In a shocking turn of events, Sporting Kansas City suffered a 2-1 loss to the Portland Timbers in Major League Soccer (MLS) action. The defeat came after Sporting KC gave up a late goal and failed to capitalize on opportunities that would have tied the game. As a result, Sporting KC now finds itself at the bottom of the MLS Western Conference standings with a record of 2-7-5, six points away from a playoff spot.
The deciding goal was scored by Portland midfielder Evander Ferreira in the 79th minute with a header in the box. Despite an offside call being raised during the score, a VAR review overturned the flag and ruled striker Felipe Mora onside. Sporting KC’s best chance to equalize came in the 97th minute when Johnny Russell’s header was saved by Portland goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau.
In the first half, neither team managed to score as Felipe Mora put Portland on board in the 51st minute with his header. Memo Rodriguez equalized for Sporting KC in the 63rd minute with his goal from right outside the box. However, despite having possession for much of the game, Sporting KC struggled to create chances and was outshot by Portland 11-6 with only two shots on target and a xG of just 0.28.
Despite this setback, there were some bright spots for Sporting KC as goalkeeper Tim Melia reached over 25,000 minutes played for SKC across all competitions, while center-back Andreu Fontàs reached over 10,000 regular season minutes played for the club. Next up for Sporting KC is a home match against Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., so fans can tune in to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV to catch all
