Sporting Kansas City opened the 2017 Desert Diamond Cup with a 1-1 draw against the Colorado Rapids on Wednesday afternoon at Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Arizona.
Swope Park Rangers defender Amer Didic nodded Sporting Kansas City in front shortly after halftime, but Colorado drew level in the 91st minute with a Dillon Powers penalty kick that was awarded through Video Assistant Referee technology.
Sporting KC Manager Peter Vermes handed three players their preseason debuts in the first half as Graham Zusi occupied right back, Benny Feilhaber roamed the central midfield and Dom Dwyer spearheaded the attack.
Offseason arrival Gerso Fernandes accounted for three of Sporting KC’s seven first-half shots, his first of which following a quick break downfield in the 10th minute. The deflected effort resulted in a corner kick from Feilhaber that was headed over the bar by Ike Opara.
Fernandes was involved again in the 32nd minute when Feilhaber’s free kick into a crowded penalty area was repelled to the top of the 18-yard box. The Bissau-Guinean was on hand to strike the ball cleanly, but the attempt whistled marginally wide of Zac MacMath’s goal. Fernandes would try his luck once more just before the break, curling a shot narrowly beyond the far left post.
Soony Saad replaced Dwyer in the 30th minute and had Sporting KC’s best scoring chance of the first half. Feilhaber collected a loose ball 35 yards from goal and played through to the newly acquired forward, whose toe-poke was pushed wide by the sprawling MacMath.
Two SPR standouts from the 2016 season combined for Sporting KC’s go-ahead goal in the 51st minute. After Colorado failed to clear a Jimmy Medranda corner kick, left back Tyler Pasher glided past a defender and crossed from the left edge of the box. Didic, a USL Defender of the Year finalist last season, rose to cushion a header past goalkeeper Cody Mizell and give Sporting KC a 1-0 lead.
Another Medranda corner kick in the 56th minute created havoc in the box as Saad’s close-range shot was cleared off the goal line. Colorado broke on the counter seconds later, and Caleb Calvert’s blistering effort from the right side of the box forced Adrian Zendejas into his team’s first save of the day.
Igor Juliao and Daniel Salloi produced admirable long-range attempts shortly after the hour mark. Juliao’s thunderous strike was palmed wide by Mizell, while Salloi curled inches over the crossbar after swiveling past a defender in impressive fashion.
Colorado restored parity under never-before-seen circumstances. Referee Alan Chapman pointed to the penalty spot in the 89th minute after consulting the Video Assistant Referee on the sideline. Chapman awarded the penalty for Cameron Porter’s handball in the 87th minute, marking the first implementation of Video Assistant Referee technology since MLS introduced the VAR initiative this offseason. Powers buried his spot kick to give both teams a share of the spoils.
Sporting KC will continue their Desert Diamond Cup campaign on Saturday, facing the New York Red Bulls in a 4:30 p.m. CT kickoff at Kino Sports Complex. The match will be streamed live on SportingKC.com and FOX Sports GO.
2017 Desert Diamond Cup
Kino Sports Complex | Tucson, Arizona
<strong>Score</strong> |
<strong>1</strong> |
<strong>2</strong> |
<strong>F</strong> |
Sporting Kansas City (0-0-1) |
0 |
1 |
1 |
Colorado Rapids (0-0-1) |
0 |
1 |
1 |
Sporting Kansas City: Tim Melia (Adrian Zendejas 46); Graham Zusi (Igor Juliao 46), Ike Opara (Kevin Ellis 46), Matt Besler (Amer Didic 46), Seth Sinovic (Tyler Pasher 46); Benny Feilhaber (Benji Joya 46), Ilie Sanchez (Soni Mustivar 46), Roger Espinoza (Jimmy Medranda 46); Gerso Fernandes (Christian Volesky 46), Dom Dwyer (Soony Saad 30 [Cameron Porter 76]), Latif Blessing (Daniel Salloi 46)
Colorado Rapids: Zac MacMath (Cody Mizell 46); Eric Miller (Dennis Castillo 46), Bobby Burling (Jared Watts 46), Kortne Ford (Axel Sjöberg 46), Marc Burch (Mekeil Williams 46); Sam Hamilton (Ricardo Perez 46), Sam Cronin (Micheal Azira 46); Bismark Adjei-Boateng (Dillon Powers 46), Marlon Hairston (Jaime Siaj 46 [Liam Callahan 81]), Liam Callahan (Dominique Badji 46); Kevin Doyle (Caleb Calvert 46).
Disciplinary Summary
COL -- Bismark Adjei-Boateng (caution) 40
SKC -- Christian Volesky (caution) 58
SKC -- Soni Mustivar (caution) 78
SKC -- Cameron Porter (caution) 90
SKC -- Adrian Zendejas (caution) 90
SKC -- Benji Joya (caution) 90
Scoring Summary:
SKC -- Amer Didic 1 (Tyler Pasher 1) 51
COL -- Dillon Powers 1 (penalty kick) 91+
