Sporting Kansas City and Real Salt Lake battled to a tense 0-0 draw Sunday at Rio Tinto Stadium in the penultimate round of the MLS regular season.
The result leaves Sporting Kansas City (12-13-8, 44 points) with the sixth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference heading into next Sunday’s Decision Day finale against the San Jose Earthquakes at Children’s Mercy Park. A victory in that game would ensure Sporting Kansas City a club-record sixth straight appearance in the MLS Cup Playoffs.
One of five Western Conference matches to kick off simultaneously in Week 33, Sunday’s contest saw both goalkeepers deliver outstanding performances to keep their opponents at bay. Sporting Kansas City’s Tim Melia made four impressive saves, while veteran Nick Rimando notched five stops for a Real Salt Lake outfit (12-11-10, 46 points) that moved up to fourth place in the West but failed to secure a playoff berth.
Manager Peter Vermes made four changes to the Sporting Kansas City lineup as veterans Matt Besler, Seth Sinovic, Roger Espinoza and Graham Zusi returned to the fold. With Jacob Peterson sidelined due to a hamstring strain and Diego Rubio out for the year with an ACL injury, Espinoza and Zusi joined Dom Dwyer to form a three-pronged attack. Paulo Nagamura earned his 100th career start for Sporting Kansas City in all competitions, patrolling the midfield alongside Benny Feilhaber and Soni Mustivar.
The hosts conjured the first scoring chance of the afternoon when Juan Manuel Martinez directed a header toward goal amidst a crowded six-yard box in the 20th minute. However, Dwyer was stationed on the goal line to hammer clear and keep Real Salt Lake off the scoresheet.
A pulsating second half included multiple clearcut opportunities from both sides. Real Salt Lake laid siege just before the hour mark when Demar Phillips’ cutback nearly found Yura Movsisyan for an easy tap-in near the goalmouth, but Besler slid at full extension to make crucial block along the byline. Three minutes later, Melia thwarted Joao Plata with a stunning reflex save that left the home fans in disbelief.
Vermes’ men had weathered the storm in their defensive half and almost snatched the lead on 64 minutes. Dwyer raced behind the Real Salt Lake defense and attempted to chip the onrushing Rimando, but the goalkeeper smothered the effort to prevent Sporting KC’s striker from scoring in his fifth straight game.
The visitors weren’t done attacking and tested Rimando twice more before the 70-minute mark. Saad Abdul-Salaam’s volley off a Zusi corner kick was well-struck but straight at the keeper, as was Dwyer’s low bullet shortly thereafter.
The match remained delicately poised and was nearly decided in the 86th minute when Espinoza clipped a delightful cross far post to Dwyer, whose bouncing header was destined for the top corner of the net. Unfortunately for the Englishman, Rimando had saved his best for last as he sprung at full stretch to palm the ball over the crossbar.
Both teams came agonizingly close to finding a winner in second-half stoppage time. Kevin Ellis nodded a foot wide of goal following a pinpoint cross from Sinovic in the 92nd minute before Joao Plata headed wide by an even smaller margin on the final play of the game.
Sporting Kansas City now turns its attention to Sunday’s regular season finale vs. San Jose, one of 10 MLS matches that will begin simultaneously at 3 p.m. CT on Decision Day. Vermes’ side can still finish anywhere between fourth and seventh in the Western Conference standings, but know that a win would guarantee a return to the MLS Cup Playoffs. A limited number of tickets for Sporting Kansas City’s biggest game of the season are still available at Ticketmaster.com or by calling 888-4KC-GOAL.
Prior to the Decision Day showdown, Sporting Kansas City will end its 2016-17 CONCACAF Champions League campaign on Wednesday against Trinidadian side Central FC at Children's Mercy Park (tickets). The group stage finale will kick off at 7 p.m. CT with a live stream on CONCACAF's official Facebook page.
2016 MLS Regular Season
Game 33 of 34
Rio Tinto Stadium | Sandy, Utah
Attendance: 19,705
Weather: 60 degrees and partly cloudy
SportingKC.com links
Watch: Full match highlights
<strong>Score</strong> |
<strong>1</strong> |
<strong>2</strong> |
<strong>F</strong> |
Sporting Kansas City (12-13-8, 44 pts) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Real Salt Lake (12-11-10, 46 pts) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Sporting Kansas City: Tim Melia; Saad Abdul-Salaam, Kevin Ellis, Matt Besler, Seth Sinovic; Benny Feilhaber (Ike Opara 91), Soni Mustivar, Paulo Nagamura; Graham Zusi, Dom Dwyer, Roger Espinoza (C)
Subs Not Used: Alec Kann, Ever Alvarado, Nuno Coelho, Benji Joya, Connor Hallisey, Cameron Porter
Real Salt Lake: Nick Rimando; Tony Beltran, Chris Schuler, Justen Glad, Demar Phillips; Kyle Beckerman (C), Luke Mulholland, Javier Morales; Juan Manuel Martinez (Jordan Allen 77), Yura Movsisyan (Olmes Garcia 57), Joao Plata
Subs Not Used: Lalo Fernandez, Jamison Olave, Chris Wingert, Sunday Stephen, John Stertzer
<strong>Stats</strong> |
<strong>SKC</strong> |
<strong>RSL</strong> |
Shots |
12 |
15 |
Shots on Goal |
5 |
5 |
Saves |
4 |
5 |
Fouls |
15 |
18 |
Offside |
3 |
1 |
Corner Kicks |
6 |
3 |
Misconduct Summary:
RSL -- Luke Mulholland (caution; unsporting behavior) 32
RSL -- Justen Glad (caution; unsporting behavior) 58
RSL -- Kyle Beckerman (caution; unsporting behavior) 84
Scoring Summary:
None
