Claudio Bieler gave Sporting Kansas City a faint hope Saturday afternoon, down two goals in the 77th minute, with a rifled finish from just inside the penalty area. The Argentine-born Ecuadorian's second goal of the season pulled Sporting KC to within 2-1 of Toronto FC.
CJ Sapong won the aerial ball from goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen's goal kick - as he so often does - and the ball split the whole of the TFC defense, allowing Bieler to slip behind and fire off the half-volley past TFC's Joe Bendik. Similar to his goal in the season opener against Philadelphia, Bieler showed expert finishing ability to strike the ball cleanly, something that often haunted Sporting KC in 2011 and 2012.
Sporting searched the remaining 15 minutes for the equalizing goal to salvage a point from a less than stellar performance north of the border, but ultimately came up short. Despite the result, though, Bieler continues to look like a very smart, well-placed Designated Player signing.