Sporting KC
Sporting KC and St. Louis battle to 1-1 draw
Two midwest rivals battle to draw in fight to keep playoff hopes alive.
Two midwestern rivals battled it out Saturday night in Kansas City with both teams taking a point after a 1-1 draw. MLS original Sporting Kansas City and the visiting second-year St. Louis City SC have both struggled this season and remain next to each other in the standings with just a point still separating them.
Sporting KC manager Peter Vermes was forced to juggle tired bodies after seven straight games in 22 days with four wins and two defeats coming into this match. St. Louis interim manager John Hackworth did not have as much congestion to deal with but was working to integrate new players into a squad that had only won once since May 11th.
The early part of the match saw both teams feeling out the game and their opposition. St. Louis forward Nokkvi Thorisson stepped into both the hero and villain role in the first half of the match depending on your point of view. After a set piece, the Icelandic attacker was caught trailing Willy Agada and cynically pulled him down from behind, earning a yellow card in the 34th minute. Two minutes later a clumsy challenge saw Thorisson with his studs out, catch Nemanja Radoja on his shin and ankle.
Referee Rubiel Vazquez called the foul but did not give the red or second yellow that SKC players were calling for.
Credit: Thad Bell
“It’s a second yellow card at a minimum,” Vermes stated after the match. “I mean, it’s not even a question.” When asked if the referee provided any explanation after the match, Vermes said that Vazquez responded, “He said he’ll take a look at it. I said, ‘That’s great, now that nobody can do anything about it.’ What’s he going to do?”
The pool reporter Daniel Sperry submitted two questions regarding the non-call.
Referee Rubiel Vazquez (via MLS pool reporter)
In the opinion of the referee, why did the foul called on Nokkvi Thorisson (29) for his challenge on Nemanja Radoja (6) in the 36th minute not rise to the level of serious foul play (SFP)?
The challenge was committed in a careless manner and did not rise to the level of serious foul play, due to the negligible force.
Why did the contact not rise to a cautionable offense despite studs shown and contact made with a straight leg?
The challenge was committed in a careless manner but did not rise to a cautionable offense, due to the negligible contact.
St. Louis took the lead a few minutes later in the 42nd minute when Thorisson was the beneficiary of a quick counterattack after a Sporting KC corner failed to put the ball on net. John Klein passed to Thorisson. The St. Louis forward was all over the place and even fell briefly before firing off a shot past Time Melia.
A lethal counterattack is finished off by Nökkvi Thórisson. ⚡️
📺 #MLSSeasonPass: https://t.co/sKDVyYaO8n pic.twitter.com/sqjjA9Zr89
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) July 21, 2024
The match went to halftime with St. Louis up 1-0. Sporting KC came out looking for at least an equalizer and finally found one in the 73rd minute. Alan Pulido had subbed in off the bench in the 64th minute to replace captain Johnny Russell. Sporting KC had good control and ball movement in the minutes preceding the goal, especially on the left hand side. SKC’s number nine took on the playmaker role and dropped a pinpoint ball in between the visiting defenders as Agada crashed the backline. Agada’s point-blank header leveled the match 1-1.
Willy Agada gets UP to bring @SportingKC level. 💥 pic.twitter.com/ntNefhDz4p
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) July 21, 2024
Sporting KC was the better team in the last half of the match but St. Louis goalkeeper Roman Burki was up to the challenge with the exception of the Agada goal.
| Score | 1 | 2 | F |
| Sporting Kansas City (6-14-6, 24 points) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| St. Louis City SC (4-10-11, 23 points) | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Sporting Kansas City: Tim Melia; Khiry Shelton, Robert Castellanos, Robert Voloder, Tim Leibold; Nemanja Radoja, Remi Walter, Erik Thommy (Stephen Afrifa 90+2′); Johnny Russell (C) (Alan Pulido 64′), Willy Agada, Daniel Salloi
Subs Not Used: Ryan Schewe, Zorhan Bassong, Andreu Fontas, Kayden Pierre, Chris Rindov, Danny Flores, Alenis Vargas
St. Louis City SC: Roman Burki (C); Kyle Hiebert, Tim Parker, Jayden Reid; Tomas Totland (Josh Yaro 70′), Njabulo Blom, Akil Watts (Jake Girdwood-Reich 84′), John Klein (Anthony Markanich 63′); Eduard Lowen, Cedric Teuchert (Hosei Kijima 63′); Nikkvi Thorisson (Cayden Glover 84′)
Subs Not Used: Ben Lundt, Jake Nerwinski, Michael Wentzel, Indiana Vassilev
Scoring Summary:
STL — Nokkvi Thorisson 3 (John Klein 1, Akil Watts 1) 42′
SKC — Willy Agada 9 (Alan Pulido 4) 73′
Misconduct Summary:
STL — Nokkvi Thorisson (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 34′
STL — Akil Watts (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 45+1′
SKC — Tim Leibold (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 83′
SKC — Khiry Shelton (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 89′
STL — Hosei Kijima (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 90+4′
| Stat | SKC | STL |
| Shots | 20 | 10 |
| Shots on Goal | 6 | 3 |
| Saves | 1 | 5 |
| Fouls | 13 | 15 |
| Offsides | 1 | 2 |
| Corner Kicks | 8 | 3 |
Referee: Rubiel Vazquez
Assistant Referee: Nick Uranga
Assistant Referee: Jeffrey Greeson
Fourth Official: Matthew Corrigan
VAR: Ricardo Montero
AVAR: TJ Zablocki
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So here’s a crazy idea that popped into my head overnight, related to the whole “refs reluctant to issue a second yellow card” thing. It’s not going to happen, but…
What if a second yellow resulted in the player being sent off, but the team could sub in a replacement (if they haven’t used up their subs yet)? Only straight red means sent off AND playing down one.
This still makes a second yellow a serious punishment since you lose the player you wanted out there, and yellow card accumulation would still hold. But refs would be more likely to call the second yellow without feeling they’re going to permanently alter the game, and teams would still be punished for the foul with more than just a restart, by losing a given player AND a sub slot.
I really like that idea, personally. And it makes it less likely a team will go into park the bus mode if they’re allowed to sub on someone else, which keeps the game more open and interesting. And frankly, they need to shake up the rules anyway because the enforcement around the misconduct laws is so broken.
And you know it’s broken because players already on a yellow are usually given more leniency when it is supposed to be the opposite. Your solution is more straightforward than the sin bin or orange card stuff I’ve seen too, which would only add more to the refs plate which is the opposite of what I think we need.
Yeah, the more I think about it the more I like it. It maintains the natural flow of the game without adding any real new concept. It’s functionally not all that different from a coach being forced to sub off a player early who’s on a yellow, it’s just that the ref decides that instead. And it makes the distinction between second yellow and true red much clearer, when right now there’s natural pressure on a ref to not alter a match by calling what is, in the moment, only a yellow.
Officiating was shit. But our response to the physical game was worse. Also, this was poorly managed.
Lmao negligible contact. What a crock.
I just don’t understand what has been going on with the game globally. VAR was used correctly in MLS for years. When the corrupt Premier league refs started using VAR to fix matches for betting, the world followed suit. I think sports betting is what controls refs, not the rules of the game.
I’m tired of seeing fouls in the box not called because it awards a pen. Don’t commit the foul. Handball is when it touches a hand, pen. Not really hard if you just call the game correct.
Espinoza getting mauled in the box. Playoff game, no pen. Player blocks a goal with a forearm away from body last year against us, no pen. What a joke.
Send them off if they get the second yellow. Stop holding the cards. It will change play league wide, like issuing a yellow when they delay a dead ball. They were doing that, then stopped. Now you’re seeing players in mls kick the ball away with no card. Be consistent. What kind of league do we want?
Var should be able to intervene on a second yellow, because it’s a send off decision. To me, it’s no different than reviewing a straight red, it’s a send off situation. Especially in a league where Hernandez subs on against Miami, one foul on Messi and he was issued a yellow on a soft foul. Meanwhile Thommy gets hacked down game after game without protection from the refs.