After going 10 straight Major League Soccer games winless to start the season, Sporting Kansas City has kicked off a new streak.
Dany Rosero and Daniel Salloi scored and Tim Meliá saved a penalty due to a foul he committed. And that was only for the first half. Gadi Kinda delivered the final blow with an 84th-minute goal as Sporting KC beat Minnesota United 3-0 at Children's Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kan.
It's Sporting's second straight MLS win after last weekend's 2-1 win in Seattle -- two league wins sandwiched by Wednesday's US Open Cup loss in Houston, a one-game played with more than a few KC substitutes.
Saturday's win was also significant because it lifted Sporting KC out of the Western Conference cellar at 2-3-7.
The last time Sporting KC had a winning streak was last season, when Peter Vermes's club won three in a row. That mini-streak began with positive results against, wait for it, the Sounders and Minnesota, in that order.
Rosero opened the scoring less than 10 minutes into the game on Saturday night. Minnesota goaltender Dayne St. Clair was unable to prevent Rosero's header from a corner kick.
Salloi was assisted for a corner kick and then scored an own goal 13 minutes later. The sequence began in Sporting's midfield with a vicious turn from Alan Pulido.
Pulido passed the ball to Remi Walter, who finished off a back-heeled pass right into Salloi's path. From there, the Hungarian winger fired with a curling shot past St. Clair for his second goal of the season.
Sporting KC dominated throughout the game, holding Minnesota to six shots. Meliá's penalty save was the only save he needed to make in the first half.
A bit scored Sporting KC's third late in a beautiful sequence between Johnny Russell and Pulido to unlock space in midfield. As Russell drove toward goal, he slipped a pass behind the Minnesota baseline to Kinda, who tagged St. Clair for his first goal since he underwent surgery.
Meliá had to leave the match after a hip flexor injury. Kendall McIntosh replaced him.
Sporting KC continues their busy May schedule next week in Southern California. Sporting takes on high-flying LAFC on Wednesday night before heading east on I-70 to play St. Louis for the first time.
