Sporting Kansas City hold on for draw against Colorado Rapids

Updated: May 17, 2023, 05:14 am

Sporting Kansas City killed the final 12 minutes down a man in a 1-1 draw with the Colorado Rapids on Saturday night at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.

The draw allowed Sporting to maintain its lead in the Western Conference.

The low-scoring contest was surprising as Sporting KC came into Saturday's action with the most goals scored in MLS. Colorado still has not had a clean sheet in 2020.

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After a scoreless first half, Cole Bassett fired a wide-open shot past Sporting keeper Tim Melia in the 57th minute to give the Rapids a 1-0 lead. It was just the second shot on goal the entire night for the Rapids, but a perfect pass from former SKC midfielder Diego Rubio made it an easy chance for Bassett.

Gianluca Busio leveled the match in the 67th minute. Following SKC's seventh corner kick (compared to zero for Colorado), the ball caromed out to Busio, who was well beyond the 18-yard box. He right-footed it through the defense and past Colorado keeper William Yarbrough.

Busio became the ninth different Sporting KC player to score so far in 2020. Kansas City kept the attack on the front foot, taking it to the Colorado defense.

Gianluca Busio
Gianluca Busio
Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

The momentum changed in the 78th minute when Sporting's Gadi Kinda was disqualified with his second yellow card of the match. He stepped on the foot of Rubio near midfield, and SKC had to defend short-handed the rest of the match.

Colorado managed a 63 to 37 percent possession advantage. They finished with 10 shots (four on goal). Sporting had 13 shots (three on goal).

Sporting still has not won at Dick's Sporting Goods Park since 2014. The club failed in its attempt to win three straight road contests for the first time since 2014.

The first half was a study in contrasting styles. Colorado controlled possession, heading into halftime with a 65-35 advantage. But SKC had the better of the scoring chances. Sporting had seven shots (only one on goal), compared with just one shot (none on goal) for the Rapids.