When the Chicago Fire scored three goals in the space of 12 minutes on Saturday night, Sporting Kansas City was looking into the barrel of disparaging history.
Having surrendered a 2-0 lead to trail 3-2 after 82 minutes at Toyota Park, Manager Peter Vermes’ men were faced with a daunting task that had never been accomplished in the club’s 23-year existence: overturn a deficit in the final 10 minutes of regulation to claim victory.
Alas, the visitors wasted no time in their pursuit of an unprecedented comeback. Second-half substitute Jimmy Medranda equalized in the 83rd minute before midfielder Felipe Gutierrez capped a superb performance with his second goal of the evening on 86 minutes to put Sporting Kansas City back on top and ultimately secure three precious points in Bridgeview, Illinois.
When referee Jose Carlos Rivero blew his full-time whistle deep into stoppage time, Sporting Kansas City had officially broken a long-standing duck in their 350th regular season away game. Prior to Saturday, the club had never trailed on the road after the 80th minute and won in regulation.
Final score: Sporting KC 4, Chicago Fire 3.
SPORTING KC ROAD COMEBACKS WON IN REGULATION
(MLS REGULAR SEASON, ALL-TIME)
<strong>Date</strong> |
<strong>Trailed</strong> |
<strong>Result</strong> |
<strong>KC goals in comeback</strong> |
<strong><em>03/10/18</em></strong> |
<strong><em>3-2 in 82nd minute</em></strong> |
<strong><em>W 4-3</em></strong> |
<strong><em>83', 86'</em></strong> |
07/26/14 |
1-0 in 47th minute |
W 2-1 |
48', 80' |
03/29/14 |
2-1 in 78th minute |
W 3-2 |
79', 92' |
07/20/13 |
1-0 in 66th minute |
W 2-1 |
67, 97' |
03/02/13 |
1-0 in 40th minute |
W 3-1 |
41', 66' 83' |
07/04/12 |
1-0 in 56th minute |
W 3-1 |
57', 75', 82' |
05/26/07 |
2-0 in 24th minute |
W 4-3 |
25', 26', 38', 82' |
04/08/06 |
1-0 in 65th minute |
W 2-1 |
66', 90' |
08/10/05 |
2-0 in 36th minute |
W 3-2 |
37', 43', 68' |
08/21/04 |
1-0 in in 38th minute |
W 2-1 |
39', 66' |
06/05/04 |
1-0 in 64th minute |
W 2-1 |
65', 86' |
09/27/03 |
1-0 in 39th minute |
W 2-1 |
40', 81' |
06/02/01 |
1-0 in 19th minute |
W 2-1 |
20', 52' |
04/19/00 |
1-0 in 31st minute |
W 2-1 |
32', 43' |
08/14/99 |
1-0 in 20th minute |
W 2-1 |
21', 71' |
06/08/97 |
1-0 in 43rd minute |
W 3-2 |
44', 58', 87' |
05/30/97 |
1-0 in 70th minute |
W 3-1 |
71', 87' 89' |
08/04/96 |
2-1 in 58th minute |
W 4-2 |
56', 66', 78' |
07/31/96 |
1-0 in 18th minute |
W 3-2 |
19', 32', 64' |
The instant classic was a stark departure from the recent norm for a Sporting Kansas City outfit that boasted Major League Soccer’s best defense in 2017 but ranked just 18th in goals per game. Saturday marked the first time since August 2015 that Vermes’ side bagged goals in a regular-season fixture. It was also the first time since October 2016 that the team had conceded three goals in a game.
As last night’s Till Vodka Stat of the Match points out, Sporting KC had managed to win away from home while conceding three goals — a feat reached just one other time during the non-shootout era (2000-present). The first such instance saw Kansas City sink the New England Revolution 4-3 at Gillette Stadium in May 2007.
HIGHEST-SCORING SPORTING KC MATCHES
(MLS REGULAR SEASON, ALL-TIME)
<strong>Goals</strong> |
<strong>Date</strong> |
<strong>Opponent</strong> |
<strong>Result</strong> |
10 |
05/02/96 |
vs. Columbus Crew SC |
W 6-4 |
8 |
08/16/98<br>
04/25/15 |
at Columbus Crew SC<br>
at Houston Dynamo |
L 3-5<br>
T 4-4 |
7 |
06/21/97<br>
09/26/97<br>
07/22/99<br>
03/25/00<br>
07/04/01<br><em><strong>05/26/07</strong></em><br>
09/22/10<br>
08/15/15<br><strong><em>03/10/18</em></strong> |
vs. D.C. United<br>
vs. Colorado Rapids<br>
vs. Tampa Bay Mutiny<br>
vs. Chicago Fire<br>
vs. Chicago Fire<br><strong><em>at New England Revolution</em></strong><br>
vs. Houston Dynamo<br>
vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC<br><strong><em>at Chicago Fire</em></strong> |
W 6-1<br>
W 5-2<br>
W 4-3<br>
W 4-3<br>
L 0-7<br><em><strong>W 4-3</strong></em><br>
W 4-3<br>
W 4-3<br><strong><em>W 4-3</em></strong> |
Matches in bold italic: road wins in which Sporting KC conceded three goals.
When the dust had settled on the seven-goal thriller, Sporting KC had won for just the fifth time in 25 regular-season visits to Chicago (5-18-2). The result, coupled with a pair of convincing performances from wingers Johnny Russell (one goal, one assist) and Daniel Salloi (two assists), will undoubtedly be a catalyst for momentum heading into next weekend’s home tilt against the San Jose Earthquakes.
Next Saturday will also represent an opportunity for a typically stout backline to return to its stingy ways. The 4-3 win over Chicago drew an end to Sporting KC’s club-record 37-game run of conceding two or fewer goals in the MLS regular season. That streak is good for the fifth-longest in league history.
LONGEST STREAKS CONCEDING TWO OR FEWER GOALS
(MLS REGULAR SEASON, ALL-TIME)
<strong>Matches</strong> |
<strong>Club</strong> |
<strong>Start</strong> |
<strong>Stop</strong> |
48 |
Real Salt Lake |
10/14/09 |
06/25/11 |
45 |
LA Galaxy |
08/17/02 |
05/19/04 |
44 |
Columbus Crew SC |
04/05/09 |
07/24/10 |
39 |
FC Dallas |
09/26/09 |
04/08/11 |
<strong><em>37</em></strong> |
<strong><em>Sporting Kansas City</em></strong> |
<strong><em>10/16/16</em></strong> |
<strong><em>03/04/18</em></strong> |
Lastly, while Saturday’s historic encounter centered around a remarkable team accomplishment, a Kansas City native and burgeoning legend continued his ascent up the club’s all-time charts.
With a full 90 under his belt against Chicago, captain and center back Matt Besler became the third player to log 20,000 regular season minutes for Sporting KC, joining current assistant coach Kerry Zavagnin and retired defender Nick Garcia. Besler is now the eighth active MLS player to reach 20,000 minutes for the same team.
