Alejandro Bedoya scored with seconds remaining as the Philadelphia Union drew with host Sporting Kansas City 1-1 Saturday night in the home opener for the Wizards.
Sporting KC (0-0-2, 2 points) led for most of the match before an extra minute of stoppage time was granted and Bedoya fired it past keeper Tim Melia.
The Union (0-0-2, 2 points) were fortunate to escape with a point. They were outshot 12-7 and 7-2 in shots on goal.
The Union picked up their pace in the second half, peppering the Sporting defense with attacks and forcing Melia to make his first save of the night. But each time Sporting responded.
After about 15 minutes of Philadelphia controlling the action, Sporting returned to form. The sides traded attacks for much of the second half, with Philadelphia getting more chances but not producing any goals until late.
In the final 10 minutes, Sporting were content laying back in their end and clearing the ball when the Union attacked.
There were four minutes of stoppage time awarded, but Philadelphia was awarded a corner kick late in the fourth minute. After a scramble in the box, Bedoya left-footed a shot from the center of the box to the top left corner of the goal for the draw.
Sporting dominated the stats sheet in the first half. They appeared to go up 1-0 in the 11th minute, when Alan Pulido fired a shot past Philadelphia keeper Oliver Semmle, but Erik Thommy was ruled offside.
In the 19th minute, Sporting got a goal that counted.
When Jose Martinez’s foot slipped off the top of the ball and left it unattended just outside the box, Remi Walter picked it up and fired it past Semmle for a 1-0 lead.
Even with the lead, Sporting KC stayed on the front foot for the rest of the half. SKC outshot Philadelphia 6-0, including four shots on goal. SKC also finished the half with better than 60 percent of the possession.
–Field Level Media
