March 26, 2022 – Major League Soccer (MLS) – Sporting Kansas City News Release
Johnny Russell’s late strike lifted Sporting Kansas City (2-3-0, 6 points) to a well-earned 1-0 victory over previously unbeaten rivals Real Salt Lake (3-1-1, 10 points) on Saturday night at sold-out Children’s Mercy Park.
A tightly contested game was decided in the 81st minute as Russell marked his return from injury with a crucial match-winner that snapped Sporting’s three-game losing streak in the head-to-head series and avenged last year’s playoff loss to RSL. The result also gave goalkeeper Tim Melia his second straight 1-0 win on home soil as Sporting took sole possession of second place in MLS history with 341 regular season victories all-time.
Sporting Manager Peter Vermes fielded a lineup that featured two changes from last weekend’s road loss to Chicago Fire FC. Russell recovered from a hamstring issue to join the starting XI alongside fellow winger Daniel Salloi, who missed the Chicago match with a calf problem, while Cam Duke and Kortne Ford moved to the bench. Defender Logan Ndenbe and winger Marinos Tzionis were absent for international duty with Belgium and Cyprus, respectively.
Three Sporting veterans hit major milestones on Saturday as Melia logged his 200th regular season appearance for the club, midfielder Roger Espinoza earned his 300th start for the team in all competitions, and defender Graham Zusi passed Matt Besler atop Kansas City’s all-time chart for minutes played.
Salloi had RSL on their heels within 60 seconds of kickoff, winning possession on the left flank and swiftly beating defender Andrew Brody before dragging a shot marginally wide of the far post. An entertaining start to proceedings then saw the hosts threaten, with Jonathan Menendez running onto a Pablo Ruiz through ball only to see his breakaway strike cast aside by Melia.
The teams exchanged barbs once more on the half-hour mark. Salloi ran out of real estate and had a shot blocked on one end, then Sporting center back Andreu Fontas intervened crucially in the penalty area to prevent Sergio Cordova’s square pass from finding an open Menendez in front of the gaping net. Not long later, Russell uncorked an audacious effort from 25 yards that failed to test RSL goalkeeper Zac MacMath.
Melia delivered heroically with three minutes left in the first half to keep the game goalless. A long free kick into Sporting’s box fell invitingly to RSL center back Erik Holt, whose close-range blast was destined for the right corner, but Melia sprung left at full extension for a finger-tip save that drew deserved applause from supporters.
MacMath conjured a big save of his own in the 49th minute, palming away Espinoza’s long-range curler. Salloi was first to react on the rebound, but his follow-up attempt was blocked behind for a corner kick. Shortly thereafter, an unmarked Menendez wasted a clear-cut chance for RSL by nodding wide off a Jasper Loffelsend cross.
The action intensified over the final half-hour and Salloi was left ruing his luck near the 60-minute mark, sending a low drive wide of the near post into the side netting after finding a pocket of space in the box. A few minutes later, Felipe Hernandez flicked a clever back-heel pass to the feet of an on-running Nikola Vujnovic, whose right-footed belter was denied by MacMath.
Khiry Shelton entered as a 62nd-minute substitute and instantly involved himself in a promising attack, winning a duel at midfield and spreading the ball wide left to Salloi. The Hungarian’s inch-perfect diagonal switch was settled by Russell, who cut past a pair of RSL defenders and fired over the bar from 15 yards.
Russell landed the decisive haymaker in the 81st minute. The Scottish winger received a square pass from Zusi on the edge of the box and although his intitial pass attempt was cut out, he pounced on the loose ball and continued his run into the box before slotting low past MacMath to notch Sporting’s 400th goal in Children’s Mercy Park history.
Sporting would hold on to their 1-0 advantage until referee Joe Dickerson blew his full-time whistle, giving Vermes’ men three crucial points ahead of next Saturday’s trip to Vancouver Whitecaps FC (0-3-1, 1 point). The contest will kick off at 7 p.m. CT with live coverage on 38 The Spot, the Sporting KC app and SportingKC.com.
QUOTES
Sporting Kansas City Manager Peter Vermes
Thoughts on the match…
I think the first half was kind of a stalemate. They had a good chance. We had a good chance. We probably had a little bit more of the ball. Second half, we were a little bit more direct and we picked up second balls. That’s why Johnny got a couple of chances that he actually got before he scored. I’m always interested when a team gets into a situation where we were. We had a lot of injuries and how the reaction of the guys winds up being and how some people panic and then others keep their head. Just because you’re losing doesn’t mean you’re lost. We weren’t lost at all. We were just trying to get a routine and trying to get a bunch of guys still indoctrinated that still need time. And then also, you have got to give a big credit to both Daniel (Salloi) and Johnny. Johnny for playing as long as he did. And then Daniel being able to play the full 90. And then Khiry has fought hard to try to get back. He really has. And so the fact that he’s able to give us 30 minutes at the end of the game was excellent, but all the substitutions came in and gave us an impact and that’s what you hope. That’s what you’re working towards. And some of those guys got experience while those other guys were out. Unfortunately, maybe the results weren’t what they were supposed to be, but they definitely helped in getting this result.
On the play of Ben Sweat…
Ben was good. As I told him after the game, Ben’s a smart player. He’s got a lot of experience in this League. He’s still obviously trying to get back into his routine after his injury. He’s getting there. I wouldn’t say that he’s at top form yet but the fact that he’s getting the experience, getting back on the field, getting the minutes. He had 70 against Chicago and now he gets these minutes here. It’s great. It’s great for him. It’s great for our team. And I always say, it’s when you play and you get your chance, the most important thing is that the team gets the result and that’s the icing on the cake tonight.
On the play of Tim Melia…
He made a really good save in the first half. Tim has been a very steady goalkeeper here for the last number of years. He came in as someone who was, in a lot of people’s eyes, he was way beyond his career. And in the latter parts of his career, he’s made it a career. So credit to him and he works hard. He’s a humble guy and he cares about the team. Those are all reasons why he’s been good and consistently good.
On the play of Nicolas Isimat-Mirin…
The fact that he is capable physically to basically roll out each week and use what he has and what he has is he has an incredible athleticism that goes with very, very high quality in his skill. I didn’t see this that much last year, but for sure this year I’ve seen it from day one, he really cares about the 1v1 match up that he has with the defender he’s playing against and then also about not giving up goals. He cares about it much more than I really knew. It’s not that before he didn’t care. It’s just that I didn’t realize how much he cared. You can see it on the field when he plays.
Sporting Kansas City forward Johnny Russell
On his goal and the feeling to get all three points…
It’s massive. When you play the game, scoring is the best feeling for your team and obviously winning games. So to do both tonight was massive. We got a bit of luck. I tried to play a through ball to Khiry (Shelton) and a little bit of a ricochet straight back to me, but it’s about time we get a goal like that. I feel like a lot of teams get goals like that against us and we always seem to have to carve a team open to get a goal like that. So from that point of view, it was nice. It fell perfectly for me and that’s just nice to get the first goal and get it out of the way and kick on from here. Most importantly, three points. It’s been a bit of a difficult period for us, so to get a win and build on that is massive.
On converting the chance for the game-winning goal…
The one before that where I cut inside, I was going to take it a little bit early on the defender so I blocked the low shot. I tried to bend it around him and just caught it wrong. SoI was frustrated with myself with that. That should be a goal for me 10 times out of 10, so frustrated with that. But I don’t let it get to me. I know that I’m going to get more chances. The team are going to either find me or I’ll find them and there will be more chances in the game and it’s just about keeping your head when it comes again. And like I said, it fell perfectly for me. I just managed to send the goalkeeper the wrong way. Good finish and great three points. So all in all, delighted.
On his return from injury…
I had a little problem in my left hamstring that’s been going on for a while and then I don’t know if I’ve been overcompensating in the way that I’ve been training and running, but I got more of a problem in my right one in the Colorado game. I had to take a bit of time out and make sure everything was okay. I’m still not 100% yet; building towards it though. It’s just good to be back out there helping the team. That’s the most frustrating part, especially like I said, we’ve been struggling a little bit recently. Not the start that we would like. So especially for me, being out and not being able to help the guys is the worst part. So you just push yourself through it a little bit. A lot of guys are dealing with stuff right now so we just have to come together as a team, get around each other, push each other through it, and that’s it. The team comes first at the end of the day. So whatever’s best for them, that’s what we do.
On the team’s mentality…
We’ve all been in the sport long enough. We’ve lost games. You’re going to go through tough periods in a season. Ours came early. A difficult start, not the start that we would like. Obviously, we would like to start the season flying and sort of build from there, but it’s not happened like that. We have had a lot of guys out, a lot of new guys coming in as well. So it took a little bit more time than we had hoped but I feel we’re definitely taking steps in the right direction. A couple of difficult road games and losses in recent weeks, but when we come back here the main focus is taking maximum points here. We have to make this place a fortress where, I said it before the game, where teams fear coming in and get back to that. I feel we’re definitely taking strides towards that. Real Salt Lake, they’ve started well up at the top of the table and we’ve just shown tonight that we are more than capable of taking it to any team. I felt we controlled the game, take away probably the last 10 minutes of the first half where we got a little bit scrappy and let them in it. I felt we controlled the game and deserved the victory to be honest.
On his family being in attendance…
It was amazing. I always seem to score goals when they’re here so maybe I’ll bring them out more or the club can fly them out. It’s been a while since they’ve been out here, obviously the pandemic hitting. So it’s been difficult to have people out so definitely making the most of it this year. Mom, dad and two brothers are out here. Hopefully, I get some more family out as well. It’s my daughter’s birthday today as well. She’s five today and she left at halftime so she’s in trouble when I get back. She missed the goal. Playing in front of your family, for me, is the best part about playing professionally. You get to do it in front of them so it’s amazing to have them here.
Sporting Kansas City defender Nicolas Isimat-Mirin
Thoughts on the match…
It’s very nice to get the victory at home. We do that for everybody. Everybody worked very hard to get the result. Of course it’s always nice to have the full group. We still have some injuries so we’re happy to see a lot of guys like Johnny (Russell) and Daniel (Salloi) back here, even Khiry (Shelton) when he comes on. It’s very important. The group is going to help everything for the season. We will get better and better every game.
On back-to-back 1-0 wins at home…
It’s always a bonus to get a clean sheet and to keep the goal at zero. But we have the spirit of being very attacking and everybody should be dangerous on the way to win the game. We start the game for the win, not to keep the score 0-0. The mentality is very offensive and everybody is focused on the defensive part and it’s nice. Everybody follows the rules and gives their best on the field.
On the play of Tim Melia…
As you can see, he’s kind of a legend of the club. He helps every time. The number of saves and what he has done since he’s here is unbelievable. He’s the kind of keeper at the level of Europe. I’ve played with so many keepers and I put this guy on top three of my best goalkeeper. He’s good for leading, he’s good for communication and always a positive spirit. He’s a great guy. It’s a pleasure to play with this guy and the full line too.
2022 MLS Regular Season | Match 5
Children’s Mercy Park | Kansas City, Kansas
Attendance: 19,107
Weather: 54 degrees and sunny
Score 1 2 F
Sporting Kansas City (2-3-0, 6 points) 0 1 1
Real Salt Lake (3-1-1, 10 points)
0 0 0
Sporting Kansas City: Tim Melia; Graham Zusi, Nicolas Isimat-Mirin, Andreu Fontas, Ben Sweat; Remi Walter, Roger Espinoza, Felipe Hernandez (Cam Duke 74′); Johnny Russell (C) (Kortne Ford 85′), Nikola Vujnovic (Khiry Shelton 62′), Daniel Salloi
Subs Not Used: Kendall McIntosh, Kayden Pierre, Kaveh Rad, Robert Voloder, Jake Davis, Ozzie Cisneros
Real Salt Lake: Zac MacMath; Erik Holt (Jaziel Orozco 46′), Jasper Loffelsend (Chris Garcia 88′), Marcelo Silva (C); Andrew Brody, Pablo Ruiz, Scott Caldwell (Everton Luiz 62′), Tate Schmitt; Maikel Chang (Rubio Rubin 79′), Jonathan Menendez (Damir Kreilach 88′), Sergio Cordova
Subs Not Used: Tomas Gomez, Bode Davis
Scoring Summary:
SKC — Johnny Russell 1 (unassisted) 81′
Misconduct Summary:
RSL — Jasper Loffelsend (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 7′
RSL — Andrew Brody (yellow card; delaying a restart) 29′
SKC — Roger Espinoza (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 40′
SKC — Ben Sweat (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 45+1′
SKC — Remi Walter (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 51′
SKC — Cam Duke (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 90+2′
Stat
SKC RSL
Shots 11 9
Shots on Goal 4 2
Saves 2 3
Fouls 14 8
Offsides 2 5
Corner Kicks 4 6
Referee: Joe Dickerson
Assistant Referee: Brian Dunn
Assistant Referee: Cameron Blanchard
Fourth Official: Victor Rivas
VAR: Jorge Gonzalez
AVAR: Johnathan Johnson
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