Could Wednesday night have been the pivot on which Sporting Kansas City’s season turns?
Down 1-0 at home in stoppage time against Charlotte FC, Sporting KC scored twice in a four-minute span to turn a near-certain defeat into an exhilarating 2-1 win. The improbable victory gave the team three unexpected points to possibly start a playoff push.
Sporting KC will try to build on that dramatic result Saturday night when they face Real Salt Lake in Kansas City, Kan.
Interim coach Kerry Zavagnin wasn’t surprised that his team figured out a way to win a game that looked headed for the dumpster.
“This is a special team that just doesn’t give up,” he said.
Some might debate calling Sporting KC (5-10-4, 19 points) special, seeing as how they enter the weekend six points out of the last playoff spot in the West table. But they have shown life under Zavagnin, who took over for the fired Peter Vermes on March 31, and have posted a 5-5-3 record while averaging nearly two goals per fixture.
Dejan Joveljic has led the offensive surge with 11 goals, tied for third in MLS entering the weekend. He potted the match-winner Wednesday night in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
Meanwhile, Real Salt Lake (5-10-3, 18 points) have been idle since a 2-0 blanking of D.C. United on June 14. Johnny Russell and Zavier Gozo supplied the goals that enabled RSL to earn their first win since April 26.
RSL will try to make it two straight without their top scorer, midfielder Diego Luna, who’s playing for the U.S. men’s national team at the CONCACAF Gold Cup. His eight goals are nearly half of RSL’s production, a reason why he was picked this week as an MLS All-Star for the second straight year.
“It’s always a dream for something like that to happen and be shown as a face of MLS,” Luna said. “I think it’s just because my performances have been top and you earn those rights to be able to be put in those positions.”
RSL won both meetings with Sporting KC last season.
–Field Level Media
