to a 1-1 draw at Red Bull Arena. For a while, it appeared as though Sporting might make up some much-needed ground in the standings, beginning the day nine points back of playoff position.
Instead, the result left a sour taste in manager Peter Vermes’ mouth, as he believed his club deserved more from the match than a draw.
“I don’t think they had any chances,” Vermes said. “I think it was a good, spirited game. … I thought that we played well. We were very organized, very disciplined. They weren’t breaking us down. They had one chance in the first half.”
And yet ... New York’s Julian Hall, who won’t turn 17 until next March, scored the tying goal after two Sporting players couldn’t close him down in the box. His low shot found the left side of the net, freezing goalkeeper Tim Melia, whose momentum was carrying him the other way.
In explaining how the goal happened, Vermes went back to the start of the play.
“We clear the ball right into the other player,” Vermes said. “If we clear the ball up the field, obviously, that situation doesn’t happen. It wasn’t like they made some great play.”
Sporting, on the other hand, was the beneficiary of a poor clearance about 35 minutes earlier.
After neither team could find the net in the first half, Davis and Alan Pulido connected for a skillful goal to open the scoring in the 55th minute.
Davis chipped a pass over the back line of the defense. Pulido, who had streaked between two defenders and into the box, controlled the pass with his head and guided it toward his left foot. He volleyed a shot past goalkeeper Ryan Meara for a 1-0 lead.
The assist from Davis was, of course, not his last big moment in the game. While he probably deserved his first yellow card, Vermes strongly disagreed with the second one that got him sent off.
“The guy is 70 yards from goal and the two guys are fighting,” Vermes said “If you pay attention to the spirit of the game, the game has physicality. … Jake competes for the ball. He actually gets the inside edge on the player. If you’re going to call a foul, OK, call a foul. That I can’t argue.”
Sporting, now with 7 wins, 14 losses, 7 draws on the season, returns to action on Sunday, Sept. 15, against the Seattle Sounders.
Daniel Sperry covers soccer for The Star. He can be reached at sperry.danielkc@gmail.com.
This story was originally published September 7, 2024 at 9:09 PM.