Agada scores again as Sporting St. Louis draws 1-1

By Sam Kovzan – SportingKC.com

Willy Agada scored his fifth goal in five games as Sporting Kansas City (6-14-6, 24 points) came from behind to draw 1-1 with St. Louis City SC (4-10-11, 23 points) in a fierce match on Saturday at Children’s Mercy Park.

Nokkvi Thorisson fired the visitors ahead just before half-time, scoring minutes after he could have been sent off for a rash foul, but Sporting’s dominance paid off with Agada’s 73rd-minute equaliser from an assist by substitute Alan Pulido. The result ended Sporting’s run of 19 consecutive games without a draw in all competitions, the most recent of which was a 3-3 draw between the state rivals on April 20 at the same stadium.

Sporting’s regular season campaign will now be paused for five weeks as they focus on the 2024 Leagues Cup. Manager Peter Vermes’ men open their tournament campaign next Sunday, July 28, by hosting Chicago Fire FC in the West Region Group 4 opener. Kick-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. CT with tickets available at SeatGeek.com and live coverage on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV.

With his team ending a grueling seven-game losing streak in 22 days, Vermes made four changes to his starting lineup following Wednesday’s 2-1 loss to Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Wingers Tim Leibold and Khiry Shelton joined the defense, Erik Thommy moved to attacking midfield and captain Johnny Russell returned to the right wing.

St. Louis were outclassed for extended periods on Saturday, but had their first fleeting chance within five minutes, when Akil Watts slid past two tacklers and fired a 20-yard shot just wide of the left post. Leibold then came agonizingly close at the other end in the ninth minute, curling a long-range shot with his weaker right foot that St. Louis goalkeeper Roman Burki brilliantly saved to hit the crossbar.

Burki saved all five of his shots in the first half and was called into action again in the 19th minute, saving Robert Castellanos’ bouncing header from a Russell free kick. With the half hour gone, Sporting winger Daniel Salloi picked up a clever pass from Leibold in the penalty area, broke through a couple of St. Louis defenders and fired a shot from a tricky angle that Burki deflected over the woodwork.

Thorisson was fortunate not to be sent off in the 36th minute. The St. Louis forward had been booked for a cautionable foul minutes earlier, but he caught Sporting midfielder Nemanja Radoja with a foul that went unpunished by referee Rubiel Vazquez, much to the dismay of the crowd at Children’s Mercy Park. Thorisson would put his team ahead in the 42nd minute, sparking an attack featuring Watts and John Klein by cutting centrally and firing a shot into the right corner from the penalty spot. The decisive goal came shortly after Radoja was stopped by Burki in a breathtaking sequence that began with Thommy’s free kick inside the penalty area.

The second half was played amid persistent rain and was completely controlled by the hosts. Agada had a good chance to level the scores in the 59th minute, connecting with Salloi’s low, driven cross from the right, but he was unable to get his backheel effort on target. Thommy then threatened with two deflected shots in the space of five minutes, the first on a counterattack and the second a venomous free-kick, but both bounced inches wide.

Salloi fired high from the edge of the penalty area in the 68th minute and three minutes later St. Louis playmaker Eduard Lowen hit the woodwork with a descending free kick.

Sporting found their deserved equaliser with 17 minutes remaining. Shortly after Russell came on, Pulido made his mark on the game by finding a spot to cross from the left side of the box and clipping a delicious ball towards the far post for Agada to head home. Agada has scored a team-best 10 goals in all competitions this season, including nine in the regular season, and now has a remarkable 17 goals in 17 regular season starts at home to Children’s Mercy Park since joining the club in the summer of 2022. With his assist in the game, Pulido has seven goalscoring contributions – three goals and four assists – in seven career appearances against St. Louis.

Sporting dictated the terms in the final moments of the match, but neither side could create a clear-cut scoring opportunity before Vazquez blew the final whistle. Sporting are now 3-2-2 in seven all-time meetings against their nearest rivals, with the teams meeting again on September 28 at CityPark in St. Louis.

MLS Regular Season 2024 | Match 26
Children’s Mercy Park | Kansas City, Kansas
Attendance: 19,876
Weather: 73 degrees and cloudy

Sporting Kansas City 1-1 St. Louis City SC

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′

Match statistics

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