Kelvin Yeboah scored in the 65th minute to help Minnesota United earn a 2-0 victory at Sporting Kansas City on Saturday night that boosted the Loons’ playoff chances and eliminated SKC from postseason contention.
Bongokuhle Hlongwane added some insurance deep in second-half stoppage time with his team-leading 11th goal, four minutes after Kansas City’s William Agada hit the post on a potential game-tying penalty.
The Loons (12-12-6, 42 points) remained in the ninth and final Western Conference playoff place, but narrowed the gap on eighth-place Portland to two points.
Memo Rodriguez earned Sporting’s late penalty with some clever footwork to induce Miguel Tapias into a clumsy challenge.
But Agada failed to convert as SKC (8-16-7, 31 points) will head into Wednesday’s U.S. Open Cup Final at LAFC knowing they will not be a part of the MLS Cup Playoffs.
Despite the loss, Sporting K.C. outshot Minnesota 19-7 and finished with more shots on goal (4-3).
The Loons had to wait through a weather delay of more than two hours to seal their seventh road victory, but did so through the same sharp counterattack play that has characterized much of their season.
Yeboah scored his fifth goal in five games since joining the Loons during the summer transfer window thanks to a brilliant individual effort.
Yeboah took Robin Lod’s pass forward on the left, cut into the left corner of the penalty area, executed a couple stepovers to make his defenders hesitate, and then curled a right-footed strike past Tim Melia and inside the far right post.
Hlongwane put an exclamation point on the victory in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time when he finished past Melia from close range after Lod’s first-touch pass left him alone on goal.
–Field Level Media