A two-hour rain delay, extra time and a game-winner.
The 2024 US Open Cup provided great theatre once again in the semifinal matchup between Sporting Kansas City and FC Dallas on Wednesday night at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, KS.
Thanks to a late winner that came Thursday morning, Kansas City topped Dallas 2-1 in extra time to punch their spot in next month’s semifinal.
“We came back out, got re-warmed up and all that. I told them, ‘Everything now is all about mentality,” Sporting Kansas City manager Peter Vermes said. “That’s all it is. It’s all about mentality.’ I have to applaud (them). We controlled that remaining 40 minutes. We were good.”
Sporting’s Johnny Russell stood over the corner flag on the near side in the 111th minute. He whipped in a cross towards the middle of the box. Dany Rosero wrestled with the Dallas backline and hit a towering header into the ground towards the bottom of the goal. Dallas’ Maarten Paes could not react in time as the net bulged for what would prove to be the game winner.
“Personally and as a group, it was an immense happiness,” Rosero said through translation. “It was a win that we really needed.”
Sporting sit in second to last place in MLS Western Conference play. The focus and desire to win in this tournament was obvious at full-time with players hugging and collapsing to the pitch.
“First half was difficult, I don’t think we played well at all,” Russell said. “I’m just glad that I could help and take part in the winner. If you hang it up there, there is always a chance with Dany.”
But, it wasn’t easy after Rosero’s goal. Dallas had their chances to tie it in extra time.
In the 122nd minute, a long throw-in bounced around the Sporting box. It fell kindly to Sebastian Lletget, who shot towards the bottom right of the goal. Sporting goalkeeper Tim Melia was up for the challenge as he made an incredible save. Paul Arriola had a chance at the rebound, but a lunging Tim Leibold threw his body into the shot to deny the visitors a chance at spot kicks.
“The save from Tim and the block from Leibold at the end was outrageous, to be honest,” Russell said. “Tim made some really big saves for us tonight.”
In the second half, a gorgeous chip pass from Russell fell kindly to Jake Davis inside the box. A quick touch from Davis settled him towards the byline. Davis centered the ball to the six yard line and Willy Agada buried it for the 1-0 lead in the 77th minute.
The goal was Agada’s sixth in five games out of all competitions. It was also his first goal in this US Open Cup run as Agada backflipped in celebration with the rain soaked supporters in delirium.
The excitement from Kansas City was neutralized 10 minutes later. Dallas equalized with quick passing which caught Sporting vulnerable.
Asier Illarramnedi fed a perfect pass to Petar Musa, who was wide open in the box. Rosero was caught out of position as he tried to close down Illarramnedi. The ball found Musa wide open as he chipped his shot over Melia for the goal.
“I told Dany Rosero, ‘Thank God you scored because you made up.’ He should have been the guy in the middle there when the player turned. But when he turned, it should have been Dany there,” Vermes said. “So I said, ‘You should be happy right now because you canceled out that mistake.’ He should have been there but the good thing is he got the goal, which is great.”
The win was also a milestone for Vermes who advanced in the tournament for the 28th time (25 wins + 3 PK shootout wins), which is the third-most in the tournament’s Modern Era (1995-present) behind Sigi Schmid (40) and Mike Anhaeuser (30).
The first half saw both teams struggle to find clear cut opportunities. The best chance came from the visitors in the 31st minute. Lletget rifled in a corner that found the head of Musa, who powered it on target. Sporting’s Leibold, the left back, stood on the line and cleared away from danger.
In the 51st minute of the game, the officials called a halt to the game with inclement weather in the area. Lightning strikes and a downpour of rain covered Children’s Mercy Park. The delay lasted two hours with many fans departing for shelter. According to Russell, the delay was a nice reset for the semifinalists to relax.
“A couple of guys were playing UNO on their phone. We just relaxed and watched a little bit of the LAFC game,” Russell smiled. “I want to say a huge shoutout to the fans that stayed, even the ones that turned up. I saw a bunch of kids out there. Trust me, I know what it feels like when you keep your kids up.”
Sporting Kansas City will host the US Open Cup Semifinal against USL Championship side Indy Eleven the week of Aug. 27-28. It will be the club’s seventh trip to the final four as they continue their quest to win a record-tying fifth Open Cup title. It’s an achievement that only three clubs in the 109-year history of the touranment have done (Bethlehem Steel, Maccabee AC, Fall River Marksmen/New Bedford Whalers).
The win also extended Sporting’s impressive home unbeaten streak in the tournament to 15 games. Kansas City hasn’t lost a US Open Cup game in front of their home fans since 2014. It is the second longest home unbeaten streak of the Modern Era, behind Seattle Sounders FC and the Chicago Fire FC, who both hold the record at 19.
“I can only say that we’ve always taken this tournament very seriously,” said Vermes. “I always say that. I think every other team does.”
Alex Wiksell also contributed to this report