Sporting Kansas City celebrate its first goal against Los Angeles Galaxy in the first half during a match at Children’s Mercy Park on Saturday, Aug. 6, 2022, in Kansas City.
ecuriel@kcstar.com
When referee Michael Radchuk walked away from the review monitor and awarded a goal to Sporting Kansas City in the 40th minute, Willy Agada wheeled away from the middle of the field in celebration, jumping on Sporting manager Peter Vermes, grabbing him by the neck and planting a kiss on Vermes’ right cheek.
When asked if he had ever been kissed on the cheek before Vermes responded, “I’ve never been strangled.
“When he came running and he wanted to jump and for me catch him,” Vermes said. “I’m a decently fit guy, but I don’t know if I was catching that.”
It was a moment of unbridled joy that characterized Sporting KC’s first-half performance on Saturday evening at Children’s Mercy Park.
Sporting went up 3-0 thanks to a spectacular goal from Erik Thommy, and two more from Willy Agada. The Galaxy cut the lead back to 3-2, but Daniel Salloi’s excellent press capitalized on a poor back pass to give Sporting (6-14-5) a 4-2 win.
Vermes knew Agada’s celebration was coming, as Agada had promised him the day before he was going to run to him. The celebration on Agada’s second goal was a flip while running to the corner, sparing Vermes the second time around.
“The important thing is the three points, you know, team first, always,” Agada said. “It’s more fun when you go back home with a goal, but I’m so excited. Amazing fans I feel the love, and I hope to keep putting a smile on the face of the fans, all of the time like this.”
Vermes lauded their fighting effort, specifically on Agada’s and Daniel Salloi’s goals, calling them opportunistic.
“That’s the thing that I’m proud of,” Vermes said. “It’s a deserving result when you get good concentration in the game.”
Thommy started the party for Sporting just 10 minutes into the match. A passing sequence gave Roger Espinoza a chance to play a perfect pass to Thommy over the top of the Galaxy backline. Thommy took it off his chest and volleyed his shot past the Galaxy’s Jonathon Bond.
Agada’s first goal came when he just barely got a rebound from his initial saved header over the line. The play was reviewed extensively by VAR and the match referee before the goal was awarded.
Minutes later, Graham Zusi’s pass over the top found the run of Salloi, who passed across the face of the goal to Agada to make it 3-0 for Sporting KC.
The first-half romp set the stage and gave Sporting some breathing room. It turned out to be breathing room SKC needed, as the Galaxy got two goals back. But Salloi’s icing on the cake late, gave Sporting KC fans a sigh of relief and putting the match well out of reach.
The victory stopped a five-match home losing streak in MLS play, and helped Sporting KC get out of the lead for the Wooden Spoon. While the season certainly hasn’t been going to plan, Sporting KC players were happy to bring back joy to their supporters.
“It’s a tough year and we understand that fans are angry,” Salloi said. “I can say one thing, we are angrier.
“If it annoys somebody more than the fans, than it’s us players. We’re fighting. We are out there every weekend and we’re putting everything out there. We appreciate everybody who comes out and supports us. We’re trying to not let them down and get more and more wins. This is MLS. Anything can happen. We’re still pushing.”
Sporting KC travels to Austin, Texas, for a game next Saturday against Austin FC, a rematch of last week’s game. This one is set to kick off at 8 p.m. Central Time.
This story was originally published August 6, 2022 10:11 PM.
