Sporting Kansas City and Real Salt Lake played to an exciting 2-2 draw in a thrilling match at Children’s Mercy Park. Daniel Salloi and Johnny Russell scored first-half goals to give Sporting a two-goal lead at halftime. However, Real Salt Lake fought back in the second half with goals from Danny Musovski and Anderson Julio to level the score.
Goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh had an impressive performance for Sporting, making a career-high seven saves to keep his team in the game. The draw extends Real Salt Lake’s unbeaten streak on the road to eight MLS matches and 11 games in all competitions.
Sporting Kansas City will now turn their attention to their final MLS fixture before the Leagues Cup, as they face Austin FC on Saturday. The match will take place at Q2 Stadium and will be broadcasted live on Apple TV.
In this match, Sporting made one change to their starting lineup, with Nemanja Radoja returning to the team in place of Gadi Kinda. Veteran center back Andreu Fontas also reached a milestone, earning his 100th career start in MLS competitions.
The game came alive midway through the first half, with both teams creating chances in the scorching conditions. Sporting took the lead in the 30th minute when Johnny Russell provided an excellent cross for Daniel Salloi to finish expertly. Six minutes later, Russell turned from provider to scorer, cutting past a defender and scoring with his right foot.
Real Salt Lake improved in the second half, making three halftime substitutions that had an immediate impact. Danny Musovski pulled a goal back for RSL early in the second half, assisted by Cristian Arango. McIntosh made several crucial saves to deny RSL further goals.
Controversy struck in the 72nd minute when Anderson Julio dispossessed Dany Rosero aggressively and went on to score, despite protests from Sporting fans for a foul. The referee saw no infringement, and the goal stood, leveling the score at 2-2.
Both teams had chances to find a winner, with McIntosh producing a stunning save to deny Julio in the final minute of normal time. Sporting also came close to scoring, but Gavin Beavers made a remarkable save to keep out Gadi Kinda’s header.
Los Angeles FC secured a 3-0 victory over St. Louis City on Wednesday night, with goals from Carlos Vela and Stipe Biuk coming 10 minutes apart in the second half.
LAFC has a perfect record against expansion teams, winning all seven matches by a combined score of 16-1. Defending champions have a strong track record against expansion teams since 2010, with a record of 10 wins, 4 draws, and 5 losses.
The first goal came in the 72nd minute when Carlos Vela scored his seventh goal of the season, assisted by José Cifuentes. Stipe Biuk added to the lead with his second goal of the campaign, assisted by Dénis Bouanga. In stoppage time, Cifuentes scored his first goal of the season with an assist from 19-year-old Nathan Ordaz to complete the scoring. Ordaz, in his rookie season, also has a goal and two assists to his name.
LAFC goalkeeper John McCarthy made two saves to keep a clean sheet, while St. Louis City’s Roman Bürki did not have a save.
This win was only the second in the last eight home matches for LAFC in all competitions. Prior to that, they had an impressive record of 18 wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses in their previous 22 home games.
St. Louis City, the current leaders in the Western Conference, saw their three-match winning streak come to an end. They are the first expansion club in the post-shootout era (since 2000) to have three winning streaks of three or more matches.
St. Louis City will return home to face Inter Miami on Saturday, while LAFC will travel to play Minnesota United on the same day.
Other MLS final scores from Wednesday, July 12, 2023:
New England 2, Atlanta 1
Cincinnati 2, NY Red Bulls 1
Minnesota 3, Houston 0
Kansas City 2, Salt Lake 2
Philadelphia 2, Nashville 0
Colorado 0, Portland 0 (completion of suspended match from 7/4)
Chicago 3, Montreal 0
LAFC 3, St. Louis 0
San Jose 2, Seattle 0
Vancouver 2, Austin 1
