Sporting Kansas City's frenetic stretch of six games in 18 days -- highlighted by road matches in four different time zones across three countries -- came to a climactic close on Sunday as Scottish international Johnny Russell buried a sensational free kick in the 88th minute to earn Sporting Kansas City a 1-1 draw in dramatic fashion against the Colorado Rapids.
Nearly a year after Sporting stunned the Rapids with a 91st-minute equalizer from a second-half substitute at Dick's Sporting Goods Park last March, the stage was set once again for similar late-game theatrics as Sporting secured another road result in Colorado on a moment of magic from the team's 2018 Offensive Player of the Year. Russell, who contributed 12 goals and 13 assists in his debut season last year, beat Tim Howard with a curling set piece strike to cancel out the game's opening goal from former Sporting forward Diego Rubio.
A first half that started with an early attempt on target from Rapids midfielder Nicolas Mezquida inside the opening 20 seconds of the match went on to produce just one additional shot on goal. In the 28th minute, Felipe Gutierrez, whose free kick from the right edge of the penalty went narrowly wide of the near post five minutes before, forced a save from Howard with his effort on the endline despite the acute angle.
The Rapids captain, playing the final season of his storied career between the posts, was nearly punished for a careless giveaway on the cusp of halftime however Roger Espinoza's left-footed chip from 25 yards out caromed off the top of the crossbar with Howard caught out of position.
Sporting goalkeeper Tim Melia wasn't as fortunate with a costly giveaway of his own in the 54th minute that saw the hosts open the scoring on their first shot in more than 30 minutes of play. A short goal kick to Matt Besler was played back to Melia, whose touch allowed Rubio to pounce with an alert finish that snatched a 1-0 lead against the run of play and against his former team.
Gutierrez continued to create chances for Sporting in search of the equalizer and ran onto a pinpoint pass from Russell in the 68th minute. The Chilean World Cup veteran did well to direct a shot toward target however Howard raced off his line to intervene and snuff out the danger.
The Rapids were inches from doubling their lead in the 78th minute when Kelyn Acosta's free kick deflected off Gutierrez mid-flight and crashed into the crossbar. Moments later, Acosta was replaced by Johan Blomberg for what proved to be an eventful eight-minute shift - whistling a shot just wide seconds after stepping onto the field before then picking up two yellow cards in a seven-minute span, first for a foul on Gutierrez in the 80th minute then for time wasting in the 87th minute after Gianluca Busio won a game-changing free kick for Sporting.
With the ball positioned five yards outside the penalty area and five yards to the right of the near post, Russell curled a perfectly-placed set piece into the back of the net to rescue a result on the road with his first goal of 2019 in memorable fashion. The direct free kick goal was only the second of the MLS campaign and the team's first since Benny Feilhaber, now a member of the Rapids, scored from a set piece in 2015.
After navigating the strenuous stretch of six matches in 18 days, Sporting Kansas City will now have 12 days to prepare for the team's next regular season match against the Montreal Impact at 2 p.m. CT on Saturday, March 30 at Children's Mercy Park. Tickets are available on SeatGeek.com, including special ticket packages featuring limited edition scarves co-branded with local colleges (Kansas, Mizzou, K-State, UMKC and JCCC).
2019 MLS Regular Season
Game 3 of 34
Dick's Sporting Goods Park | Commerce City, Colo.
Attendance: 11,037
Weather: 46 degrees and partly cloudy
<strong>Score</strong> |
<strong>1</strong> |
<strong>2</strong> |
<strong>F</strong> |
Sporting Kansas City (1-1-1, 4 points) |
0 |
1 |
1 |
Colorado Rapids (0-1-2, 2 points) |
0 |
1 |
1 |
Sporting Kansas City: Tim Melia; Graham Zusi, Botond Barath, Matt Besler (C), Seth Sinovic; Ilie Sanchez, Roger Espinoza (Gianluca Busio 72'), Felipe Gutierrez (Yohan Croizet 81'); Kelyn Rowe (Johnny Russell 61'), Krisztian Nemeth, Gerso Fernandes
Subs Not Used: Adrian Zendejas, Abdul Rwatubyaye, Jaylin Lindsey
Colorado Rapids: Tim Howard (C); Keegan Rosenberry, Axel Sjoberg, Deklan Wynne, Dillon Serna; Benny Feilhaber (Cole Bassett 76'), Jack Price, Kellyn Acosta (Johan Blomberg 79'), Nicolas Mezquida; Diego Rubio (Andre Shinyashiki 84'), Kei Kamara
Subs Not Used: Andre Rawls, Tommy Smith, Danny Wilson, Niki Jackson
Scoring Summary:
COL - Diego Rubio 1 (unassisted) 54'
SKC - Johnny Russell 1 (free kick) 88'
Misconduct Summary:
SKC - Felipe Gutierrez (caution; reckless foul) 41'
COL - Kei Kamara (caution; reckless foul) 53'
COL - Benny Feilhaber (caution; reckless foul) 60'
SKC - Roger Espinoza (caution; reckless foul) 64'
COL - Diego Rubio (caution; simulation) 72'
SKC - Botond Barath (caution; reckless foul) 75'
COL - Johan Blomberg (caution; reckless foul) 80'
COL - Johan Blomberg (caution; delaying a restart) 87'
COL - Johan Blomberg (ejection; second yellow) 87'
<strong>Stat</strong> |
<strong>SKC</strong> |
<strong>COL</strong> |
Shots |
9 |
13 |
Shots on Goal |
3 |
2 |
Saves |
1 |
2 |
Fouls |
11 |
16 |
Offsides |
1 |
3 |
Corner Kicks |
4 |
1 |
Referee: Allen Chapman
Assistant Referee: Oscar Mitchell-Carvalho
Assistant Referee: Mike Kampmeinert
Fourth Official: Guido Gonzales Jr.
VAR: Jorge Gonzalez
AVAR: Jonathan Johnson
