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All good things must end, or so they say, and Sporting Kansas City met their match on Saturday after losing 1-0 to FC Dallas.
While I can’t say Sporting outplayed Dallas, there were moments when they looked dangerous. Sporting Kansas City edged FC Dallas in possession (61% to 39%), shots (12 to 11) and passes and pass completion (606 to 384 and 81% to 83% respectively). But Dallas’s defense was able to stop Sporting’s build up play, and ultimately were able to connect on an admittedly pretty header from Maynor Figueroa in the 77th minute.
There were lots of good things to the match for Sporting, and they certainly weren’t played off the field. It’s no surprise that FC Dallas are a strong team this year, and to hold them to one goal in their stadium meant there was a chance. As is oft the story for Sporting, 12 shots were registered, but only one was on target.
Tim Melia had a good outing, making five saves and keeping them in the game.
How does all this stack up? To the numbers we go.
SKC v FCD Player Ratings
| FC Dallas | Rating |
|---|---|
| FC Dallas | Rating |
| Jesse Gonzalez | 6.5 |
| Matt Hedges | 7.0 |
| Maynor Figueroa | 8.5 |
| Walker Zimmerman | 7.0 |
| Hernan Grana | 7.5 |
| Atiba Harris | 4.5 |
| Kellyn Acosta | 5.0 |
| Michael Barrios | 5.0 |
| Carlos Gruezo | 5.5 |
| Roland Lamah | 5.0 |
| Javier Morales | 5.0 |
| Victor Ulloa | 4.5 |
| Tesho Akindele | 4.5 |
| Maximiliano Urruti | 4.5 |
| Team Average | 5.7 |
| Sporting Kansas City | Rating |
| Tim Melia | 5.5 |
| Jimmy Medranda | 5.0 |
| Matt Besler | 5.5 |
| Ike Opara | 5.0 |
| Seth Sinovic | 4.5 |
| Graham Zusi | 4.5 |
| Illi Sanchez | 5.0 |
| Benny Feilhaber | 5.0 |
| Roger Espinoza | 4.5 |
| Gerso Fernandes | 4.5 |
| Soni Mustivar | 4.5 |
| Dom Dwyer | 4.5 |
| Daniel Salloi | 4.5 |
| Latif Blessing | 4.5 |
| Team Average | 4.7 |
High marks for Melia, without his saves, the game could have gotten out of hand.
With that behind, Sporting still come away from back-to-back games against what were/are the two best sides in Major League Soccer with three points, a hair better than a pair of draws, which I think most would say would be an acceptable result. Onward and upward!