10 Man Sporting KC Lose at Home to the Houston Dynamo

Sporting Kansas City returned to KC with the hopes of rebounding from their tough 4-0 road loss last weekend to LAFC. The welcomed fifth place Houston Dynamo to town on a very nice summer evening.

It would be a close game, with both sides looking up for a win, until a double yellow card left Sporting KC with just 10 men.

They rolled out a slightly tweaked lineup that saw the club hand its first start to new signing Moises Mosquera. The center back was flanked by likely the strongest back line this team can put out in Or Blorian (LCB), Jake Davis (RB) and Emir Karic (LB). They only had one other change with Kwaku Agyabeng stepping into the starting lineup in place of Designated Player Manu Garcia. Kwaku played in that more advanced role, we usually see Manu in.

Houston didn’t skimp on DPs, starting all three of theirs as well as returning former DP Hector Herrera.

The game got off to a back and forth start with each team having a few minutes of possession and some half chances. The Dynamo mostly through their corners and Sporting KC with some quick transition play. However, it was a Dynamo transition that saw the games first yellow. Off a steady run of possession, Houston took control of the ball in the box and quickly worked it up the left side of the attack to Guilherme who Lasse Berg Johnsen chopped down for the game’s first yellow in the 11th minute. It would be more critical than anyone would know at that point.

Minutes later, SKC would be in on an attack but a little tug of the jersey of Capita through him off and his cross was gobbled up by Jonathan Bond. The physicality in the game kept up with Mosquera and Davis going in on hard tackles on back-to-back plays that led to referee Sergii Boiko stopping to warn them for physical play. The plan was clear, don’t let Houston even get started on their counterattack. The team would pile up seven fouls in the first 24 minutes of the game.

In the 25th minute, the Dynamo would get their best chance of the early portion of the game. Karic had his tackle deflect back off Lawrence Ennali, who was playing right wingback instead of forward tonight. Ennali would cut the ball back to open space in the box and Herrera hit it clean, but Davis made a massive save off the line!

The Dynamo started to pick up their physicality and climbed up to six fouls (to Sporting’s eight) in the 35th. The tough challenge from behind by Agustin Resch on Dejan Joveljic earned a talking to and a warning for persistent infringement for the next guy to foul Joveljic.

From there, Kansas City completely dominated the ball for the rest of the half and stoppage time. It was some of the best play, that didn’t lead to a goal, from Sporting KC all year. But it was the physicality that would rear its ugly head again. At the end of that possession, when Houston looked to turn the other way, LBJ came into another challenge and missed the ball and cleaned out Artur. After the ref played advantage for a moment, he went back and gave the second yellow and sent Johnsen off. Boiko then immediately blew for halftime. Kansas City would be forced to play with 10 the rest of the game.

The second half started with no changes from either side. Kwaku slid back to where Lasse had been playing and KC were in a 4-4-1. The Dynamo were keeping KC under constant pressure to start the half. They had a few half chances, including a laser of a shot that Stefan Cleveland pushed out for a throw.

The pressure would eventually pay off in the 55th minute. Jack McGlynn collected a ball near the top of the KC 18-yard-box and sent it out wide to Guilherme. He cut back to his right foot and hit a savable shot that Cleveland let get underneath him. 1-0 Houston.

In the 62nd minute there was a confusing sequence where Joveljic got shoved down over the ball. He tried to get up and was shoved down again. Maybe since Boiko said he’d card the next guy who fouled Dejan, he blew the whistle and called the “foul” on Dejan for seemingly trapping the ball. In the confusion, Houston nearly hit on the counter to Ennali, but thankfully he overcooked his cross and the subsequent rebuild of attack bounced out for a goal kick.

It prompted a “ref you suck” chant that started in the Cauldron but built throughout the stadium.

In the 65th minute, Wicky went to his bench for a rare triple sub. Davis, Agyabeng and Mosquera came off for Jayden Reid, Manu Garcia and Wyatt Meyer respectively. Davis had probably been the best player on the pitch, so it was a bit surprising and the tactics changed with it. Sporting KC moved to a back five with Capita playing RWB and Reid at LWB. Karic was the LCB and Meyer was in the middle of the back three with Blorian to his right. Manu took over in the double pivot as a sort of deep playmaker.

Houston also brought on striker Duncan McQuire who was recently acquired from Orlando City during the same sequence.

The change did give KC a run of possession but eventually Cleveland almost gave away the game. He held a ball too long and his pass of deflected out to Capita who fought hard to win a throw and avoid disaster. But disaster would come. Calvin Harris had rotated into the middle of the field and Cleveland played him a safe pass. But Harris tried to play it back and hit it directly to Agustin Bouzat who calmly placed it in the net to put Houston up 2-0. Sporting KC would never recover.

In the 82nd, Wicky went back to his bench and put Shapi Suleymanov on at RWB in place of Capita, who was one yellow card away from a suspension. Shortly after that, Zorhan Bassong was tackled and came up limping. When the ball finally went out of play, Sporting KC made their final sub and replaced Zo with Jacob Bartlett.

In the 86th, Houston picked up their first card of the night on their 11th foul when CB Lucas Halter drug down Dejan as he tried to turn and run on him. The team put together a really nice sequence of passing that led to a through ball to Reid who blasted a shot off the keeper for a corner. Off a second ball on that corner, the ball was played wide to Shapi who put it on his left and challenged the keeper who parried it away for the save.

The game would stumble to an end from there. Sporting KC have the next weekend off before hitting the road to face the Colorado Rapids on August 15th.