Sporting Kansas City went into tonight’s fixture against the Los Angeles Galaxy needing at least a draw to both clinch its spot in the playoffs and remain in position for a first-round playoff bye. This they did in breaking even with the Galaxy in a 1-1 match marred by a highly controversial, game-altering penalty kick call in the Galaxy’s favor.
Sporting KC’s manager Peter Vermes went with a fairly standard-issue starting XI and gameday 18 ahead of the international break against a star-studded LA Galaxy lineup that has nonetheless still managed to find itself two points out of playoff contention in early October despite coming in off of back-to-back wins under Dom Kinnear.