Sporting Kansas City 2 San Jose 1
When at matches at Children’s Mercy Park you need ‘crap goals’ to be added to the good and the great otherwise you will not be making much of a mark on the season.
That is exactly what the goal scored by Kevin Ellis was.
And yet it did a world of good.
It provided Sporting with their first win in San Jose in over a decade and was the first road win since April.
What was the most key was the early goal.
It forced San Jose to really push all match for both equalizer and winner.
Sure they got the equalizer but the fact remains that they opened themselves up defensively.
Yes Sporting could have taken better advantage of this but at the end of the day the 2-1 win was gained and it couldn’t have come at a better time.
With New England on the outside looking in and having played more games than those above them another team will present an opportunity for Sporting to shatter playoff dreams on the road.
Playoff View
And we are down to the very last matches and again it is not going to be an easy finish.
With two road matches and one at home any and all available points are woefully needed.
At present Colorado is five points above in the Conference semifinals position but with two matches in hand participation in the preliminary round is all but guaranteed.
For those out of the playoff spots at present the greatest threat is still Seattle who have two matches in hand and are five points behind. Now granted reigning Portland has more to fear there but they also have two remaining Champions League matches to contend with.
Reaching RSL or LA is possible but more likely to catch RSL after squandering two points a week ago in a draw with the Galaxy.
RSL on the road will be tricky in two weeks time but with teams as close as they are it could be a different landscape after the New England match on Saturday.
Swope Park Rangers 2 Seattle Sounders II 0
One team punched their ticket to the post season in Kansas City.
With reigning champions in FC Kansas City and the Kansas City Royals not going to the post season Swope Park Rangers, in their first season in USL, not only qualified for the playoffs but will host Los Angeles Galaxy II Friday.
As just a month ago the playoffs were a thought and hosting one a dream SPR put together a strong run that gives hope for the future of the parent club as there is talent that only needs a chance to shine at the MLS level.
The run to the playoffs is the better story.
Six wins in their last seven.
The tear this team was on was really impressive and lends hope that the first round playoff game against the Galaxy reserves will not be the final match of 2016.
