Seattle Sounders Leave it Late Against Sporting KC: 3 Takeaways
By Paul Taylor
2) A tale of what might have been
Sporting KC were understandably devastated at the final whistle. They could not believe they had lost, with two controversial incidents in particular determining the outcome.
The first came in the 52nd minute, when Matt Besler headed a deep free kick home past Stefan Frei. Fortunately for the Sounders, the assistant referee disallowed it for offside.
Only after watching several replays, did you come to the conclusion that maybe, just about, it was the right call. However, there are numerous occasions when a similar scenario would have seen the goal stand.
What makes this even more galling for the visitors is that there was a similar situation, which led to the game-winner. Joevin Jones’ cross was headed home by Nelson Valdez, but replays appeared to show the Paraguayan was just offside.
If just one of the incidents had been ruled differently, the game would likely have gone to overtime. Ultimately though, Sporting KC will have to live with the loss and wonder about what could have been.