Sporting Kansas City 1, Atlanta United FC 1 | 2017 MLS Match Recap

Charles Boehm

Sporting Kansas City fans dubbed Jacob Peterson "The Answer" when he wore their club's colors for five seasons, a playful nod to the left-footer's versatility and knack for clutch moments.

He produced the reply that no one among the home faithful at Children's Mercy Park wanted to see on Sunday night, however, popping up to strike a late equalizer for his new team as Atlanta United dug out a last-gasp 1-1 draw in Kansas City, Kansas.

After a scoreless first half, Benny Feilhaber, another impact substitute, netted after a contentious penalty-kick decision that looked to have decided a tense, ruggedly physical match between two sides with real postseason ambitions. But Peterson was the man on the spot in injury time, beating goalkeeper Tim Melia from close range to snatch a somewhat fortuitous road result.

Late goal sweet for ATL's Peterson, bitter for SKC

Goals

59' – SKC – Benny Feilhaber (PK) Watch
90+1' – ATL – Jacob Peterson Watch

Three Things

FEISTY IN THE HEARTLAND
: With a tactical cat-and-mouse game and fierce, full-blooded challenges flying left and right, this match had the feel of an MLS Cup Playoffs game – some

Cagey match. #SKCvATL could easily be the pairing for MLS cup.
— Soccer Rabbi (@soccer_rabbi) August 7, 2017

. To complete the tableau, head coaches Peter Vermes and Gerardo "Tata" Martino had a seemingly tense exchange at the final whistle...
August 7, 2017

TOO MERCIFUL AT CM PARK? Sporting still have yet to taste defeat at home and their unbeaten run continues (they haven't lost since late May). But the large expanses of yellow on their line of the MLS results map hint at how many points they've dropped this summer. They're 3-0-6 since that May 27 defeat at Colorado and all those draws may undermine their Supporters' Shield hopes... and maybe even affect their postseason seeding.

BURNED BY AN OLD FLAME: SKC might not have been overly distraught to see Peterson depart for Atlanta via free agency over the winter; while useful, he never played more than 1,500 minutes of league action in his time with the club (compare that number to Dom Dwyer, who topped 2,500 minutes in his last three seasons). But he stung Sporting on Saturday. Peterson, however, abided by an old soccer custom and pointedly refrained from vocal celebrations of his strike.