Daniel Salloi celebrated his 29th birthday by scoring a crucial goal to help Sporting Kansas City secure a 1-1 draw against New York City FC at Children’s Mercy Park. The match took place on Saturday night in hot and humid conditions.
Andres Perea opened the scoring for NYCFC with his first goal of the year, giving the visitors a lead midway through the first half. Salloi equalized in the 74th minute, marking Sporting’s sixth comeback result in their last 11 games.
Sporting will face Vancouver Whitecaps FC next Saturday, July 26, at BC Place. The match will be broadcast live on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV.
Interim head coach Kerry Zavagnin made changes to Sporting’s lineup following their previous loss to Seattle Sounders FC. Andrew Brody returned as right back, Nemanja Radoja started in midfield, and Jacob Bartlett replaced Memo Rodriguez after serving a suspension.
NYCFC’s Alonso Martinez came close to scoring early on but was denied by Sporting goalkeeper John Pulskamp. In response, Sporting had opportunities through Logan Ndenbe and Shapi Suleymanov but were unable to find the net before halftime.
Perea scored for NYCFC in the 22nd minute from a Maxi Moralez assist. Despite further chances for both teams, it wasn’t until Salloi’s strike that Sporting drew level.
Salloi now has six goals this season and has reached double-digit goal contributions for four of the last five MLS seasons. His career tally stands at 53 regular-season goals and 66 across all competitions for Sporting Kansas City.
Sebastiano Musu made his MLS debut for NYCFC and had two near misses late in the game. Perea also missed an opportunity to score again before full time.
The match saw an attendance of 16,987 fans under sunny skies with temperatures reaching 89 degrees.
