Sporting Kansas City looked to get their first points of the season on Saturday when they traveled to the nation’s capital to play DC United. Sporting wore their new primary kits while DC was in their traditional black.

The visitors started in their usual 4-3-3 formation with Dejan Joveljic leading the line with Erik Thommy and Shapi Suleymanov flanking him. The midfield was Manu Garcia, Zoran Bassong, and Nemanja Radoja. Jake Davis, Joaquin Fernandez, Dany Rosero, and Logan Ndenbe comprised the backline shielding John Pulskamp. The hosts came out in a 4-2-3-1 with star striker Christian Benteke at the tip of the spear. U-22 midfielder, Gabriel Pirani lined up in the middle of the midfield looking to link up with Benteke.

How we line up for #DCvSKC 👇#SportingKC | @BlueKC pic.twitter.com/6xjQnVbbBn

— Sporting Kansas City (@SportingKC) March 9, 2025

First half

The first ten minutes of the match were relatively even with DC having the better chances via corner kicks and strong attacking play down the left side, repeatedly challenging Jake Davis.

Sporting had a great chance to score in the 11^th minute when Manu Garcia forced a DC turn over in a dangerous spot. He found Shapi wide open on the right, but the Russian winger insisted on cutting in on his left foot and turned the ball over to end the danger. DC immediately worked downfield and earned a dangerous chance of their own before Benteke’s through ball missed Jared Stroud and went out for a Sporting KC goal kick. In the 13^th minute, Joao Peglow slid a gorgeous through ball into the box looking for the foot of Benteke. John Pulskamp was quick off his line and scooped up the ball before Benteke could get a shot off.

The first booking of the night came in the 20^th minute when Dany Rosero wrestled Pirani to the ground on a throw in.  About a minute later, Sporting played a long ball over the top that found a streaking Erik Thommy. He attempted to find Dejan Joveljic on his left but was unable to link up the play for a scoring chance.

DC’s next chance came in the 29^th when Joaquin Fernandez fouled Benteke to give DC a free kick from a very dangerous spot. A clever play off the training ground left DC wide open for a cross in the box which just missed the outstretched foot of some guy whose name I missed. In the 31^st, Boris Enow earned a yellow card for manhandling Garcia in the midfield.

Through the first 32 minutes of the game, Sporting failed to log a single shot. That changed in the 36^th when Dejan Joveljic was on the receiving end of a ball in the box. He had to slide to get to the ball and wasn’t able to do much with it, but Sporting finally had a shot. Joao Peglow earned the next yellow of the game when he chopped Bassong down in the midfield while Sporting was breaking forward in transition.

Not to be outdone, Joaquin Fernandez needlessly fouled Benteke in the 40^th minute and earned his own yellow for delaying a restart, putting both of Sporting KC’s centerbacks in danger. DC had another dangerous look on goal when Benteke rose up over Dany Rosero for a header about seven yards from goal and put it just wide. The first half mercifully came to a close after two minutes of stoppage time with the score level at 0-0.

Halftime Stats

At the break, Sporting held the advantage in possession 55-45. However, DCU held the advantage in shots 5-2 and shots on target 1-0. The hosts led in xG 0.6 to 0.2. Sporting had nearly 100 more passes and a much better passing percentage than DC, but failed to earn a single corner kick, while DC had three corners. DC also led in fouls – committing 11 to Sporting KC’s five.

Second Half

As the 2^nd began, Peter Vermes opted to make one change, replacing Dany Rosero with first round draft pick Jansen Miller. The second half picked up where the first left off, with sloppy play from both sides and DCU earning a number of half chances. In the 51^st, Christian Benteke was inches away from getting on the end of a cross that would have put the hosts up 1-0. Instead, the ball ran past his outstretched foot and was eventually launched over the crossbar. Jansen Miller, the debutant, earned a yellow card in the 52^nd for pulling back Pirani in the midfield.

Almost against the run of play, Sporting struck to take a 1-0 lead and score their first goal from the run of play. Erik Thommy started the play with a long diagonal switch. Jake Davis made a strong run into the box and cut the ball back for Thommy who rocketed it into the back of the net.

Davis to Thommy! 1-0 SKC and it's their first run of play goal of the season. #SportingKC #DCvSKC pic.twitter.com/fioCYc2uO5

— KC Soccer Journal (@KCSoccerJournal) March 9, 2025

Big John Pulskamp came up with a huge save in the 58^th minute when he was able to prevent Benteke from leveling the match on a high xG chance. Shapi then said, “hold my beer,” and chopped down Joao Peglow in the box, giving DC a penalty kick in the 60^th minute. The 2024 Golden Boot winner sent Pulskamp the wrong way and cooly tucked the ball into the net. It was cool to lead for seven minutes.

Shapi with the sloppy challenge. DC converts the subsequent PK. 1-1. #SportingKC #DCvSKC pic.twitter.com/ukEkcXqhxI

— Chad Smith (@PlayFor90) March 9, 2025

DC nearly took the lead the next time they touched the ball with another dangerous chance getting knocked out by some frantic defending from the visitors. Shapi attempted to atone for the penalty kick when he was found in space by Manu Garcia. Shapi raced down the right, cut in on his left foot and fired a shot that clanked off the right post. DC took the lead in the 68^th when Hosei Kijima made a completely unmarked run into the box and headed home a cross giving the hosts a 2-1 lead.

Looks like Thommy lost his runner… 2-1 DC. #SportingKC #DCvSKC pic.twitter.com/cXn2IbYjF1

— Chad Smith (@PlayFor90) March 9, 2025

Midfielder Boris Enow was then substituted for the Finnish defender, Matti Peltola. However, Enow took too long to leave the field, and Peltola was held off the pitch for an extra minute for the undue delay. As DC attempted to kill off the game, Benteke earned himself a yellow in the 76^th minute. Sporting then made a substitution, replacing Shapi with William (upon first reference) Agada. Agada nearly leveled the match in the 79^th when he was on the receiving end of a cross into the box. However, the striker swung and missed.

In the 81^st minute, DCU made a triple substitution. Dominic Badji entered for Benteke, Branden Servania for Joao Peglow, and Lucas MacNaughton entered for Pirani. Somehow John Pulskamp earned a yellow card for lightly knocking the ball out of the hands of Jacob Murrell after a foul on Logan Ndenbe. In the 84^th, Agada took down a ball in the box and fed it back to Thommy, but the winger’s shot went wide left.

In the 88^th minute, Sporting substituted Daniel Salloi on for Erik Thommy, hoping to inject some fresh legs into the attack. DCU stood over the ball for a set piece in a dangerous spot but was unable to make anything happen. As the game entered the final minutes, Sporting looked desperate to get the ball forward, but with no ability to string anything together in the attack. DC’s keeper earned a yellow for time wasting in the 90^th minute, as DC chose to embrace the dark arts. The fourth official announced six minutes of stoppage time after three second half goals and a litany of unnecessary stoppages.

There was a lengthy stoppage during the announced stoppage time when Peltola was blasted in the face with a ball and needed to be evaluated for a concussion. He was off the pitch shortly before racing back on and nearly sniping a ball from Logan Ndenbe. Sporting lobbed in cross after cross looking for Agada or Joveljic to pull the ball down and make magic happen but were unable to find the back of the net. Lucas MacNaughton earned a yellow for cleaning out Joveljic on a contested header which gave Sporting one final chance to level the match on a set piece. The ball made its way through the box and Jansen Miller collided with Kim as the keeper raced to claim the ball leaving both players in a heap.

Miller nearly gets on the end of it but that's a hell of a collision between Miller and Kim. #SportingKC #DCvSKC

— Chad Smith (@chadcsmith.bsky.social) 2025-03-09T02:38:47.551Z

The match ended 2-1 DC United, extending Sporting Kansas City’s losing streak to three games this season and 10 in all competitions. Sporting’s next match is March 15^th at home against Minnesota United.