Leagues Cup Recap: Sporting suffers shootout loss to Cincinnati after thrilling 3-3 draw

Ten-man Sporting Kansas City fell 4-2 on penalty kicks to FC Cincinnati following a remarkable 3-3 draw on Sunday night as both teams opened their Leagues Cup 2023 campaigns in a back-and-forth thriller at TQL Stadium.

Sporting used a scintillating start to open a two-goal lead inside 12 minutes, surging ahead on an own goal and doubling their advantage through center back Dany Rosero. After Sporting striker Alan Pulido received a first-half red card, however, Cincinnati responded by knotting the score at 2-2 with an own goal of their own and a Brandon Vazquez equalizer. Gadi Kinda vaulted Sporting back ahead with a 69th-minute penalty kick, but a controversially awarded penalty to Cincinnati allowed Lucho Acosta to bury the game-tying spot kick in the eighth minute of second half stoppage time.

In the decisive penalty shootout, Cincinnati bagged all four of its attempts while Remi Walter and Andreu Fontas failed to convert for Sporting. The result leaves Cincinnati with two points and Sporting with one point after the opening match in Central Region Group 3 of the newly expanded Leagues Cup competition. Cincinnati will host Liga MX side Chivas Guadalajara on Thursday in the group’s second game before Chivas visits Sporting at Children’s Mercy Park on July 31 in the group stage finale at 9 p.m. CT (tickets). The two clubs with the most points in the three-team group (three points for a regulation win, two points for a shootout win, one point for a shootout loss) will advance to the Leagues Cup knockout stage in early August.

Sporting Manager Peter Vermes reshuffled his lineup to the tune of seven changes from last weekend’s regular season loss at Austin FC, including rotation of the front five players in Kansas City’s familiar 4-3-3 formation. Veteran midfielder Felipe Gutierrez notably earned his first start since beginning his second stint with the club earlier this month, while 22-year-old goalkeeper John Pulskamp landed his first appearance for Sporting since May 10. Forward Daniel Salloi, who had previously played in all 27 matches for Sporting this season, missed Sunday’s encounter with a minor groin injury.

Each team threatened early and often in a game that never lacked freneticism and ultimately yielded six goals and 11 yellow cards. Within the first few minutes, Fontas had a low drive blocked through traffic and Cincinnati midfielder Junior Moreno fired marginally high from distance. Both opportunities preceded a rampant burst from Vermes’ men, who scored twice in quick succession to stun the TQL Stadium crowd into silence.

In the ninth minute, Gutierrez played an incisive outlet pass into the middle third for Sporting playmaker Gadi Kinda, who set winger Khiry Shelton free down the right channel. Shelton’s tantalizing cross into the penalty area was intended for the on-running Pulido but headed high into the back of the net by Cincinnati center back Nick Hagglund, marking the first own goal conceded by a Sporting opponent this season and the sixth straight match in which Cincinnati has faced a deficit dating back to June 24.

Cincinnati had barely recovered from their setback before suffering further damage in the 12th minute as Sporting landed another haymaker. Shortly after Pulskamp did well to deny newly acquired Designated Player Aaron Boupendza his first Cincinnati goal, Kansas City put the MLS Supporters’ Shield leaders to the sword with Rosero rising above his marker to nod Kinda’s in-swinging free kick low into the right corner. The Colombian center back has scored off set pieces in back-to-back matches and has three of Sporting’s five headed goals in 2023, all of which from corners or free kicks. Kinda, meanwhile, recorded his 30th career goal contribution for Sporting in all competitions, notching his 17th assist to go with 13 goals.

Nonstop action continued to punctuate the first half as rain clouds descended on TQL Stadium. Acosta almost cut Cincinnati’s deficit in half on 18 minutes, only for Pulskamp to produce a smart save. Sporting’s goalkeeper made another stop nine minutes later, thwarting midfielder Alvaro Barreal, then breathed a sigh of relief a moment later when Vazquez steered an off-balance shot onto the top of the crossbar and out of play.

The game’s complexion changed drastically on the half-hour mark. Only a few minutes after having a well-hit shot saved by former Kansas City keeper Alec Kann, Pulido was given his marching orders for violent conduct. Tangling with Yerson Mosquera near the sideline, Pulido dug his head into the Cincinnati defender and received a straight red card from Mexican referee Daniel Quintero Huitron. In addition to reducing Sporting to 10 men for the remainder of the night, the red card prevents Pulido from facing Liga MX heavyweights Chivas, his former club, in Sporting’s next Leagues Cup match on July 31.

Cincinnati struck seconds before lightning struck to prompt a weather delay. With 34 minutes on the clock, Acosta flashed in a teasing cross that Ian Murphy headed off the woodwork. Pulskamp, however, was the victim of bad luck as the ball caromed off his outstretched frame and trickled into the net to make the score 2-1 heading into a 35-minute pause as thunderstorms passed over the Cincinnati area.

The bridge from the resumption of play to intermission yielded one clearcut chance for Cincinnati in first-half stoppage time, but Pulskamp reacted brilliantly to Barreal’s curling effort by diving right at full extension for a splendid save that preserved Sporting’s 2-1 cushion.

Faced with a numerical disadvantage, Sporting were pinned back for extended periods of the second half and suffered a blow in the 56th minute when Cincinnati drew level. After Sporting failed to extinguish the danger of a long ball over the top, Acosta pounced on the loose ball and sent a square pass to Vazquez for a simple finish from close range that restored parity at 2-2.

Undeterred, Sporting bounced back admirable and reclaimed the lead on 69 minutes. Veteran Roger Espinoza sent a clever ball into the box for fellow substitute Erik Thommy, who squared up his defender on the left side of the area before pulling it back to his countryman Tim Leibold. The left back uncorked a shot that struck the extended hand of Cincinnati defender Alvas Powell, prompting the referee to point to the penalty spot. Kinda smashed home the ensuing spot kick, his second straight successful penalty for Sporting after converting on opening day of the MLS season in April 2021.

Cincinnati hunted ravenously for another equalizer in the late stages, going close through Vazquez, Bareal and Sergio Santos in the final moments of normal time, but each opportunity went begging as Pulskamp finished the night with six saves. Sporting, meanwhile, spurned a golden opportunity to put the game to bed in the 84th minute when substitute Logan Ndenbe chased a long ball over the top and whipped in a cross from the endline for an unmarked Shelton, whose shot lacked the pace and direction to beat Kann.

The hosts were given a disputable penalty kick deep into added time when Acosta’s curling effort through traffic appeared to strike the upper arm of Rosero, who had deliberately kept both of his hands behind his back. Acosta dispatched his penalty kick into the corner with the final consequential kick of regulation time, drawing a close to a 3-3 stalemate and ensuring both sides would emerge from the contest with at least one point.

Cincinnati secured the coveted second point up for grabs by winning the penalty shootout as Acosta, Vazquez, Yuya Kubo and Matt Miazga all beat Pulskamp from 12 yards. Sporting were successful on their first two attempts thanks to Thommy and Shelton, but Walter lifted his attempt over the crossbar and Fontas’ shot was cast aside by Kann.

Leagues Cup 2023 | Central Region Group 3
TQL Stadium | Cincinnati, Ohio
Attendance: 24,524
Weather: 82 degrees and partly cloudy

Sporting Kansas City: John Pulskamp; Jake Davis, Dany Rosero, Andreu Fontas, Tim Leibold; Remi Walter, Felipe Gutierrez (Roger Espinoza 59'), Gadi Kinda (Logan Ndenbe 75'); Khiry Shelton, Alan Pulido, Johnny Russell (C) (Erik Thommy 59')

Subs Not Used: Kendall McIntosh, Robert Castellanos, Kayden Pierre, Robert Voloder, Danny Flores, Stephen Afrifa, Marinos Tzionis

FC Cincinnati: Alec Kann; Nick Hagglund (Matt Miazga 46'), Yerson Mosquera (Marco Angulo 85'), Ian Murphy (Yuya Kubo 63'); Alvas Powell, Malik Pinto (Obinna Nwobodo 46'), Junior Moreno, Alvaro Barreal; Lucho Acosta; Brandon Vazquez, Aaron Boupendza (Sergio Santos 63')

Subs Not Used: Roman Celentano, Evan Louro, London Aghedo, Ray Gaddis, Stiven Jimenez, Arquimides Ordonez

Scoring Summary:
SKC -- Nick Hagglund (own goal) 9’
SKC -- Dany Rosero 1 (Gadi Kinda 1) 12'
CIN -- John Pulskamp (own goal) 34'
CIN -- Brandon Vazquez 1 (Lucho Acosta 1) 56'
SKC -- Gadi Kinda 1 (penalty kick) 69'
CIN -- Lucho Acosta 1 (penalty kick) 90+8'

Penalty Shootout Summary:
CIN -- Lucho Acosta (goal) | CIN 1-0 SKC
SKC -- Erik Thommy (goal) | CIN 1-1 SKC
CIN -- Brandon Vazquez (goal) | CIN 2-1 SKC
SKC -- Khiry Shelton (goal) | CIN 2-2 SKC
CIN -- Yuya Kubo (goal) | CIN 3-2 SKC
SKC -- Remi Walter (missed) | CIN 3-2 SKC
CIN -- Matt Miazga (goal) | CIN 4-2 SKC
SKC -- Andreu Fontas (saved) | CIN 4-2 SKC

Misconduct Summary:
CIN -- Ian Murphy (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 10'
CIN -- Yerson Mosquera (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 11'
SKC -- Alan Pulido (red card; violent conduct) 30'
CIN -- Junior Moreno (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 48'
CIN -- Aaron Boupendza (yellow card; dissent) 50'
SKC -- Gadi Kinda (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 51'
CIN -- Alvas Powell (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 68'
SKC -- John Pulskamp (yellow card; time wasting) 83'
SKC -- Erik Thommy (yellow card; time wasting) 90+2'
SKC -- Dany Rosero (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 90+6'
SKC -- Roger Espinoza (yellow card; dissent) 90+8'

Referee: Daniel Quintero Huitron
Assistant Referee: Jesus Arturo Banos Ortega
Assistant Referee: Jonathan Maximiliano Gomez
Fourth Official: Cristopher Mason
VAR: Luis Enrique Santander Aguirre
AVAR: Jozef Batko