Sporting KC Rallies for 2-1 Comeback Win in Montreal
July 9, 2022 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Sporting Kansas City News Release
Sporting Kansas City (5-11-4, 19 points ) kicked off a three-game road trip with a hard-fought 2-1 come-from-behind victory against CF Montreal (9-8-2, 29 points) on Saturday at Stade Saputo. After falling behind in the first 15 minutes, Roger Espinoza scored a sensational goal from 45 yards out to spark the rally and Remi Walter struck in the second half to complete the comeback.
The victory is Sporting's first of the season against an Eastern Conference opponent and the team's first regular season win after trailing in more than a year dating back to a 2-1 win over LAFC on June 26, 2021. Sporting Kansas City improves to 8-4-3 - including a 4-2-2 record at Stade Saputo -- in a series with CF Montreal that had been dormant since Sporting's 7-1 win in 2019 and Peter Vermes' squad is now 6-1-2 in the last nine meetings with the Canadian club.
Sporting Kansas City's first chance of the game came in the seventh minute as Montreal goalkeeper Sebastian Breza, on loan from Serie A club Bologna FC, played a pass from the top of the penalty area directly to Johnny Russell. The SKC captain alertly controlled the ball and immediately tried to catch the goalkeeper off his line with an ambitious attempt from distance, however Breza recovered in time to collect the shot for his first save of the night.
Montreal, who lead MLS in first half goals this season, opened the scoring and grabbed a 1-0 advantage in the 13th minute as Romell Quioto headed home a cross from Lassi Lappalainen for his team-leading seventh goal of the year and his fourth in his past three starts at Stade Saputo.
Espinoza, a former teammate of Quioto's on the Honduras Men's National Team, responded for Sporting in spectacular fashion to level the match at 1-1. In the 29th minute, Espinoza won the ball off Quioto inside the center circle at midfield and launched a stunning shot from 45 yards out that looped over the outstretched arm of Breza and inside the post.
Espinoza's equalizer - his 13th MLS goal in 13 seasons - snapped a 247-minute scoreless streak for the club and the goal was ultimately made possible by his tenaciousness on the defensive side of the ball, which was again on full display in the 40th minute with a recovery run to block Matko Miljevic's shot from inside the box. Montreal would threaten again on the cusp of halftime as Mason Toye's header was directed just wide of the near post on another superb service from Lappalainen.
Having clawed back from a 1-0 deficit to level the match - an accomplishment SKC had only achieved once this season prior to Saturday - Sporting stunned the hosts by pulling ahead in the 63rd minute. Khiry Shelton raced onto a throw-in from Kayden Pierre down the right flank and cut the ball back into the penalty area where Walter was first to reach it. The Frenchman, playing in one of the largest French-speaking cities in the world and making his 50th MLS appearance, made no mistake with a left-footed finish past Breza for his third goal of the year, a single-season career high.
Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper Tim Melia - who has started all 20 of the team's MLS matches this season along with Walter - produced four saves in the victory, with a pair of those stops coming in the game's final 30 minutes to preserve the three points. In the 66th minute, Melia kept Sporting in front with a diving save at his near post on a shot from Miljevic. Then in the 85th minute, Melia made his best save of the night by reacting quickly to deny the first-time shot from second-half substitute Joaquin Torres
Sporting Kansas City's three-game road trip - which will take the team through three different time zones in a nine-day span -- continues on Wednesday with an MLS Rivalry Week match-up against Minnesota United FC. Kick off is set for 7 p.m. CT at Allianz Field in St. Paul, Minn., and the match will be nationally televised on ESPN and ESPN Deportes.
QUOTES Sporting Kansas City Manager Peter Vermes
Thoughts on the match...
I think we played really well, outside of their goal. We weren't as good on the ball in the first half. In the second half, we were actually much better with the ball and we opened them up quite a bit. On the goal, Khiry (Shelton) does a great job to keep that ball alive and play a great service across to Remi to come in the backside. That's what you work on and what you hope for. The guys really have to bust it to create an opportunity like that. To be disciplined defensively and not lose ourselves in the game-and to not panic after going down 1-0-that was a positive.
On Roger Espinoza's performance...
For me he was man of the match, by far. The team played really well, but I think Roger brought a different level of intensity into the group. Roger has done this his whole career he has been here. He's always had this "never die" mentality and attitude. He showed that today and stepped up big time. It's what I asked him to do and I knew this was going to be a great opportunity for him this week because of the weather. We're hoping for the same type of weather in Minnesota as well (on Wednesday) in this three-game swing we have away from home. I'm really proud of him because we needed that from him. Man of the match, for sure.
On Roger Espinoza's long-range goal...
Roger has been doing that his whole career. He has incredibly anticipation and timing when an opposing player receives the ball with his back to the field to step in and win it. The second part was his presence of mind to know where the goalkeeper is, and then obviously to be able to pull it off technically is great. The whole play was a 10. Again, we needed that kind of performance from Roger. I know he can do it and we needed it. It was important for the team.
On Remi Walter's late attacking runs into the penalty area...
He's a player who has shown a few times over the last few years that he's good coming in late. He has great speed but also great timing and desire to get there. He's racing one-on-one with the other player and he beats him to the ball, and it's a great finish.
On Sporting's adjustments in the second half...
I don't think the guys lacked motivation. It was a good goal by Montreal. We maybe could have done a bit better, but I thought defensively we were good. Their No. 11 kept coming in between the lines in the first half, and we took that away in the second half big time. That was a big difference in the game.
Sporting Kansas City midfielder Roger Espinoza
On his long-range goal...
Romell Quioto was going back for the ball and I knew their center back had seen me coming but not Quioto. I knew he needed time to hold the ball down. Once I knew that was going to happen, I went all the way and pressured and I took a touch. Once I took a touch I looked up, saw the goalkeeper was out and decided to take the shot. I could see the ball curving a little bit but I'm glad it went in.
On returning to the starting lineup after a few matches on the bench...
I haven't played a lot in the last few games, so that gave me some energy. The weather is great here too, so that gave me some energy. At the same time, that's what Sporting has been about over the years. When we go a goal down, we're still going to fight back. We haven't seen our team do that this year, but we did it today coming from behind. I'm sure that's going to give our guys a lot of confidence.
On Sporting's recent performances...
This year I have been able to watch a lot of games from the outside. Watching our team, a lot of times we have played very well. I've been telling a lot of those younger guys that they are doing well and that it's a matter of time before the results go our way. We've seen a lot of good things in each game. If you're able to watch the game and evaluate the game, you'll see that not everything is bad. Sometimes you don't win, but if you evaluate the game, you see the positives in each game. This was a tough win and definitely a huge win for us here in Montreal.
On staying ready to play...
Once I get the opportunity to play, I'm always going to give 100 percent for the team. I know it's very tough to keep in shape, but I want to play and I'll wait until it's my turn. And that's okay because I'll keep working hard and today I got my opportunity. I made the most out of it and the team did too. It was great for us to take three points.
Sporting Kansas City midfielder Remi Walter
On his match-winning goal...
I'm very happy for my goal tonight because it was my third one (of the season) and we had to win the game. I'm very happy for that and it's good for the team.
On Sporting's victory...
Sometimes it's like that. Sometimes you play well and you don't win the game. Tonight it wasn't our best game, but we won the game and that's it. We are very happy because that's the most important. We want to continue and go on a run in the second half of the season and make it to the playoffs.
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