Sporting KC earns three points despite having backup goalkeeper
Sporting KC needed a win against the Colorado Rapids on Friday night and they came through, even with no Tim Melia in goal.
Three points feels good, doesn’t it, Sporting KC nation?
After the devastating loss to Minnesota on Sunday where the opponent took the lead and scored the game winning goal in stoppage time, being on the other end of the comeback in Friday’s match was a welcomed sight for Sporting Kansas City.
For those who didn’t catch Sunday’s match, Tim Melia was issued a red card, so he missed the rest of that match as well as the entire next match, which was held Friday in the MLS is Back Tournament being held in Orlando.
It looked like it could be a disastrous outing for Richard Sanchez, as the Rapids took a 1-0 lead just six minutes into the game on a Kellyn Acosta strike.
Things were uneventful for the rest of the first half, but Sporting finally had things go their way in the 61st minute when Danny Wilson of Colorado received a red card and was ejected from the match. That gave Sporting KC a one-man lead and they capitalized with a Khiry Shelton goal in the 65th minute.
It was a 1-1 game down in Orlando and this was exactly what Sporting needed being without their starting goalkeeper.
Alan Pulido had a penalty kick in the 72nd minute and the ball went in, giving the good guys a 2-1 lead. To make matters worse for Colorado, Jack Price was handed a red card in the 73rd minute and that gave Sporting KC a two-man advantage down the stretch.
Disaster struck when the Rapids somehow managed to score a goal despite being down two men (Jonathan Lewis had the goal in the 84th minute),making it a 2-2 match.
The 12 minutes of stoppage time proved to be of utmost importance for Sporting Kansas City and they made the most of the lengthy stoppage time with Graham Zusi putting the ball through the net in the 91st minute to give Sporting a 3-2 lead and that would ultimately be the final score.
Sporting Kansas City rebounded from their collapse five days earlier and despite not having Melia in goal, were able to pull out a much-needed victory. Obviously the Colorado goal that occurred with two extra Sporting members on the field was inexcusable, but at the end of the day, Sporting won and those three points are huge for this club.
Next up is a Wednesday match against Real Salt Lake. If Sporting wins that one, they should no doubt advance to the semifinals. Even if they don’t, they have a good shot now that they’ve won a game.