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Montpellier Herault SC Earns 3-0 Victory in International Friendly

July 24, 2012 - Major League Soccer (MLS) Sporting Kansas City

Sporting Kansas City fell 3-0 to reigning French Ligue 1 champions Montpellier Herault SC on Tuesday in an international friendly at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park. MHSC off-season signings Gaetan Charbonnier and Emanuel Herrera powered the visitors in the victory,while goalkeepers Geoffrey Jourdren and Laurent Pionnier combined for the clean sheet.

Possession was split evenly between the two sides for the first 25 minutes, with action onboth sides of the field.

Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper Eric Kronberg, making his first appearance of 2012, made two excellent saves from the rapid-firing French side beginning in the 28thminute when Marco Estrada dribbled through midfield and shot from 25 yards out. Just three minutes later, Estrada was active again and played a ball over the top to Charbonnier. He did well to settle it off his chest, but was denied by Kronberg from close range.

Monpellier Herault SC nabbed their first goal of the night in the 39th minute when Estrada curled in a cross from the left to Charbonnier, who made no mistake this time in pushing his header past Kronberg.

Making nine changes to start the second half, MHSC would continue to show the skill that propelled them to the top of Ligue 1 and into the 2012-13 UEFA Champions League.

The team notched their second goal of the night in the 72nd minute when Anthony Mounier made a low pass to Herrera, stationed deep inside the penalty area. With Kronberg off his line, Herrera took an angled shot and slotted the ball in.

Ten minutes later, Peterson Joseph came close for Sporting KC with a bending shot from the corner of the 18-yard box that went wide of the right post. One of six Sporting KC players with a shot attempted on the night, Joseph was also one of six Sporting KC players to go the full 90 minutes in the friendly.

Defenders Neven Markovic and Kyle Miller, the team's newest two signings, each made their Sporting KC debuts on Tuesday, while Kevin Ellis, Korede Aiyegbusi and Eric Kronberg each appeared in their first games of 2012 with the Sporting KC first team.

MHSC struck for their final goal on what would be the final play of the match in the secondminute of second-half stoppage time. Kronberg did well to make his seventh save of the match to turn away an attempt from Mounier, but Herrera was there tocollect the rebound and calmly convert the opportunity from a difficult angle near the endline.

Sporting Kansas City will resume play in the 2012 MLS regular season at 7:30 p.m. CT on Saturday with a match against Eastern Conference foe Columbus Crew at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park. The match, sponsored by Roma Bakery and Johnsonville, will be broadcast live on KSMO-TV and tickets are available at Ticketmaster.com or at the LSP Box Offices.

FAST FACTS:

* Sporting Kansas City defender Neven Markovic was in the gameday roster for the first time since signing with the club earlier this month. He started and played 90 minutes in the friendly. * Sporting Kansas City defender Kevin Ellis appeared in his first match of 2012 with the first team, starting and playing 90 minutes on Tuesday. He dressed in the team's 3-1 win at Montreal on July 4. * Sporting Kansas City forward Korede Aiyegbusi appeared in his first match of 2012 with the first team, starting and playing 67 minutes. He dressed in four previous MLS matches. * Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper Eric Kronberg appeared in his first match of 2012 in all competition, starting and playing 90 minutes. He recorded seven saves in the friendly and has now faced Manchester United, Newcastle United, CD Guadalajara and Montpellier Herault SC in the last two years. * Sporting Kansas City midfielder Kyle Miller made his first appearance of 2012 for the firstteam on Tuesday, replacing Bobby Convey in the 81st minute. He dressed in the team's 2-0 win over the Colorado Rapids in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. * Sporting Kansas City forward Dom Dwyer appeared in his second match of 2012 with the first team, starting and playing 55 minutes on Tuesday. He also started in Sporting Kansas City's 3-2 win over Orlando City SC on May 29 in the U.S. Open Cup. * Sporting Kansas City defender Konrad Warzycha appeared in his fourth match of 2012 for the first team, starting and playing 90 minutes. He played in one MLS match and two U.S. Open Cup games prior to Tuesday. * Tuesday's friendly was played with unlimited substitutions per an agreement between the two clubs. * Sporting Kansas City assistant coach Kerry Zavagnin managed the game on Tuesday, while Manager Peter Vermes was in Philadelphia for the 2012 AT&T MLS All-Star Game. * In conjunction with the friendly, Montpellier Herault SC held a coaches clinic at the Sporting Club Training Center in Swope Park on Sunday. The team also held an open training and autograph session at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park on Monday. * Gaetan Charbonnier scored the game-winner in Tuesday's match in the 39th minute. Charbonnier flicked in a header on a service from Marco Estrada. * Emanuel Herrera scored the final two goals in Tuesday's match, scoring in the 72nd and 91st minutes. * Both Herrera and Charbonnier were recently signed by Montpellier during the team's offseason. * Tuesday's friendly against Montpellier marks Sporting Kansas City's third international friendly to be played at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park, following last year's matches against Newcastle United FC (EPL) and CD Guadalajara (Mexico). * Sporting Kansas City suffered their first loss in an international exhibition since 2007, when the team fell 2-0 to CA Boca Juniors in Buenos Aires, Argentina. * Sporting Kansas City lost at home for the first time against an international opponent since 2009, when the team fell 3-1 to Club Santos Laguna (Mexico) in SuperLiga at CommunityAmerica Ballpark. * Sporting Kansas City midfielder Roger Espinoza is with the Honduras Olympic team and missed Tuesday's friendly. * Teal Bunbury missed Tuesday's match after having oral surgery on Monday. * Sporting Kansas City was also without their three 2012 MLS All-Stars. Graham Zusi, Aurelien Collin and Jimmy Nielsen are in Chester, Penn. preparing to take on Chelsea FC on Wednesday at PPL Park, live on ESPN2 at 7:30 p.m. CT. * Major League Soccer will announce the inactive MLS All-Stars on Wednesday. * Montpellier Herault SC will next travel to Red Bull Arena to take on Lyon on Saturday in the Trophee des Champions. * Sporting Kansas City will host their second international friendly of 2012 on Wednesday, August 1 when they face Stoke City of the English Premier League. * The Columbus Crew defeated Stoke City 2-1 in a come-from-behind victory at Columbus Crew Stadium on Tuesday. * Sporting Kansas City will resume MLS competition on Saturday when they play host to the Columbus Crew at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park. * Tuesday's LIVESTRONG guest was Nancy Kincaid, who sat in the Victory Suite's yellow chair.

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Major League Soccer Stories from July 24, 2012


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