He may not have come away with a goal, but forward Johnny Russell played an instrumental role in Sporting Kansas City’s 2-1 comeback victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday night at Children’s Mercy Park. MLSsoccer.com took notice, including Russell as a midfielder on the MLS Team of the Week for Week 24.
With Sporting in dire need of three points to keep pace in the Western Conference playoff chase, Russell rose to the occasion against an upstart San Jose side that took a 1-0 lead into halftime.
The Scottish international, a constant menace for the Earthquakes backline, helped orchestrate a 50th-minute equalizer with a clever diagonal ball that Jimmy Medranda chested down to Benny Feilhaber, who expertly converted from the top of the box.
With 76 minutes on the clock, Russell’s sweetly struck free kick beat San Jose’s four-man wall as well as goalkeeper Daniel Vega. Although his effort rattled the woodwork, Graham Smith was on hand to poke home the rebound for his first professional goal.
Now six points within the seventh and final playoff spot, Russell and Sporting will continue their playoff pursuit Thursday when second-place Minnesota United FC visits Children's Mercy Park for a Heineken Rivalry Week showdown at 8:30 p.m. CT.
Tickets for the contest are available at SeatGeek.com or by calling 888-4KC-GOAL to secure a Family 4 Pack, consisting of four tickets, four Coca-Cola products, four hot dogs and four bags of chips. The match will be shown live nationally on ESPN, the ESPN app and ESPN Deportes, while listeners can catch the action locally on Sports Radio 810 WHB and ESPN Deportes KC 1480 AM. The Final Whistle postgame show will air immediately afterwards on 810 WHB.
