SPORTING KANSAS CITY vs. FC DALLAS
SPORTING PARK, Kansas City, Kan.
May 29, 2015 (WEEK 13, MLS Game #124)
9 p.m. ET (UniMás, UDN, UnivisionDeportes.com)
Long-time rivals now back together in the Western Conference, Sporting Kansas City and FC Dallas meet for the second time this season when they face off on Viernes de Fútbol at Sporting Park. The teams are separated by just three points in the West table. FC Dallas are still at the top of the division, seeing their five-game unbeaten run come to an end when they kicked off their long road swing with a 2-1 loss at Montreal. Sporting extended their current undefeated streak to five games, coming away from Seattle with a scoreless draw last weekend.
REFEREE: David Gantar. AR1 (bench): George Gansner; AR2 (opposite): Danny Thornberry; 4th: Nima Saghafi
Gantar MLS Career: 38 games; FC/gm: 25.7; Y/gm: 2.8; R: 14; pens: 7
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SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: none
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: KC: Roger Espinoza, Kevin Ellis … DAL: Atiba Harris
DISABLED LIST: none
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: KC: Erik Palmer-Brown (US U-20s) … DAL: Kellyn Acosta (US U-20s)
HEAD-TO-HEAD ALL-TIME (50 meetings): Sporting 20 wins (2 shootout), 72 goals …FC Dallas 20 wins (1 shootout), 83 goals … Ties 10
AT KC (25 meetings): Sporting 11 wins (0 shootout), 44 goals … FC Dallas 8 wins (1 shootout), 34 goals … Ties 6
FUTURE MATCH: 9/18: Sporting Kansas City vs. FC Dallas, 6 p.m. CT (UniMas)
- The teams are meeting for the second time this season. Blas Pérez scored on either side of halftime, and Fabián Castillo put the match away with a late goal as FC Dallas claimed a 3-1 win March 14 at Toyota Stadium.
- It was the first win for either team in the all-time series since 2012, when Sporting won 2-1 in Kansas City. The last FCD victory had come in 2011, a 3-2 at Sporting Park on Aug. 27.
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Coaches' records:
Peter Vermes vs. DAL: P9 W3 L4 D2
Oscar Pareja vs. KC: P4 W1 L1 D2
LAST MEETING (MLS) 3/14: DAL 3, KC 1 (Perez 17, 52; Castillo 73 – Espinoza 44)
- FCD opened the scoring in the 17th minute. Blas Pérez started the play, looping a pass that allowed Fabián Castillo to race towards goal. Castillo found Tesho Akindele, who made a nifty turn and found a trailing Pérez on the right side of the box, and he fired the ball past SKC goalkeeper Luis Marín.
- But the visitors pulled level in the 44th minute when Roger Espinoza was given far too much space to drill a into the left side of the net from just outside the area as FCD goalkeeper Chris Seitz could not keep out the shot despite getting a hand to it.
- FC Dallas took the lead in the 52nd minute. A corner kick was deflected back to Michel, whose looping cross found an wide-open Pérez in the penalty area, and he converted from close range as the flag stayed down despite a hint of offside.
- The lead was doubled in in the 73rd minute when a perfectly weighted pass from Michel found Ryan Hollingshead streaking down the right side. Hollingshead then found Castillo, who accelerated past Marín and finished into an empty net.
- Kansas City had another golden opportunity in the 79th minute after Matt Hedges was ruled to have handled the ball in the box. Dom Dwyer took the resulting penalty kick, but Seitz read him perfectly and dove right to keep the ball out.
- FC DALLAS (4-2-3-1): Chris Seitz - Atiba Harris, Zach Loyd, Matt Hedges, Moises Hernandez - Victor Ulloa, Michel - Tesho Akindele (Michael Barrios 76), Mauro Diaz (Ryan Hollingshead 69), Fabián Castillo (Kyle Bekker 89) - Blas Pérez.
- SPORTING KANSAS CITY (4-1-2-3): Luis Marín - Amadou Dia, Ike Opara, Kevin Ellis, Marcel de Jong - Benny Feilhaber - Roger Espinoza, Paulo Nagamura - Graham Zusi (Jacob Peterson 88), Dom Dwyer, Krisztian Németh (Bernardo Añor 76).
Related Content:
Sporting KC part ways with Luis Marín for personal reasons
FC Dallas add versatile veteran Rolando Escobar to midfield
CHECK OUT THE INJURY REPORT HEADING INTO THE MATCH
CHECK OUT THE DISCIPLINARY REPORT HEADING INTO THE MATCH
