Kelvin Yeboah scored within the sixty fifth minute to assist Minnesota United earn a 2-0 victory at Sporting Kansas Metropolis on Saturday evening that boosted the Loons’ playoff probabilities and eradicated SKC from postseason rivalry.
Bongokuhle Hlongwane added some insurance coverage deep in second-half stoppage time together with his team-leading eleventh objective, 4 minutes after Kansas Metropolis’s William Agada hit the submit on a possible game-tying penalty.
The Loons (12-12-6, 42 factors) remained within the ninth and closing Western Convention playoff place, however narrowed the hole on eighth-place Portland to 2 factors.
Memo Rodriguez earned Sporting’s late penalty with some intelligent footwork to induce Miguel Tapias into a careless problem.
However Agada did not convert as SKC (8-16-7, 31 factors) will head into Wednesday’s U.S. Open Cup Ultimate at LAFC understanding they won’t be part of the MLS Cup Playoffs.
Regardless of the loss, Sporting Ok.C. outshot Minnesota 19-7 and completed with extra photographs on objective (4-3).
The Loons needed to wait by way of a climate delay of greater than two hours to seal their seventh highway victory, however did so by way of the identical sharp counterattack play that has characterised a lot of their season.
Yeboah scored his fifth objective in 5 video games since becoming a member of the Loons in the course of the summer time switch window due to an excellent particular person effort.
Yeboah took Robin Lod’s move ahead on the left, reduce into the left nook of the penalty space, executed a pair stepovers to make his defenders hesitate, after which curled a right-footed strike previous Tim Melia and contained in the far proper submit.
Hlongwane put an exclamation level on the victory within the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time when he completed previous Melia from shut vary after Lod’s first-touch move left him alone on objective.
–Area Stage Media