KANSAS CITY, Kan. — FC Dallas rookie Bobby Warshaw headed home a dramatic stoppage-time goal — his first MLS tally — as FC Dallas came back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Sporting Kansas City 3-2 on the road at Livestrong Sporting Park on Saturday night.
Moments before Warshaw’s game-winner, the visitors had tied it on a Maicon Santos header in the 89th minute.
Kei Kamara opened the scoring for Sporting in the first half and Omar Bravo doubled the advantage in the second half to stake KC out to a 2-0 lead. But FC Dallas captain Daniel Hernandez responded within seconds of Bravo’s goal to give his team a lifeline at 2-1 before the late-game heroics that shocked a sell-out crowd of 20,018.
FCD manager Schellas Hyndman saw his team break a three-game winless streak and move to 46 points, while Kansas City, who remain in second place in the East on 36 points, suffered just their second defeat in 18 games, both coming in the dying seconds at LSP.
The game was rife with action from the opening whistle with both sides playing physical, pressing soccer and exchanging plenty of scoring chances on a warm night in the Midwest.
It was a defensive miscue that led to Kamara’s opener in the 22nd minute as FC Dallas teammates Bruno Guarda and Ugo Ihemelu allowed Kamara in alone on goal. Their failure to clear the ball allowed Kamara to ghost in to pick their pockets and send a low drive just inside the back post. It was his eighth goal of the season and fifth in seven games.
Dallas had two cracks at leveling the score before halftime, but nobody got on the end of Andrew Jacobson’s header across the six-yard box and SKC goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen stretched to stop Graham Zusi’s goal-bound clearance attempt.
In the second half, the pace of the game picked up right where it left off with both teams using their pace and strength to seek to overpower the other.
Forward Teal Bunbury nearly powered home a second for his team, picking up the ball in the midfield, lifting his head up and unleashing a dipping drive from 30 yards that FC Dallas goalkeeper Kevin Hartman could only watch strike the joint between the crossbar and the post.
Sporting heaped on the pressure from there as Zusi bossed the midfield and kept the Dallas back line on their heels. It paid off in the 68th minute when Bunbury bounced a shot directly into the path of Bravo at the back post for a simple finish and a 2-0 lead for the home side.
That advantage lasted mere seconds, however, as the visitors cashed in from a dead ball in the 70th minute. Hernandez served the ball into the area and the ball squirted through the pack and inside the back post to narrow Kansas City’s lead 2-1.
Sporting KC manager Peter Vermes had another headache to deal with five minutes later when Bunbury shoved FCD’s Jair Benítez, collecting his second yellow of the match and receiving his marching orders from referee Chris Penso.
Despite being down a man, Kansas City managed a few more scattered chances before Brek Shea and Santos combined for the equalizer in the 89th minute. Shea found space on the left flank and curled in a cross that found the former Toronto FC hitman, who buried his header in the side netting.
Disappointment turned to despair for Kansas City just a few ticks of the clock later as Shea got free again on the left side and found Warshaw, who came off the bench and scored the game-winning header that silenced the crowd.
Sporting Kansas City are back in action on Sept. 5 at home against the LA Galaxy while Dallas make a swing through Seattle on Aug. 30 for a date with the Sounders in the US Open Cup semifinals before traveling to face New England in league play five days later.
Scoring Summary:
KC -- Kei Kamara 8 (unassisted) 22
KC -- Omar Bravo 7 (Teal Bunbury 3) 68
DAL -- Daniel Hernandez 2 (unassisted) 70
DAL -- Maicon Santos 8 (Brek Shea 2) 89
DAL -- Bobby Warshaw 1 (Brek Shea 3) 91+
Misconduct Summary:
KC -- Teal Bunbury (caution; Reckless Foul) 16
KC -- Chance Myers (caution; Persistent Infringement) 36
DAL -- Jair Benitez (caution; Dissent) 36
DAL -- Brek Shea (caution; Reckless Foul) 51
KC -- Teal Bunbury (caution; Reckless Foul) 76
KC -- Teal Bunbury (ejection; Second Caution) 76
DAL -- Ugo Ihemelu (caution; Tactical Foul) 81
DAL -- Daniel Hernandez (caution; Tactical Foul) 90
Lineups:
FC Dallas -- Kevin Hartman, Andrew Jacobson, Jeremy Hall, Ugo Ihemelu, Jair Benitez (Ruben Luna 79), Marvin Chavez (Bobby Warshaw 68), Bruno Guarda (Jackson 61), Ricardo Villar, Daniel Hernandez, Brek Shea, Maicon Santos.
Substitutes Not Used: Jack Stewart, Victor Ulloa, Andrew Wiedeman, Chris Seitz.
Sporting KC -- Jimmy Nielsen, Chance Myers, Matt Besler, Julio Cesar, Seth Sinovic (Michael Harrington 89), Kei Kamara, Roger Espinoza, Omar Bravo (Aurelien Collin 71), Graham Zusi, C.J. Sapong, Teal Bunbury.
Substitutes Not Used: Korede Aiyegbusi, Davy Arnaud, Birahim Diop, Soony Saad, Eric Kronberg.
Referee: Chris Penso
Referee's Assistants: Paul Scott; Bill Dittmar
4th Official: Edvin Jurisevic
Attendance: 20,018
Time of Game: 2:11
Weather: Sunny and 88 degrees
