Sporting KC and St. Louis battle to 1-1 draw

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.

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′

Referee: Rubiel Vazquez
Assistant Referee: Nick Uranga
Assistant Referee: Jeffrey Greeson
Fourth Official: Matthew Corrigan
VAR: Ricardo Montero
AVAR: TJ Zablocki