Sporting Park | Kansas City, Kan.
Attendance: 18,609 (sell-out)
Weather: 65 degrees and partly cloudy
Video: Match Highlights
<strong>Score</strong> |
<strong>1</strong> |
<strong>2</strong> |
<strong>F</strong> |
Sporting Kansas City (2-1-2) |
1 |
1 |
2 |
Montreal Impact (4-1-0) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Sporting Kansas City: Jimmy Nielsen (c); Seth Sinovic, Matt Besler, Aurelien Collin, Chance Myers; Oriol Rosell (Lawrence Olum 90), Paulo Nagamura, Benny Feilhaber (Peterson Joseph 85); Graham Zusi, Claudio Bieler, C.J. Sapong (Soony Saad 90)
Subs not used: Eric Kronberg, Ike Opara, Mechack Jerome, Bobby Convey
Montreal Impact : Troy Perkins; Jeb Brovsky, Matteo Ferrari, Karl Ouimette, Hassoun Camara; Patrice Bernier, Justin Mapp, Felipe Martins (Andrew Wenger 62), Davy Arnaud (c), Andres Romero (Sanna Nyassi 63); Marco Di Vaio (Blake Smith 79)
Subs not used: Evan Bush, Wandrille Lefevre, Calum Mallace, Collen Warner
Team Stats
<strong>Sporting KC</strong> |
<strong>Montreal Impact</strong> |
|
Shots |
21 |
6 |
Shots (on goal) |
6 |
1 |
Corner Kicks |
6 |
5 |
Fouls |
16 |
11 |
Offsides |
5 |
4 |
Duels Won |
52.9% |
47.1% |
Passing Accuracy |
78.3% |
78.6% |
Possession |
48.8% |
51.2% |
Misconduct Summary:
KC -- Aurelien Collin (caution; dissent) 49
KC -- Seth Sinovic (caution; reckless foul) 53
MTL -- Felipe Martins (caution; reckless foul) 55
Scoring Summary:
KC -- Claudio Bieler 3 (Benny Feilhaber 1) 5
KC -- Graham Zusi 2 (Benny Feilhaber 2) 80
Sporting Kansas City defeated the Montreal Impact 2-0 in front of a sold-out crowd on Saturday at Sporting Park. The victory snapped Montreal's four-game winning streak and extended Sporting Kansas City's shutout streak to 339 minutes, longest in MLS this season.
Claudio Bieler notched his third goal of the season just five minutes into the match and Graham Zusi sealed the victory in the 80th minute with his second goal of the season. Benny Feilhaber provided assists on both goals while goalkeeper
Jimmy Nielsen recorded his League-leading third clean sheet of the season.
Sporting Kansas City set the stage for an exciting match when they went up a goal just five minutes in. Feilhaber slotted the ball to Bieler, who cut to the middle and took an angled, right-footed shot that sailed past Troy Perkins.
Two minutes later, Montreal responded when Andres Romero slipped behind Sporting KC's backline and unleashed a shot that drew goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen off his line to block the attempt despite Romero being ruled offside.
Bieler came close to a second goal in the game's 23rd minute, receiving a ball from Zusi inside the penalty area and striking first time but sending his shot high of frame. The Designated Player continued to threaten in the closing minutes of the first half, taking the ball from Karl Oimette and trying a shot from the top of the box that Perkins was positioned well to block.
Montreal's only shot of the half came in its final minute on a header from Ouimette that was off target.
The second half commenced with the much of the same fervor as Sporting KC looked to hold onto the lead. Chance Myers, in his first game back after a quad strain sidelined him for two weeks, nearly netted his first MLS goal in the 50th minute when he dribbled through Montreal's defense and sent in a low, angled shot that hit side-netting.
Seven minutes later, Seth Sinovic got into the action on the left flank with a darting run at goal and shot low across the goalkeeper, missing the far post by inches.
The Impact had their first shot on goal of the match in the 60th minute when former Sporting Kansas City captain Davy Arnaud headed the ball down to forward Marco Di Vaio, who turned and unleashed a shot right at Nielsen.
The 70th minute saw another noteworthy chance from Bieler. Paulo Nagamura crossed the ball from the right and the Argentinian striker settled it, turned and fired a shot across the goal that skimmed the far post.
Sporting KC doubled their lead in the 80th minute when Feilhaber played the ball to Graham Zusi on the left flank. The U.S. Men's National Team playmaker withstood a challenge from Ouimette and drove deep into Montreal's box and skipped the ball past an outrushing Perkins.
In the dying minutes of the game, Sporting KC looked for a third goal when second-half substitute Soony Saad charged down the field on a counterattack and nudged the ball to Zusi, whose blazing shot was saved by Perkins.
Sporting Kansas City will host Eastern Conference rival D.C. United at 7:30 p.m. CT on Friday, April 5 at Sporting Park. Tickets for the match, presented by H&R Block, are available through Ticketmaster and at Sporting Park Box Offices.
Fast Facts
Click here to view the Fast Facts for the match
Quotes
