Drawing a blank in the U.S. Open Cup
Bad call hinders comeback bid as Orange reach end of the line
Memo Rodriguez heard the whistle, got up from the grass and thought the Dynamo had been awarded a great opportunity to even the match.
Then he turned around, saw the referee show him a yellow card and wondered what had happened. The BBVA Compass Stadium loudly booed. They had no idea what was going on either.
The Dynamo’s run in the U.S. Open Cup ended abruptly Wednesday night with a 2-0 loss to Sporting Kansas City, but a missed call left them pondering what could have been.
Shortly after Ike Opara scored Sporting KC’s first goal in the 61st minute, Rodriguez went down in the penalty area.
As he dribbled by Saad Abdul-Salaam, the Sporting KC defender stabbed at Rodriguez and connected with his trailing leg. The contact sent Rodriguez falling to the turf.
Replays showed an obvious foul on Abdul-Salaam, but instead of a penalty kick the referee whistled Rodriguez for simulation.
“I thought he was going to call a PK, but we can’t blame the ref or anything like that,” Rodriguez said. “We have to keep playing and try to get goals.”
Dynamo coach Wilmer Cabrera was not as guarded. He gave his opinion without being asked.
“It was an obvious PK that didn’t even happen,” Cabrera said. “Even the player who caused the PK was walking off the field. He thought he got his second yellow card and a PK. Suddenly, I don’t know how, the only one who saw differently was the referee. It was something that changed the whole game.”
The Dynamo pushed for an equalizer after that but struggled to mount any dangerous chances. Sporting KC put the game away in the first minute of added time on a counter-attack goal by Gerso Fernandes.
The Dynamo came out flying in a 4-2-3-1 formation. They pressed high all over the field and forced Sporting KC to turn it over on a regular basis. That led to several opportunities in the attacking third, but their finishing was lackluster. They put only one shot on target in the first 45 minutes.
That the Dynamo controlled the game for the first half-hour was impressive because of the difference in experience each side had in the starting lineup.
The Dynamo used 10 of the same 11 players who started the first U.S. Open Cup game against NASL club North Carolina FC. The only change was Alex taking Joe Holland’s spot in the midfield. Two of the starters were Rio Grande Valley FC regulars Charlie Ward and Eric Bird. Bird, Ward, Taylor Hunter, Kevin Garcia and Rodriguez have combined for two career MLS starts.
Meanwhile, Sporting KC started only two players with fewer than 18 starts. Seven of Kansas City’s starters are regulars during MLS competition and have the team on top of the Western Conference.
“I’m really proud of the players because we played with the best team in the league,” Cabrera said. “They brought their first team. To be able to play even, create options and to manage the ball the way they did it is important.
“We sent a message to everyone that maybe we’re not the best team in the league, but we’re going to try to be always, especially at home, a winning team.”