Seattle wins it late as Sporting's offense sputters

It was set up for a perfect moment. A game-winning goal in extra time on Kei Kamara's first match back with Sporting Kansas City and in front of a raucous Sporting Park.

The only problem was that it was Seattle that scored.

Djimi Traore put the ball in the back of the net for the Seattle Sounders in extra time, sealing a 1-0 victory while simultaneously stunning 18,000 people at Sporting Park.

The first 30 minutes belong to Sporting Kansas City. They held possession very well and it was quite obvious that the confidence they had gained from the Chivas USA match was shining through in this match. They put Seattle keeper Michael Gspurning to work early, forcing him to make a couple of diving saves. Jacob Peterson had an early chance barely fifteen seconds in, but the diving Gspurning was having none of it, as shown in the video below

In the second half, however, Sporting started to tire. The passes weren't as sharp and the possession wasn't as on point as the first half. Peter Vermes used all three of his subs, including the returning Kei Kamara. Kamara had not been warming up on the sidelines with the rest of the subs, but emerged from the tunnel to the sound of great joy from the stadium. He subbed in for Jacob Peterson in the 73rd minute, which you can watch below.

Claudio Bieler had also subbed into the match earlier, so Sporting had a very good attacking front in the game with Zusi, Sapong, Kamara and Bieler all playing in the final 15 minutes. However they were not able to produce a goal as the minutes ticked away.

As soon as everyone thought it would end as a scoreless draw, Seattle hit Sporting KC with a proverbial punch in the gut. Aurelien Collin whiffed at an attempted clearance, which gave Djimi Traore the opening to score the game winner for Seattle. The final whistle blew about a minute later, and Seattle left Kansas City with a vital three points.

"It's a major mistake on our part, we gifted that to them," Peter Vermes said after the match.

Sporting Kansas City remains at 17 points, and drops to third in the Eastern Conference after New York's win earlier in the evening. Seattle gained a vital three points and are now tied with Vancouver for eighth in the West with a game in hand against the Whitecaps.

Seattle heads home for a match with San Jose this Saturday, looking to rally back up the Western Conference. Sporting plays another team that has been a thorn in their side in the Houston Dynamo. That match will be on Sunday and will be the third match in eight days for Sporting Kansas City.