KANSAS CITY – On a gloomy night in Kansas City, Sporting KC changed the mood of the city with an emphatic win over FC Dallas. Willy Agada is the name to remember after the game as he had one of the most impactful games of his career! Each team played very reserved the majority of the match as they meet again later this week in the US Open Cup Quarterfinal. This created a unique dynamic for the whole game.
Sporting KC dominated possession in the first half. Peter Vermes said after the game “we could’ve scored four or five goals in the first half.” Dallas did not seem to care to press or defend for that matter. In the eleventh minute, SKC won a corner. The ball was sent in from Memo Rodriguez on the left side and found Willy Agada flying through the air. He made perfect contact with the ball and sent it into the left side-netting!
About ten minutes later, Alenis Vargas went streaking down the right wing. He cut into the box and clipped a ball up into the air. Once again, Willy Agada was in the right spot at the right time and headed it home for his second goal of the match!
Seven minutes after the SKC goal, Dallas found themselves on a dangerous attack. A high-flying ball pulled Melia out of position which led to a shot from Farrington which ended up finding a scrum of Agada, Davis, and Ntsabeleng, after taking multiple deflections amongst the three players. The ball wound up hitting the post and into the goal to open the scoring for Dallas. This closed out the action for the first half.
The first fifteen minutes of the second half were rather even. Each team created many chances. Sporting was not as clean offensively and gave the ball away a lot in the first half. A ball clipped over the top of the midfield led Dallas on a 3v3. Dallas passed the ball around the SKC defense and found Petar Musa to tap the ball in and tie the game 2-2!
Kansas City and Dallas both made substitutions bringing on star players in hopes of finding the go-ahead goal. However, the difference maker was starter Memo Rodriguez! In the 81st Minute after a shot attempt from Agada, the ball bounced out to Rodriguez just inside the box. Rodriguez hit the ball off a volley first time and hit an absolute screamer into the goal!
Rodriguez played an amazing game tonight picking up an assist and a goal! Peter Vermes called him and Jake Davis “pit bulls in the middle.” Not only was his ball in for the assist fantastic but his goal was even better! He has been a standout player this year for SKC and has been one of their best pickups!
Sporting Kansas City played very defensively to hang onto their lead and were successful. A small scuffle concluded the game after FC Dallas player, Paul Arriola threw the ball on a throw-in at Zhoran Bassong’s head. Bassong responded by absolutely decking Arriola. Bassong received a red card and Arriola received a yellow card.
SKC picked up their fifth win of the season and fourth at home. They now have twenty points. An exciting match between the two original MLS clubs ends. This was Peter Vermes’ 200th win as head coach.
SKC plays in a rematch against Dallas in just a three-day turnaround, back at home at Children’s Mercy Park. This game is for a chance to play in the US Open Cup Semifinal.
