Sporting Ties Portland 3-3 – OurSports Central

April 7, 2024 – Major League Soccer (MLS)
Sporting Kansas City News Release

Sporting Kansas City (2-1-4, 10 points) battled the Portland Timbers (2-3-2, 8 points) to a wild 3-3 draw on Sunday afternoon at sun-drenched Children’s Mercy Park.

Willy Agada struck twice and Dany Rosero buried a header to give Sporting a 3-0 lead at halftime, but Portland responded through Evander, Felipe Mora and Eric Miller to split the points in a thrilling Western Conference encounter that was televised nationally on FOX and Apple TV.

Fielding an unchanged side from last weekend’s 3-1 road victory over Toronto FC, Sporting dominated the first 45 minutes and wasted little time drawing first blood. Shortly after having a side-footed effort saved by Portland goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau on the breakaway, Agada landed his first haymaker in the 13th minute on a long-range blast that took a wicked deflection before nestling into the left corner.

Losers of three straight games entering the day, Portland almost grabbed a goal back in the 26th minute when Antony hammered home at the back post off a cross from Jonathan Rodriguez, but the goal was rightly disallowed for an offside infraction on Rodriguez.

Sporting doubled their advantage in the 38th minute on a corner kick that resulted from Crepeau’s diving save to deny Daniel Salloi at the near post. The ensuing set piece delivery from Memo Rodriguez was planted firmly into the back of the net by a leaping Rosero, who has now accounted for five of Sporting’s eight headed goals since the start of 2023. During the entire 2023 regular season, Sporting had three total goals scored by defenders. Seven matches into the 2024 campaign, Kansas City has already equaled that total with Rosero bagging twice and Jake Davis tallying once.

Agada made the score 3-0 on the stroke of intermission. Erik Thommy’s searching free kick to the far post was headed back across the face of goal by center back Robert Voloder and smashed low into the corner by Sporting’s in-form Nigerian, who now has 12 goals in 11 career regular season home starts at Children’s Mercy Park and ranks 10th in club history with four multi-goal games. The German duo of Voloder and Thommy picked up their first assists of the season on the play and sent Portland to the locker room with a formidable three-goal deficit.

In a tale of two halves, Portland responded over the final 45 minutes. Davis did brilliantly to prevent Portland from scoring in the 56th minute, sticking out his boot in…