Gerso Fernandes late entry put an edgy Wednesday match into freedom for Sporting Kansas City in their final group match of the MLS is Back tournament in Orlando, Florida. Before then, a late collapse, as has been Sporting’s history, was feeling familiar against their familiar Real Salt Lake rivals.
Coming into the contest, Sporting Kansas City needed either a win or a draw against Real Salt Lake to qualify for the knockout stage. That, and the early 8am Eastern time match start, was the challenge for Manager Peter Vermes’ charges.
To that end, Vermes went with a few changes to the starting eleven.