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MLS Sporting Kansas City

Sporting Earns Crucial Win Over Houston

September 24, 2023 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Sporting Kansas City News Release


Johnny Russell and Willy Agada scored during a wild first half as 10-man Sporting Kansas City (10-13-8, 38 points) earned a crucial 2-1 home win over Houston Dynamo FC (12-11-7, 43 points) on Saturday night at Children's Mercy Park.

Russell fired Sporting ahead early before receiving a straight red card in the 39th minute, reducing the hosts to 10 men for the remainder of a hotly contested battle between Western Conference rivals. Despite the numerical disadvantage, Sporting went ahead 2-0 on a timely Agada strike in first-half added time. Houston would grab a goal back on the cusp of intermission through Teenage Hadebe, but Sporting's spirited resolve was enough to secure three precious points in the club's late-season playoff push.

Saturday's result-which gave goalkeeper Tim Melia his 100th career win for Kansas City in MLS competitions-leaves 10th-place Sporting one point out of the ninth and final playoff spot in the West with three regular season matches remaining. Manager Peter Vermes' side will now prepare for an all-important rivalry rubber match against Western Conference leaders St. Louis City SC (16-10-5, 53 points) next Saturday at Citypark in St. Louis, Missouri. The contest will kick off at 7:30 p.m. CT with free streaming on Apple TV.

Vermes made three changes to Sporting's starting lineup from a home loss to Nashville SC just 72 hours earlier. Designated Player Gadi Kinda and winger Khiry Shelton earned their first starts since Leagues Cup, replacing Remi Walter and Daniel Salloi, respectively, while Agada logged his first start since undergoing surgery in April to repair a stress fracture in his left tibia. Agada relieved star forward Alan Pulido, who missed out with a quad contusion suffered on Wednesday.

Utter madness characterized a first half that featured three goals, a controversial red card, two video reviews, three woodwork peltings and a dozen minutes of stoppage time. The upstart hosts seized early attacking initiative and won a penalty kick inside the first five minutes, paving the way for Russell to bag the go-ahead goal. Left back Logan Ndenbe's searching cross from the left wing was met on the opposite side of the boxy by Erik Thommy, whose sweetly struck volley deflected off the arm of Houston defender Brad Smith and required a save from goalkeeper Steve Clark.

Referee Chris Penso did not initially reward Sporting with a penalty, but VAR intervened and Penso promptly pointed to the spot. Russell delivered from there, sending Clark the wrong way by slotting low into the right corner for his fifth goal of the campaign. The heralded Sporting captain, who has eight career goals against Houston in all competitions, has become the fourth MLS player to bag five goals in every regular season since 2018.

Hungry for more, Sporting remained on the hunt and almost doubled their lead in the 16th minute when Shelton's clever cutback near the endline was hammered over the bar by Agada. Shortly thereafter, Thommy saw another splendid volley attempt go begging as the German's 25-yard wurlitzer pinged off the left post.

Houston went worryingly close two minutes later on the opposite end of the pitch. Midfielder Luis Caicedo was afforded space at the top of the box and unleashed a 22-yard screamer that smacked off goalkeeper Tim Melia's left-hand post and skipped out of play. Sporting then had the crossbar to thank in the 25th minute as Nelson Quinones' attempted cross from the right flank carried goalward, dipped over Melia and struck the woodwork.

Melia stayed busy and produced a smart save at the 30-minute mark, palming away a shot from Houston right back Franco Escobar. Sporting's veteran gloveman did equally well to keep out a low drive from Hector Herrera in the first minute of first-half added time, shortly before the Mexican international dragged a right-footed shot inches wide at the top of the box.

A disputable red card brandished to Russell flipped the game on its head. The Sporting captain was unpunished during the run of play for a sliding challenge on Quinones near the midfield sideline, but VAR summoned Penso to take a second look at the tackle. The referee then gave Russell his marching orders, much to the chagrin of the boisterous Children's Mercy Park faithful.

Unphased by Penso's decision, Sporting went on the attack as Shelton settled a long ball over the top and forced an impressive save from Clark. Shelton was involved again in the sixth minute of first-half stoppage time when Agada gave his team a 2-0 cushion, swinging a low cross into the mixer for Thommy. Although the midfielder's first-time effort was blocked, the ball bounced fortuitously to the feet of Agada, the Nigerian striker who coolly slotted home for his ninth goal in as many career starts at Children's Mercy Park.

As if the first half had not provided enough flashbulb moments, Houston cut the score to 2-1 in the ninth minute of added time. Amidst a chaotic scramble on the edge of the six-yard area, Ethan Bartlow cushioned the ball to fellow center back Hadebe, whose ruthless finish caromed off the crossbar and into the net for his first goal of the campaign.

Though the second stanza was not as frantic as the first, it lacked no intensity. Sporting continued to ask questions of the Dynamo defense and almost restored their two-goal lead in the 51st minute. Right back Jake Davis, making his 20th straight start in all competitions, galloped forward and played a clever ball into the path of Thommy, whose low strike fizzed across Clark and inches wide of the far post.

Melia was called into action twice near the hour mark, dropping low to swallow a seething 35-yard free kick from Herrera and smothering a near-post effort from substitute Corey Baird.

Salloi had started in each of Sporting's first 30 MLS matches of the season prior to Saturday but reversed his role this time around. The second-half sub nearly set up his team's third goal in the 73rd minute, firing off a low cross that center back Dany Rosero nearly steered home after Houston had failed to clear Thommy's corner kick. Not long later, Salloi received a teasing cross from Ndenbe, swiveled at the penalty spot and unfurled a daisy-cutter that missed by the slimmest of margins.

Houston's final roll of the dice could have resulted in a 94th-minute equalizer if not for Melia's heroic, season-saving stop to deny Baird. The Dynamo broke quickly into Sporting's attacking third and Ivan Franco slipped a pinpoint cross in behind for the on-running Baird, but Melia stuck out a foot to repel the first-time strike and preserve Sporting's 2-1 lead to the final whistle.

With three huge points in the bag, Sporting is now 8-0-2 in games following losses across all competitions since April. The team is also is 4-0-2 in its last six regular season meetings against Houston since 2021 and 9-3-3 in its last 15 against the Dynamo since 2018.

QUOTES

Sporting Kansas City Manager Peter Vermes

On the team's response from Wednesday...

It was even harder than I was expecting obviously with the red card, which I saw what everybody else saw up on the monitor. I haven't seen it going backwards, so I wouldn't want to comment too deeply on it other than I think it's probably taken out of the context of it. If you block the ball and then your foot follows through a little bit, but you're not really over the top, I'm sorry, but those things don't get called like that. It's unfortunate, but I give credit to the guys for incredible fight, effort, concentration. I told them at halftime, 'I can tell you two things. I said, one is you're not going to die. You have to give everything you have physically and you also have to give everything from a mental perspective, because what happens is you can lose concentration and not run back to the play. It's part physical, part mental. You don't want to but you have to fight through it. I promise you, you're not going to die by the end of the game - just run, run, run, run.' For the most part, everybody did that exceptionally well.

On Tim Melia's save in stoppage time...

The bottom line is that's what he has to do. It's his job. He's there to protect the goal. It's great. He does a good job of it. He was solid. He did a great job when he got hit. He's brave there, which he has to be. You need to be that. That's what you do. And he is. He was good. He managed the game very well tonight as well. It's incredible to me - the 12 minutes, even the five minutes and then even more time added on - it's incredible how we are consistently disrespected as an organization when it comes to those types of things. Because we will be up in games all the time and we are a team that goes into other teams' places and plays. We don't sit back and just bunker in and all those other things. And we're always being pushed to play, play, play, play. Teams go up on us, they can slow the game down and the guys just do whatever they want and there's no yellow cards, there's nothing. I'm incredibly frustrated with that aspect. It's truly unfair but I'll tell you this. The great thing is, from my perspective, is that tonight we played against everybody and we won.

On the team's ability to score while down to 10 men...

I'll say it simply. I think it's because we have a way of playing. We want to play. We play. We build out of the back. We try to create high-scoring or high-quality chances all the time through the way that we play. And it doesn't change even when we're in that situation. Sure, we have got to manage the game a little differently from an energy perspective. We're not going to build out as much more down a man. But you saw there was some great counterattacks that we created. On the one that Daniel (Salloi) turns, I think that's in the back of the net. I can't imagine how much that missed. But those are all excellent opportunities that we created. And I'll say again, concentration wise, we were at a very, very high level today.

On closing out the game...

We talked about it at halftime. I thought that Khiry (Shelton) defensively was tremendous. I think he was fantastic. They like to get down the left side of the pitch. That's what they like to do. He did a really good job. Jake (Davis) did as well, but Jake needed that help to stay inside to make sure that we had extra numbers. We were almost like five guys at the back with Khiry being wide and I thought that helped us immensely. I thought Dany Rosero was an absolute monster in the air today inside the box and we needed that fight. We needed somebody to step up and just own the air and he was that guy.

On his yellow card...

I can expand on it because I was told about 10 minutes into the game that I have too much emotion in the game. Now, I've never been told that by anybody in my life. And I'm here to tell you that I will continue with the kind of emotion that I have. This is what I do. I have passion for what I do and I will not change that. To be told that is absolutely ridiculous. That's what sports are. If those guys can't figure that out, they're in the wrong business, because I know what business I'm in. I'm in the right business. I have passion for what I do. I love what I do. I am not disrespectful. I don't call anybody names or anything like that. Do I yell? Abso-darn-lutely. I do. And I will continue that. And the majority of the time I'm yelling at my team. I'm yelling at my players. I'm trying to push them as much as I can within the confines of the game. I don't talk to players on other teams. I don't talk to staffs. I don't do that. I may talk to a staff member, but if I'm talking to them and I engage, it's because we get along and we're having a little bit of a fun on the sideline. I have no idea why I got it, but I bet you it's because I had too much emotion. And by the way, that doesn't exist in the seven cautionable offenses.

On the play of Willy Agada...

I think he probably could have gone 60 (minutes), maybe even a little bit more but the problem was that he was going to come out, and I felt that I had to stretch the team in a different way. So I didn't want to lose a (substitution) moment and that's why I did it at halftime. Obviously his ability to stay on the field was also affected by the red card because we had to make a change and then I think that the changes that we made were good. I was going to bring (Graham) Zusi on for Khiry late. The problem was that Khiry was really important for set pieces and obviously it's good that he stayed to the very end. That was the most important thing for us at the end.

On the team's mentality...

Obviously we had to have a very good response from Wednesday. As I said, I thought that we were a little flat in that game. I thought that Nashville was very good. They defended really well. We didn't really create any chances through the run of play. They didn't either. They just capitalized on three set pieces. Tonight, I thought we had a different vibe. We came out flying. We were very good. We were very good on the ball. The game was at times a little bit open and we were running with the game. I thought that we were defending well. We got our goal. I thought we could actually have had a few more. We were close, especially in the first half. And then, obviously, the red card changes everything. But from that perspective, I thought the guys stayed focused and concentrated. It's one of those things where you know now what your job is. You have to defend the last, whatever it is, 45-50 minutes of the game. Being a man down, you have to defend, but you also have to really keep your concentration because that's where the game can go awry.

On two road matches coming up...

I like the fact that we don't have a midweek game because we need a little bit of a rest. We need to get ourselves in some training as well and just build up for our next upcoming match.

Sporting Kansas City forward Willy Agada

On the group's effort...

I'm so proud of my boys. We really worked hard, even though we had some issues with the red card. You can see, we put in the work and stayed focused and then we get the three points, which is important for the team. I'm very proud of my boys.

On how the red card impacted the game...

We have our game plan set already. The red card messed it up. Then at the end of the day, it's just all about hard work. So we stayed focused and even though with a man down it's a little bit difficult. They tried to use some long balls and stuff, but the boys stay focused. We are so happy to get the three points, which is important to us.

On his goal...

I'm happy I scored, but at the end of the day, it's just the team. We put in the work. You can see, it's also after the red card that the goal came. I'm just there always to finish. I'm just waiting for this moment always. It's all about staying focused, as usual, but I'm so proud of the boys. They make it happen. Let's keep it going. Next week, again, the same thing. We need to keep winning.

On being subbed out earlier due to being a man down...

It's okay. We believe in his process. He's our boss. Whatever he decides, we always work with him. You see what he did worked for us. Big ups to him. Good decision.

Sporting Kansas City captain Johnny Russell

On how the team responded after Wednesday...

We needed a response after Wednesday. I thought everyone could see it was stale. We looked flat. I think you saw the reaction tonight. We got the early goal, which is what we came out to do. Just from a personal point of view, I'm just extremely proud of the way the guys battled through in such a huge game for us. It was a must-win game. The way that they battled and the spirit that they showed, as a player in the team and a captain of the team, I couldn't be more proud of the guys that are surrounding me.

On the red card...

You would have to ask the referee because he's clearly convinced himself it's a red card. I don't think it's a red card, I don't even think it's a foul. The referee sees it. The linesman sees it. He's saying it's good and then he goes to look at it for whatever reason. It's not forceful. It's not malicious. I think you could ask any player in the league and ask them if I'm a malicious player, and the answer is going to be a resounding no. I'm very rarely in trouble. I never try to hurt any opponent. So for him to come over to me and tell me it's malicious and that I've tried to endanger a player, I think is an absolute shambles of a decision to be honest. For me, it's not a red, but we know how these go. They're not going to overturn that because they're just going to back their own. There's just no accountability for that. That could have killed us tonight, a decision like that. The fact that he sees it on the field and he doesn't see a problem. The linesman doesn't see a problem. You could freeze any tackle and make it look bad. If that's a red card, they need to have a serious look at some of the tackles that me and the other guys get hurt on again, because you're going to be handing out four or five a game. For me, not a red card. I've never in my entire career went out to injure a player and for him to come and tell me that it's malicious and I'm endangering players, I think it's an absolute joke to be honest.

On the team's response after the red card...

I'm 100% proud. I obviously watched the rest of the game and it's a lot more nerve wracking when you can't be a part of it. I do not enjoy watching games. Honestly, I can't speak highly enough of the guys. It's so difficult to go down to 10 men, especially against a team like Houston right now who are flying. Every single guy that started that game and every guy that came into that game, they knew what was on the line tonight. I think you could see that, I think everyone appreciates that and none more so than me. They've dug me out of a hole tonight. Although genuinely, I don't think it's a red card. Every single person I've spoken to said that it's not a red card, but the one guy that matters has convinced himself it is. There's nothing I can do about it. I think we will definitely appeal it, because for me, as I've said so many times, it's not red. We'll take it as it comes, but with our backs against the wall after that, genuinely I could not be more proud of every single guy in this locker room.

On if the official told him it was malicious...

He told me it was malicious. How long have I been in this league? Six years? When have you ever seen me try to hit someone? I get it. It can happen one time, you don't mean it. To come over and tell me there's intent? I'm not having that. I have never set out to endanger any opponent I played against. I play the game fair. Was that a hard challenge? Probably. You could see it was hard challenge, but I've got nothing in my mind but blocking a ball and stopping a guy running down the line. So if it's serious foul play and malicious, why does it take him so long to decide? If it's serious foul play, you know in the first seconds that it's serious foul play. He's over there for minutes. So the more he's watched it and slowed it down, he's convinced himself. I know what they're going to do. He's going to come out and they're going to spin it some way to make it look like whatever he sees it as. If he sees it on the field, he's got a clear view. The linesman's got a clear view and both of them don't even see it as a foul. Bit of a joke to me, to be honest.

If he's seen a replay...

I've seen a replay. Again, I don't think it's red. I genuinely don't think it's a red. That's biased because it's me, but I genuinely do not see it as a red card. If that's a red card, they're going to be handing out multiple a game. If that's a red, then they have to go and look back at some of the tackles that have happened this year as well, because there's been way worse tackles than that that have not even accumulated in a yellow or a foul. So I don't know what the issue was tonight, but I'm just hopeful that we appeal it and we win it. That's a consolation. We won tonight, so in the grand scheme of things it doesn't matter tonight. But if I have to miss a game because of that, I can't see how that's fair in any shape or form.

On his penalty kick...

I hit so many in training. I'm confident. I've changed my run up a little bit so maybe that confused them slightly. I'm glad I could get a goal and help kick start. It's the rest of the guys that deserve credit for seeing that game out. I played a little part in it, but the guys who played the game, they're the heroes tonight.

Referee Chris Penso (via MLS Pool Reporter)

What aspects of Johnny Russell's challenge met the criteria for Serious Foul Play, resulting in the red card he received in the 39th minute?

Mr. Russell came over the top of the ball and in doing so his studs made contact with the opponent's leg high on the shin while the leg was planted on the ground. I considered this challenge serious foul play for endangering the safety of his opponent.

Sporting Kansas City is owned by Sporting Club, an entity comprised of local business and community leaders. Sporting prides itself on a commitment and vision to provide high-performance experiences. Sporting Club purchased the team from the Hunt Sports Group in 2006, and under its direction has launched Swope Soccer Village, Children's Mercy Park, Compass Minerals Sporting Fields, Compass Minerals National Performance Center and Central Bank Sporting Complex while investing in the Sporting KC Academy and Sporting Kansas City II for developing local youth into homegrown talent. A charter member of Major League Soccer, Sporting are two-time MLS Cup champions (2000, 2013) and four-time winners of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (2004, 2012, 2015, 2017).

-- SportingKC.com --

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