Reduced to 10 men for the final 70 minutes on Saturday night, Sporting Kansas City (10-14-7, 37 points) suffered a 3-2 loss to the Colorado Rapids (11-15-6, 39 points) in a drama-filled battle at Children’s Mercy Park.
Gerso Fernandes fired the hosts into a third-minute lead and a Tommy Smith own goal made it 2-0 just 11 minutes later, but Colorado gained a man advantage when Sporting captain Matt Besler was sent off for his second bookable offense in the 20th minute. The Rapids would eventually cash in, drawing level through former Sporting attackers Kei Kamara and Diego Rubio, before Smith atoned for his early blunder by nodding home the match-winner on 85 minutes.