The Columbus Crew couldn't spoil Andy Greenebaum's first game back at Crew Stadium. Goals by CJ Sapong and Benny Feilhaber overcame an Igor Juliao own goal to give Sporting KC the win on the road. A 55th minute red card shifted the momentum from Sporting to Columbus and forced the visitors into what appeared to be a costly mistake that tied the match. Feilhaber's late heroics spoiled the draw and saw SKC to the full 3 points on the road.
Sporting Kansas City dominated the opening 55 minutes but were unable to score from open play. A Feilhaber corner just before half led to the open score and CJ Sapong's first goal of the season. With the majority of chances coming from the visitors and the Crew struggling to manage the game, it looked to be all but over until Aurelien Collin received a highly questionable red card.
From then on, Columbus had to time and space to press the game. They looked close to scoring and equalizer and in the 69th minute, the pressure finally paid off as Igor Juliao deflected a Chad Barson cross into his own net and tied the game. Columbus kept the pressure up for the majority of the final 20 minutes and if not for Wil Trapp's 2nd yellow, the game likely would have ended in a draw. A poor throw lead to an even worse decision by the up and coming young star.
During the dying moments of the game, Sporting turned one final chance into the shot of the game and a candidate for Goal of the Week. Juliao played a ball to the top of the box that Jacob Peterson touched down and left on a platter for Feilhaber who snuck it in off the crossbar. A beautiful goal and better teamwork broke the hearts of the home team.
The biggest debate from this match will undoubtedly be the 55th minute red card. It was a foul not called by the center official, but by the 4th official from the opposite side of the field and through a Columbus player. This appears to be a case of administering the punishment based on the reaction and not visual evidence. Collin went up and was met by Adam Bedell who went down immediately clutching his face. From the replays it was unclear if Collin even made contact with Bedell's face, but there was no evidence of a flailing arm and it was definitely not cocked like a striking position. Sporting is already in the process of appealing the card and hoping that their starting center back will be available for Saturday's clash with the Galaxy.
The Man of the Match award goes to SKC's Benny Feilhaber who had a goal and an assist while playing box to box for much of the game.
Next up for Sporting KC is a Saturday matchup with the LA Galaxy in Kansas City. Columbus will remain at home this weekend as they host Montreal on Saturday.