Sporting Kansas City clashed with New York Red Bull in their final match before the weeks long World Cup break. It was Star Wars night at Sporting Park (may the 23^rd be with you?). Despite Chad Smith’s wishes, the team chose not to wear Darth Vader costumes on the pitch but instead were in their 18^th and Vine kits. The visitors took the pitch in their “Stone” kits.

Rafa Wicky opted for a 4-4-2 formation after two consecutive wins. Stephen Cleveland started in goal with Jayden Reid, Wyatt Meyer, Ian James, and Jake Davis protecting him. The midfield had Calvin Harris and Capita Capemba flanking Zorhan Bassong and Lasse Berg Johnsen. Dejan Joveljic and Taylor Calheira led the attack.

First Half

The night started poorly with a NYRB goal in the 3^rd minute. Sporting couldn’t clear the ball out of their end and New York found a streaking Jorge Ruvalcaba. He juked Ian James and slotted one to the far post past Cleveland.

Sporting nearly got one back in the 8^th minute when Capita Capemba raced down the right flank. The fastest man in Poland undercooked his cross to the back post to Dejan Joveljic but Jayden Reid did well to win back possession. Reid found the head of Taylor Calheira who put a header on frame but lacked the pace to put it past the keeper. Sporting pressured again in the 9^th when Calvin Harris found a sliver of space in the box and fired a low shot toward the bottom left hand corner. His shot was saved but Sporting looked eager to fight and level the match.

In the 19^th minute, Dejan Joveljic found a half chance in the box but his left-footed shot went wide of the target. Injury forced the first substitution of the match in the 19^th when Cade Cowell came off for Rafael Mosquera. The teams traded possession without much danger over the next dozen minutes before NYRB found a half chance in the 32^nd. A shot in the box was deflected up and over the net for a corner. The ensuing corner found a visiting head but was knocked over for a goal kick.

Sporting had maybe their best opportunity of the half in the 41^st minute. A ball over the top created chaos when Deki pressured NYRB into a turnover. The ball fell to Calheira in the box. He put it on his left foot, but his shot was easily saved. Sporting smelled blood in the water and continued to press for the equalizer. In the 43^rd minute, Jake Davis hit Calvin Hairrs on a diagonal over the top. Before Harris could fire off his shot, the ball got clipped out for a Sporting KC corner.  The ensuing set piece went nowhere and NYRB looked to escape Sporting’s pressure.

The first card of the match came at the very beginning of stoppage time when Taylor Calheira was racing down the field. To his left, Dejan Joveljic was matching the run towards the box when he was pulled down from behind by right back Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty. Jake Davis’ set piece went nowhere but Capita Capemba killed the New York counterattack (did I mention he’s the fastest man in Poland?). For all the pressure Sporting put on New York, it was for naught as the visitors doubled their lead in the 4^th minute of stoppage time. A Wyatt Meyer turnover led to a pass that split the defense. Ian James was caught in a 2 v. 1 situation. As he stepped to defend the man with the ball, it was crossed to an open player in the box. Bassong slid to block the shot, but Ruvalcaba cut back past the sliding midfielder and easily rocketed a shot past Stephen Cleveland putting him on a brace. At the half, New York led Sporting Kansas City 2-0.

Halftime

The halftime score did not really tell the tale of the match. Despite trailing 2-0, Sporting had more possession, more shots, more shots on target, more passes, better passing accuracy, more corners, crosses, and fewer fouls. Sporting maintained large periods of sustained possession and pressure. Each team had a xG of 1.

Second Half

Sporting’s first chance to draw one back came in the 50^th minute with a corner. Bassong played it short to Capita, but the ball was immediately returned off of the training ground play. Bassong’s aerial cross couldn’t find danger and was eventually cleared. The New York counterattack was killed when the long ball over the top hit Bassong while he wasn’t looking.

Sporting nearly struck in the 53^rd minute when Capita found himself in space on the right flank. His cross found Harris wide open at the top of the six-yard box but it went through Harris’ legs and skipped along to safety. Sporting put the ball in the back of the net in the 55^th minute, but Joveljic’s clean-up was flagged for offside. LBJ found the streaking head of Bassong. His header was saved but fell right to the foot of Deki who easily tapped it home. The AR’s flag immediately went up, and the goal was waved off.

Sporting Kansas City made their first substitutions in the 58^th minute. Manu Garcia replaced Zorhan Bassong and Justin Reynolds replaced Jake Davis. Sporting put another shot on target in the 60^th when the ball found Capita in the box. He wasn’t able to put enough power on it to challenge the keeper, and it was easily saved.

Similar to the first half, Sporting continued to maintain possession and apply pressure to the defense. It paid off in the 64^th minute when a clever ball was lightly chipped over the back line by Manu Garcia. It found the foot of Calvin Harris who also chipped it lightly over the keeper. 2-1 New York but the hometown fans found new life and energy.

The team earned another corner in the 68^th minute when Justin Reynolds punted a ball off the NYRB defender. Manu stood over the ball and delivered an outswinger that was claimed by keeper, Ethan Horvath. Sporting earned their first yellow of the night when Lasse Berg Johnsen was judged to have chopped down Mosquera. The Norwegian protested loudly – complete with an exaggerated diving motion – as did the stadium.

New York made a double substitution in the 73^rd minute. Nehuen Benedetti came on for Gustav Berggren and Roald Mitchell replaced the goalscorer, Jorge Ruvalcaba. Sporting responded with a substitution of their own when Stephen Afrifa came in for Taylor Calheira in the 76th minute. The Canadian winger nearly made an immediate impact when he fired a ball at the far post. It had Horvath beat but was just an inch or two wide. New York opted for another change in the 80th when Cameron Harper came on for Omar Valencia. The substitution party continued in the 82nd minute when Shapi Suleymanov came in for Capita Capemba.

New York nearly pushed their lead back out to two goals immediately after the substitution after a bad pass by Wyatt Meyer, but Cameron Harper’s shot went wide. The game became frantic and sloppy as Sporting looked to level and New York attempted to kill it off. Sporting earned a dangerous set piece in the 87th minute when Nehuen Benedetti fouled Stephen Afrifa about 30 yards out from goal. He earned a yellow for his trouble. The set piece was ill conceived. The ball fell to Manu who just blew up Garcia with a two-handed shove. The substitute didn’t get a second yellow, but we all laughed real hard in the press box. The subsequent kick was easily collected by Horvath.

Rafael Wicky got himself a yellow for dissent in the first minute of stoppage time. Three minutes of time were added as Sporting desperately looked for the tying goal. New York mucked up the last three minutes and easily killed off the game. Sporting lost 2-1 and the winning streak ended at 2 games.

Sporting finished the match the way they finished the first half. Better possession and better xG. They statistically dominated and even passed the eye test for most of the match but fell short in the only statistic that truly matters: goals scored. Sporting has a much-needed break in the action to get organized for a summer transfer window and more time to work things out.