Nashville SC came from behind to beat Sporting Kansas City 2-1 at Children's Mercy Park on Saturday night, courtesy of a CJ Sapong winner against his former club.
The visitors were the brighter side to start the match, creating several enticing chances, including a penalty kick from Hany Mukhtar that was saved by SKC goalkeeper Tim Melia. Sporting made Nashville pay for the miss just minutes later. A mazy run and cutback cross from Daniel Sallói held up perfectly for a late-arriving Rémi Walter, who smashed a first-time effort past Joe Willis to open the scoring.
The visitors came out of the break quickly, equalizing through a Dave Romney header in the 51st minute before Sapong pulled them ahead with a close-range finish after Sporting couldn't clear a long throw into the box.
Down a goal, Sporting bombarded Nashville's goal with a flurry of efforts, including a Sallói chance that rattled the post. It wasn't enough, though, and the visitors held on for their second consecutive win.
Goals
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: Sporting KC's struggles continued on Saturday night. Defeated for the first time at Children's Mercy Park in 2022, they've won just twice this season and are down to 12th in the Western Conference table. Nashville, on the other hand, have won back-to-back matches, and have now taken 10 points from their opening six matches, all of which have been away from home.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: Dave Romney's equalizer just after halftime swung momentum back Nashville's way after Sporting grabbed the lead.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: Randall Leal put in another strong showing for the Coyotes. Besides assisting Romney's equalizer, he was a constant threat around the box and was at the heart of Nashville's best attacking moments.
Next Up
- SKC: Sunday, April 17 at LAFC | 4:00 pm ET (ESPN, ESPN Deportes)
- NSH: Saturday, April 16 at San Jose Earthquakes | 3:30 pm ET (Univision, TUDN, Twitter)
