Sporting KC doomed by late penalty kick in loss to Rapids: ‘Another wasted opportunity’

After a largely unspectacular first half, Sporting KC and the Colorado Rapids provided some fireworks in the second half of their July 4 meeting.

Johnny Russell even gave Sporting the lead on the road, but a set-piece goal and stoppage-time penalty kick for the Rapids sent Sporting to another disappointing result, a 2-1 loss in Colorado.

“When you go away from home and you take leads in games, you have to do better to see it out,” Russell said after the match. “So, same old story. Frustration, anger, another wasted opportunity.”

Sporting (4-13-5) didn’t create many chances early, only registering one shot through the first 30 minutes. But the chances grew as the half went on, and that continued into the second 45 minutes.

In fact, manager Peter Vermes turned to the bench at half. Tim Leibold, Alan Pulido and Daniel Salloi each came on for the second frame, and three minutes in, Sporting took a 1-0 lead.

“We moved the ball pretty well,” Vermes said. “I thought that all of a sudden we started to get to them, especially on the outside down the left.”

Then came the goal.

Leibold whipped in a cross that found Erik Thommy, but Thommy whiffed at his shot. Russell was lurking at the back post, and the ball trickled through for a one-time shot with his right foot into the far side of the goal.

“It wasn’t coming in at great speed, didn’t really feel the need to take an extra touch and maybe lose the opportunity,” Russell said. “It rolled sort of perfect to me, so I just tried to put it back across goal, and it goes in.”

The goal was Russell’s fourth of the season and his fifth goal-scoring contribution in Sporting’s last seven games.

Sporting defended well for the next 20 minutes or so until one of its most significant defensive flaws reared its head again. Colorado leveled the score in the 69th minute on a set piece, a free and uncontested header in the box by Oliver Larraz.

“It’s a free header,” Russell said. “You can’t allow your man to be free. And it costs us.”

It looked like the Rapids might take the lead in the 80th minute when Leibold allowed Rapids midfielder Djordje Mihailovic the time and space to put a cross into the box. It was inch-perfect and found the head of a wide-open Rafael Navarro, but Tim Melia made an excellent save to knock the ball off the line and keep the scoreline 1-1.

But the action wasn’t done.

A quick counterattack from the Rapids after a Sporting turnover led to a one-on-one situation in the penalty area between Darren Yapi and Melia. Melia took down Yapi to give the hosts a penalty kick in second-half stoppage time.

Vermes lamented that the chance even developed in the first place.

“We just have to have a more professional management of the game,” Vermes said. “(We’re) down in their right corner: We over-commit. We should just be in a more defensive posture. Once the ball turned over and we over-committed ... now all of a sudden they’ve got a chance to break out. They should’ve never had the chance to do that.”

Mihailovic converted, and the Rapids hung on for a 2-1 victory.

Sporting returns home for the first of two straight home matches against FC Dallas on Sunday, a 7:30 p.m. kickoff from Children’s Mercy Park.

Daniel Sperry covers soccer for The Star. He can be reached at sperry.danielkc@gmail.com.