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Sporting KC and Columbus Crew SC Cancel Each Other Out in Sunday Matinee

Sporting KC

Columbus, OH (September 10, 2017)- Sporting KC and Columbus Crew play to a 1-1 draw. Ola Kamara’s header at the end of the first half cancelled out Cristian Lobato’s first goal for Sporting KC.

Sporting KC and Columbus Crew SC Cancel Each Other Out in Sunday Matinee

Sporting KC ended the match with 20 shots and 56% of the possession, in a road match. Manager Peter Vermes thought they were they better team. “I think we had more of the better chances to be honest. I think we should have been up 2-1 at halftime. [Ola] Kamara had the one where he kind of whiffed on it, then we had the one where we stole it from the keeper. We kind of went in and flubbed it too. We both had chances, I just think playing away from home, we deserved it a little bit more.”

While it may look like Sporting KC and dominated and just couldn’t score, that wouldn’t be an accurate reflection of the match. Columbus Crew came to play, which is more than many opponents try and do against Sporting. It wasn’t in a possession type way of playing, but more in terms of playing in the transitions. Numerous times they looked to exploit a midfield turnover by moving the ball forward, or wide as quickly as possible. This resulted in numerous chances. But Tim Melia stood tall, making four really difficult saves (maybe five if one hadn’t been called a goal kick).

Sporting KC opened the scoring in the 19th minute as the mistake prone Johnathon Mensah showed up again, misplaying a ball over the top. Cristian Lobato took advantage and collected the ball, and patiently waited for an opening before going five hole on Zach Steffen to give Sporting the lead. Lobato’s tally was his first MLS goal.

After a penalty claim from Columbus that was reviewed by VAR official Allan Kelly, Columbus got their equalizer at the end of the first half. A corner kick was swung in and Ola Kamara got clear thanks to a push off on Ilie Sanchez. His flying header hit the back of the net.

There was a few half chances in the second half for Sporting KC, and one badly fluffed chance by Ola Kamara. The game finished 1-1 in what frankly, was the fair outcome of the match.

Going Forward for Sporting KC

Sporting KC momentarily is in fourth place in the Western Conference. They now have 41 points through 27 matches, as the Western Conference continues to get really tight at the top. Their next MLS Match is next Saturday against New England Revolution. They’ll play for the U.S. Open Cup next Wednesday.

Going Forward for Columbus Crew SC

For Columbus Crew SC, the point puts them in fourth place in the Eastern Conference after 29 matches. They will travel to Vancouver to face the red-hot Whitecaps next Saturday night.

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