While it will not be reflected in the MLS standings, Sporting Kansas City’s win over USL Championship side Union Omaha in the U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday could not have come at a better time.
Sporting Kansas City’s victory came after an 0-3-2 downturn in MLS play going back to the start of April.
The club returns to MLS action Saturday when it plays host to the Houston Dynamo in a Western Conference match.
Houston (4-4-2, 14 points) also has struggled of late, going 0-2-1 in its past three MLS matches prior to a loss in penalties to USL Championship side Detroit City FC in a U.S. Open Cup match Wednesday. The clubs went to penalty kicks tied 3-3, with Detroit advancing 10-9 in a shootout that was decided on goalkeepers’ attempts.
Houston took a 3-2 lead in the 77th minute, but second-tier Detroit tied it in the 83rd minute to force extra time, which ended scoreless.
“It’s just unacceptable that we don’t see that game out,” Dynamo coach Ben Olsen said. “There were some real naive moments for us. And that can be the difference in the Open Cup.”
Ibrahim Aliyu leads Houston with three MLS goals.
Sporting KC (2-4-5, 11 points) found themselves down 1-0 and facing their own upset threat against Omaha, a team with a history of defeating MLS opponents in the Open Cup.
But Marinos Tzionis scored for SKC three minutes into the second half to tie the match, and Alan Pulido’s 120th-minute goal moved Kansas City into the next round. SKC had lost multiple points in the standings by allowing late-match goals this season.
“To score in the 120th minute just shows the fight within the guys, and I appreciate that,” SKC manager Peter Vermes said. “I told the guys afterward that this is what this tournament is. I’ve been through it a lot of times. It’s always difficult to play these teams because — I don’t mean this in a bad way — this is a huge game for them in a lot of ways.”
Erik Thommy leads SKC with four league goals, while Pulido and William Agada each have three in MLS action.
–Field Level Media
