Sporting Kansas City Falls to New York
New York Red Bulls came into Sporting Park on Saturday night looking to jump ahead of Sporting KC in the Eastern Conference standings, and did just that. The Red Bulls came out with a 3-2 victory over Kansas City. Sporting KC has now lost two games in a row.
Aug 3, 2013; Kansas City, KS, USA; Sporting KC midfielders Oriol Rosell (20) and Peterson Joseph (19) and New York Red Bulls forward Thierry Henry (14) go after the ball in the second half at Sporting Park. New York won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports
Kansas City was without Graham Zusi for the match, as he picked up an injury during the MLS All-Star game.
The game opened with Sporting controlling a majority of possession and attempting a few shots on goal, but nothing that would really challenge the New York goalkeeper Luis Robles. New York did have a few chances before the first goal, with Jimmy Nielsen making a huge stop on Jonathan Steele in the 15th minute.
New York opened the scoring in the 27th minute through Steele after a great through ball was played to him by Dax McCarty. Steele collected the ball, dribbled towards Nielsen, and beat the KC keeper near post, giving New York the 1-0 lead.
Sporting continued to attack New York as the first half was winding down, and it paid off. Chance Myers played a cross to Soony Saad who headed it straight towards Robles. Kei Kamara was in the right spot, and scored off the rebound. The teams entered halftime with a scoreline of 1-1.
It took 18 minutes for New York to find their second goal through Fabian Espindola. Sporting KC was caught trying to defend against a counter attack. Substitute Lloyd Sam was able to find Espindola after beating the offside trap. He was able to slot the ball past Nielsen on the far post, putting New York ahead 2-1. Sporting KC defender Aurélien Collin picked up a yellow card for arguing with the official after the goal. He believed that Espindola was in an offside position when the ball was played to him.
It only took the Red Bulls six minutes to tack on their third goal of the evening. Robles began the play with a brilliant throw to Espindola, who found Sam breaking towards goal. Sam collected the ball, and calmly shot it passed Nielsen. This would be the eventual game winner.
Sporting KC came close to scoring late in the match when substitute Dom Dwyer’s header banged off the crossbar.
Aug 3, 2013; Kansas City, KS, USA; Sporting KC forward Dominic Dwyer (14) celebrates after scoring a goal against the New York Red Bulls in the second half at Sporting Park. New York won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports
Dwyer would eventually find the back of the net in the 92nd minute. Kamara was able to get control of the ball and play a perfect cross for Dwyer, who was able to head it passed Robles. It was Dwyer’s first MLS goal of his career.
New York’s Kosuke Kimura collided with Sporting’s Seth Sinovic during play after Dwyer’s goal, which allowed the game to continue until the 100th minute. There was time for Sporting to score the equalizer, but it never came.
Sporting KC fell to second place in the Eastern Conference after the lost. They are now two points behind New York, who has 38 points after 23 games. Sporting KC’s next game will see them traveling to Nicaragua to face Real Esteli as they begin their 2013 CONCACAF Champions League play.