By Sam Kovzan – SportingKC.com
Sporting Kansas City punched a ticket to the 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semifinals on Wednesday with a dramatic 2-1 extra-time win over FC Dallas in an epic quarterfinal clash at Children’s Mercy Park.
After a scoreless first half and a 108-minute weather delay, in-form strikers Willy Agada and Petar Musa traded late goals for Sporting and Dallas, respectively, to send the match into extra time. Sporting landed the decisive punch in the 111th minute when center back Dany Rosero rose to nod home Johnny Russell’s corner kick and preserve Kansas City’s dreams of a record-tying fifth Open Cup title.
With a resolute quarterfinal triumph in the books, Sporting will now host USL Championship side Indy Eleven in the Open Cup semifinals on Aug. 27 or 28 at Children’s Mercy Park. The 2024 Open Cup champion will receive $300,000 in prize money and a berth in the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup.
Less than 72 hours after Sporting earned a 3-2 home win over Dallas in MLS play, Sporting manager Peter Vermes made six changes to his lineup as Russell and midfielders Nemanja Radoja and Erik Thommy joined the defensive trio of Rosero, Khiry Shelton and Robert Voloder as fresh faces in the XI. Goalkeeper Tim Melia and field players Agada, Jake Davis, Tim Leibold and Daniel Salloi retained their starting places from the weekend victory.
Neither team threatened until the 20th minute when Melia produced a smart save to deny Musa from 20 yards. Sporting responded instantly with a good chance of their own as Agada, who scored twice in Sunday’s match, planted a header narrowly high off a pinpoint Thommy cross. Agada asked further questions of the Dallas backline in the 23rd minute, racing through on goal after Radoja did brilliantly to win a tackle at midfield, but his left-footed effort under duress was saved by Maarten Paes.
Musa continued to serve as Dallas’ primary danger man and almost opened the scoring twice near the half-hour mark. After his low drive was fingertipped away by Melia, the Croatian striker latched onto Sebastian Lletget’s ensuing corner kick and snapped a header that was destined for the left corner. Yet Leibold spared Sporting’s blushes with a heroic goal line clearance to keep the game scoreless. Not long later, Melia thwarted Logan Farrington by making a superb save with his outstretched right hand after the Dallas rookie found a pocket of space to shoot at the top of the box.
With 51 minutes played, inclement weather forced a stoppage in play at 9:20 p.m. CT. The match would not resume until 11:08 p.m. CT, but the extended break allowed both teams to return to action with vigor and verve. The first flashbulb moment of the second half came in the 65th minute when Sporting was awarded a penalty kick after Dallas defender Nkosi Tafari toppled Agada to the turf. However, VAR intervened and referee Tim Ford deemed the foul to have taken place outside of the box and the penalty decision was overturned.
Agada went agonizingly close to breaking the deadlock in the 72nd minute, connecting with Russell’s cutback pass from near the endline, but Paes instinctively blocked the attempt. Bernard Kamungo had an equally dangerous look at the opposite end a moment later, but he dragged his shot inches wide of the far post.
Sporting’s breakthrough came with 77 minutes on the clock. Russell clipped a cheeky ball into the path of Davis, who chested it down on the right side of the penalty area before squaring to Agada. The Nigerian made no mistake from there, powering a first-time strike inside the near post for his team-leading eighth goal of the season and his third goal in the last four days.
Undeterred, Dallas restored parity 10 minutes later as Spanish midfielder Asier Illarramendi squeezed a through ball to Musa for a composed finish at close range. Although both teams conjured decent opportunities in stoppage time—Thommy blazed a shot over the bar and Kamungo again missed the target from a tight angle—neither broke the tie, necessitating 30 minutes of extra time.
While the first 15-minute extra-time session was uneventful, the final quarter-hour delivered multiple jaw-dropping moments. In the 106th minute, Dallas substitute Eugene Ansah smashed the crossbar with an audacious effort before Melia made a phenomenal save on the rebound, diving low to his right to stymy Sebastian Lletget.
The decisive moment was delivered courtesy of Rosero in the 111th minute. The Colombian defender shook loose of his marker to meet Russell’s in-swinging corner kick, nodding the ball past Paes and into the right corner to give Sporting an invaluable 2-1 advantage. Rosero has scored six career goals for Sporting since the start of 2023, all headers off set pieces, and Russell now ranks third in club history with four assists in the Open Cup.
The visitors very nearly drew level on their final roll of the dice in the 122nd minute, but Melia once again stood on his head by casting aside Lletget’s close-range attempt for his sixth and his most impressive save of the evening. Ford whistled an end to the match shortly thereafter, queuing joyous celebrations inside the stadium as Sporting booked its date in the Open Cup semifinals.
Vermes’ men will continue their arduous stretch of seven games in 22 days on Saturday with a visit to the San Jose Earthquakes as MLS play resumes. Kickoff is set for 9:30 p.m. CT with live coverage on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV and Sports Radio 810 WHB.
2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinals
Children’s Mercy Park | Kansas City, Kansas
Attendance: 12,943
Weather: 82 degrees and rainy
Sporting Kansas City 2-1 FC Dallas
| Score | 1 | 2 | 1ET | 2ET | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sporting Kansas City | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| FC Dallas | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Sporting Kansas City: Tim Melia; Khiry Shelton, Dany Rosero, Robert Voloder, Tim Leibold; Jake Davis, Nemanja Radoja (Memo Rodriguez 91′); Johnny Russell (C), Erik Thommy (Robert Castellanos 117′), Daniel Salloi (Alan Pulido 91′); Willy Agada (Remi Walter 117′)
Subs Not Used: Ryan Schewe, Zorhan Bassong, Alenis Vargas
FC Dallas: Maarten Paes; Sebastien Ibeagha, Nkosi Tafari, Marco Farfan (Sam Junqua 118′); Paul Arriola (C), Sebastian Lletget, Asier Illarramendi, Bernard Kamungo; Logan Farrington (Eugene Ansah 82′), Petar Musa, Katlego Ntsabeleng (Herbert Endeley 82′)
Subs Not Used: Jimmy Maurer, Omar Gonzalez, Nolan Norris, Carl Sainte
Scoring Summary:
SKC — Willy Agada 1 (Jake Davis 1, Johnny Russell 1) 77′
DAL — Petar Musa 1 (Asier Illarramendi 1) 87′
SKC — Dany Rosero 1 (Johnny Russell 2) 111′
Misconduct Summary:
DAL — Nkosi Tafari (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 68′
DAL — Asier Illarramendi (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 80′
SKC — Memo Rodriguez (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 92′
SKC — Jake Davis (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 99′
SKC — Dany Rosero (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 112′
Match Statistics
| Stat | SKC | DAL |
|---|---|---|
| Fouls | 13 | 16 |
| Offsides | 4 | 2 |
| Corner Kicks | 11 | 4 |
Referee: Tim Ford
Assistant Referee: Tyler Wyrostek
Assistant Referee: Matt Rodman
Fourth Official: Matt Gerringer
VAR: Kevin Stott
AVAR: Craig Lowry
