Sporting Kansas City Give Up Two Late Goals For A Draw
Sporting Kansas City were cut back to a 2-2 draw with FC Dallas Saturday night. After taking a two goal lead, FC Dallas were able to score two goals on a 10-man Sporting Kansas City in the closing minutes to claim a point from the match.
FC Dallas grabbed the first chance of the match in just the 2nd minute from a free kick that curled towards goal and forced Jimmy Nielsen to collect the save.
Sporting Kansas City attacked early as well, as they so often do, and Claudio Bieler and Graham Zusi both saw shots miss the mark in the first eight minutes.
In the 11th minute, Nielsen was forced to make another save off of an FC Dallas free kick. Soon after, Zach Loyd found Kenny Cooper on the far post for a headed effort that beat Nielsen but ended up hitting the post.
The goalpost saved Sporting Kansas City again in the 27th minute when David Ferreira’s free kick hit the post and crossed the goal before Chance Myers cleared the ball from danger.
Jun 22, 2013; Frisco, TX, USA; MLS referee Mark Geiger gives Sporting KC forward C.J. Sapong (17) a red card for fighting with FC Dallas midfielder Andrew Jacobson (4) during the second half at FC Dallas Stadium. The game ended in a 2-2 tie. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Sporting Kansas City struck first three minutes before halftime. FC Dallas’ Andrew Jacobson was called for pulling Aurelien Collin down in the box, awarding a penalty kick to Kei Kamara who converted the chance to take the 1-0 lead.
In the first minute after halftime Nielsen was called to make another save; this time a shot from outside the box by Je-Vaughn Watson. In the 55th minute, George John won a header off a corner just slightly too high.
Two minutes later, Graham Zusi sent a corner into the box where the ball was inadvertently knocked into the goal by Watson for an own-goal, handing Sporting Kansas City a 2-0 lead with just over thirty minutes left.
In the 65th minute, Cooper hit a well-struck effort from the left but Nielsen was able to push the ball away. The match turned in FC Dallas’ favor three minutes later when C.J. Sapong was sent off with a straight red card after a collision with Jacobson. While the ball was rolling back toward the player on the ground, Sapong made looked to have pushed the ball in the direction of the player’s head, earning the sending off.
FC Dallas sent players forward in numbers looking for the goals they needed once they had the advantage. This paid off in the 88th minute when Ramon Nunez sent a cross in from the left corner of the box. Jacobson flicked the ball just out of Nielsen’s reach and into the far corner to pull the match back to 2-1.
FC Dallas then tied the match in the 90th minute. Ferreira sent a free kick into the box from near the right corner flag, finding rookie Walker Zimmerman. He sent a powerful header off of Nielsen and into the net for his first professional goal, making it even at 2-2.
Dallas did not quit there and nearly found a game-winner in stoppage time. The ever-threatening Cooper took a long-range strike that went just wide of the far post before the final whistle was blown.
Sporting Kansas City remains in third place in the East, and will have three of the next four matches at home. Their next match is against the Columbus Crew at 7:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, June 29th at Sporting Park.