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Sporting KC and St. Louis battle to 1-1 draw

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Sporting KC and St. Louis battle to 1-1 draw

Two Midwestern rivals faced off in Kansas City on Saturday night, with both teams picking up a point after a 1-1 draw. MLS native Sporting Kansas City and visiting second-year St. Louis City SC have both struggled this season and are still tied in the standings by just one point.

Sporting KC manager Peter Vermes had to juggle tired bodies after seven consecutive games in 22 days with four wins and two losses. St. Louis interim manager John Hackworth didn’t have as much to deal with, but worked on integrating new players into a team that had won just once since May 11.

Early in the game, both teams tested the game and their opponents. St. Louis forward Nokkvi Thorisson took on both the hero and villain roles in the first half of the game, depending on your point of view. After a set-piece, the Icelandic forward was caught chasing Willy Agada and cynically taken down from behind, earning him a yellow card in the 34th minute. Two minutes later, a clumsy foul saw Thorisson hit Nemanja Radoja with his pimples in the shin and ankle.

Referee Rubiel Vazquez blows the whistle for the violation, but does not give a red or second yellow, as the SKC players had requested.

Photo: Thad Bell

“It’s at least a second yellow card,” Vermes said after the game. “I mean, it’s not even a question.” When asked if the referee had given an explanation after the game, Vermes said Vazquez replied: “He said he would look into it. I said, ‘That’s great, now nobody can do anything about it.’ What is he going to do?”

Pool reporter Daniel Sperry asked two questions about the lack of a call.

Referee Rubiel Vazquez (via MLS pool reporter)

Why was the foul by Nokkvi Thorisson (29) for his foul on Nemanja Radoja (6) in the 36th minute not considered by the referee to be serious foul play?

The violation was committed in a careless manner and, due to the limited force, was not punishable.

Why did the contact not result in a warning, despite the fact that studs were visible and contact was made with an outstretched leg?

The violation was committed in a careless manner, but did not result in a warning due to the negligible contact.

St. Louis took the lead a few minutes later in the 42nd minute when Thorisson capitalized on a quick counterattack after a Sporting KC corner failed to find the ball on net. John Klein passed to Thorisson. The St. Louis striker was everywhere and even fell briefly before firing a shot past Time Melia.

The game went into halftime with St. Louis leading 1-0. Sporting KC went in search of at least an equalizer and finally found it in the 73rd minute. Alan Pulido had come on from the bench in the 64th minute to replace captain Johnny Russell. Sporting KC had good control and ball movement in the minutes leading up to the goal, especially on the left. SKC’s number nine took on the role of playmaker and dropped a pinpoint ball between the visitors’ defenders as Agada broke down the defense. Agada’s close-range header made it 1-1.

Sporting KC were the better team in the latter half of the match, but St. Louis goalkeeper Roman Burki was up to the challenge, with the exception of Agada’s goal.

Score 1 2 F
Sporting Kansas City (6-14-6, 24 points) 0 1 1
St. Louis City SC (4-10-11, 23 points) 1 0 1

Sporty Kansas City: Tim Melia; Khiry Shelton, Robert Castellanos, Robert Voloder, Tim Leibold; Nemanja Radoja, Remi Walter, Erik Thommy (Stephen Afrifa 90+2′); Johnny Russell (center) (Alan Pulido 64′), Willy Agada, Daniel Salloi

Unused subs: Ryan Schewe, Zorhan Bassong, Andreu Fontas, Kayden Pierre, Chris Rindov, Danny Flores, Alenis Vargas

St. Louis City SC: Roman Burki (C); Kyle Hiebert, Tim Parker, Jayden Reid; Tomas Totland (Josh Yaro 70′), Njabulo Blom, Akil Watts (Jake Girdwood-Reich 84′), John Klein (Anthony Markanich 63′); Eduard Lowen, Carlo Teuchert (Hosei Kijima 63′); Nikkvi Thorisson (Cayden Glover 84′)

Unused subs: Ben Lundt, Jake Nerwinski, Michael Wentzel, Indiana Vassilev

Summary of the score:
STL — Nokkvi Thorisson 3 (John Klein 1, Akil Watts 1) 42′
SKC — Willy Agada 9 (Alan Pulido 4) 73′

Summary of misconduct:
STL — Nokkvi Thorisson (yellow card; unsportsmanlike conduct) 34′
STL — Akil Watts (yellow card; unsportsmanlike conduct) 45+1′
SKC — Tim Leibold (yellow card; unsportsmanlike conduct) 83′
SKC — Khiry Shelton (yellow card; unsportsmanlike conduct) 89′
STL — Hosei Kijima (yellow card; unsportsmanlike conduct) 90+4′

Stands SKC STL
Shots 20 10
Shots on target 6 3
Saves 1 5
Errors 13 15
Offside 1 2
Corner kicks 8 3

Referee: Rubiel Vazquez
Assistant Referee: Nick Uranga
Assistant Referee: Jeffrey Greeson
Fourth official: Matthew Corrigan
VAR number: Ricardo Montero
AVAR: TJ Zablocki

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