10-Man Sporting KC II Suffers Defeat to St. Louis CITY2

March 31, 2024 – MLS NEXT Pro (MLS NEXT Pro)
Sporting Kansas City II News Release

Sporting Kansas City II (1-2-0, 3 points) suffered a home defeat to St. Louis CITY2 (1-1-1, 4 points) after Roberto Hategan was given a red card in the 31st minute. Despite playing down a man, SKC II led by one in the second half after Maouloune Goumballe scored his first professional goal in the 51st.

Head coach Benny Feilhaber made a handful of changes to the starting XI with five first time starters in the lineup. Ryan Schewe and Chris Rindov were the lone loaners in the XI both making their third start. Nati Clarke and Jonathan Robinson started on the back four with Rindov and Academy defender Jacob Bartlett. Jake Swallen, Sebastian Cruz and Kamron Habibullah started in the midfield with Goumballe, Hategan and Pau Vidal in the front three.

Before having to exit the match early after picking up a knock, Vidal had the first look at goal in the fifth minute. After some nifty moves from Habibullah the Spaniard was played into the box where he pushed his shot wide of the left hand post with a sliding effort.

A minute later, Vidal and Wentzel got tangled up along the sideline. The SKC II forward came up the worse of the two players and would have to leave the pitch in the 19th minute. Before this, former Sporting KC Academy player Wan Kuzain Wan Kamal took a shot for CITY2 inside the area. On its way to goal, the ball took a redirection and rolled into Schewe’s grasp.

Vidal then hit a one-time shot off an interception around midfield, looking to catch Christina Oliveras off his line. The attempt skipped off the turf and was snagged by the keeper. That was his final action as Avila entered moments later.

The match then slowed for the next 12 minutes before the pivotal moment that shook everything up. In the 31st, Hategan lifted a leg which was run into by the opposition, going for a 50/50 ball near midfield. The referee dealt the winger a straight red card, much to the chagrin of the SKC II players, fans and technical staff.

With a little under 60 minutes to play in regulation, SKC II would play down a man. Neither keeper was tested for the remainder of the first half as the home side was able to regroup in the dressing room. St. Louis came out of the break on the attack, sending a dangerous-looking ball across the six that was fired on target and blocked by Robinson.

Despite the man advantage, the visitors conceded first, allowing Goumbale to score his first pro goal on Robinson’s…