Sporting Kansas City came back from the Copa America break to host FC Dallas Sunday afternoon in 93-degree weather. With Graham Zusi and Matt Besler still out with the U.S Men’s National Team, manager Peter Vermes played the same lineup that struggled and ground out a win against NASL side Minnesota United in 120 minutes midweek in the U.S. Open Cup match. Sporting KC came out with a strong will and secured three points at home.
Dallas started off holding back a bit and after SKC had a couple chances, they pressed and attacked. The game really opened up after goalkeeper Tim Melia scooped out an own goal from a bad backpass from Lawrence Olum that was a good full foot over the line. In the resulting clearance, he was caught outside his box and during a scramble FCD managed to find the back of the net. If that wasn’t enough drama, it was rightly ruled offside.
Sporting KC came back immediately hungry for a goal after those mistakes, but FCD were still looking to make them pay for them. Even after the break and the Open Cup win, the SKC story didn’t seem to have changed much. Press high, create chances, don’t take those chances, and make mistakes resulting in dangerous chances for the opponent.
These chances include Matt Hedges being wide open in front of the net on a free kick given away by Olum and Fabian Castillo getting one on one with Melia on the break. Castillo beat Melia, and sent the ball flying into the post and the rebound flew straight out into Melia’s arms in a fashion that can only be explained by witchcraft. After a short water break and a few ambitious shots from outside the box, Jacob Peterson faced Chris Seitz on a break. Seitz made himself big and blocked the shot, the rebound fell to Benny Feilhaber, who set Peterson up, who held the ball for too long before taking a shot. Not taking their own chances.
The game changed when Dom Dwyer was literally thrown to the ground earning a free kick right outside the box. Feilhaber sent a cross to the back post, Olum got in the way and brushed it into the back of the net and Sporting gained the lead. Not three minutes later, Feilhaber was taken down in the box and sold it to earn a penalty kick, which he converted with ease.
At halftime, the game was 2-0 SKC, a scoreline that definitely did not tell the story of the game. 3-0 to FCD would have seemed more accurate, especially considering the wrongly overturned own goal. Sporting KC topped all the stats, but Dallas created more with what they had.
The second half was less open. Sporting KC were still looking for a third and didn’t sit back right away, but they were more careful in their attack. This was a result of taking off injured Soni Mustivar at halftime and replacing him with Kevin Ellis, moving Olum into the midfield. They solidified at the back and Feilhaber moved up.
“The last game and this game I think the changes we made helped us earn results. Like I said, we were grinding out points,” Vermes said afterward.
In spite of this successful change, SKC still decided to employ some time wasting tactics toward the end of the game. Dwyer walked the opposite direction when his number came up on the substitution board and earned himself a yellow card for time wasting. Melia got the same when stalling on a goal kick. Feilhaber stayed down after a foul and earned a water break, but the water break was deserved. It was so hot that some of the crowd stayed on the concourse to watch the second half in the shade.
Dallas was still knocking, but not getting in. Maxi Urruti was not slowing down, but couldn’t get himself a consolation goal in the end. Dallas played a spectacular first half, but lost their confidence. Manager Oscar Pareja lamented the missed goal call saying, “it impacted the game for sure, but I want to focus on the things we can control. It was a goal, but it wasn’t called. I thought we dominated the game, but it wasn’t enough.” Sporting KC held on strong and thanks to Olum making up for his tragic backpass earlier and holding in the midfield, earned a league win for the first time in a month.
Main Photo: Kyle Rivas, Getty Images
