Myrto Uzuni Brace Lifts Austin FC Past Sporting Kansas City in Late Comeback

Stephen Afrifa will be replaying one moment all week, and it is not his goal. With the score tied in the 78th minute, Calvin Harris slid the ball across the box and Afrifa, from point-blank range, sent it wide of the far post. Eight minutes later, Myrto Uzuni showed him how it is done at the other end.

Uzuni scored twice in the final 26 minutes as Austin FC came from behind to beat Sporting Kansas City 2-1 on Saturday night at Sporting Park, in front of 13,928. Afrifa had given the hosts a 55th-minute lead, but Austin's top scorer equalized off his own rebound in the 64th and then punished a defensive mistake in the 86th to snap a three-match losing streak.

Whistles, Bookings and No Breakthrough

The first half was a game of stoppages. Kwaku Agyabeng was booked in the 21st minute, Mikkel Desler and Jake Davis in the 37th, and by the end of the night Sporting had collected five yellow cards to Austin's two. Bassong and Afrifa joined the list early in the second half, leaving the hosts' midfield on eggshells.

Sporting had the sharper looks. Afrifa forced Damian Las into saves in the 12th, 43rd and 45th minutes, and Austin's own report credited Guilherme Biro with an early goal-line clearance that kept the hosts off the board. Austin lost midfielder Ervin Torres to an injury in the 32nd minute, with Besard Sabovic coming on, and their best first-half chance was a Brandon Vázquez header off a corner that drifted wide in the 20th.

Afrifa Strikes, Uzuni Answers

Joseph Rosales nearly broke the deadlock in the 53rd minute, heading a Jon Gallagher cross just wide from the six-yard box. Two minutes later, Sporting went the other way. André Luiz found Afrifa on the right side of the area, and his right-footed finish tucked into the bottom-left corner for 1-0.

Then the match flipped. Uzuni tested Stefan Cleveland from distance in the 57th. Rosales had a header saved and a follow-up blocked in the 62nd. In the 64th, Gallagher swung in another cross, Cleveland parried Uzuni's header, and Uzuni hammered in the rebound from close range. Sporting coach Raphael Wicky said afterward he would need to rewatch a stretch where "suddenly they had two or three chances and they come back."

Sporting still had their moments. Afrifa slid a shot past the far post in the 75th, then came the 78th-minute miss. Owen Wolff, on in the 74th, fired just wide from distance in the 81st.

It came for Austin instead. Austin's report said Uzuni pounced on an SKC defender's mistake, and Wicky explained afterward that Emir Karic had attempted a backheel at the end of the sequence. Uzuni finished left-footed from the center of the box into the bottom-right corner. Sporting threw bodies forward through seven minutes of stoppage time, but Afrifa headed wide in the third added minute and Rubén Ramos had a last shot blocked.

Stars of the Night

Myrto Uzuni was perfect in the most literal sense: five shots, five on target, two goals. The first was pure poacher's instinct, following up his own header before anyone in white reacted. The second was the ruthlessness Sporting never found. Per Austin, it was his team-high 13th goal of the season in all competitions.

Stephen Afrifa was the most dangerous player on the field and, by the final whistle, the most frustrated. Nine shots, four on target, one goal, one yellow card. Wicky praised his movement, saying he "finds himself pretty comfortable in certain pockets." Afrifa was harder on himself: "It's probably the easiest chance I've seen as a pro player."

Jon Gallagher never appeared on the scoresheet, but ESPN's play-by-play credits him with the crosses for Rosales in the 53rd and 62nd and for the Uzuni header that produced the equalizer. Austin attempted 24 crosses to Sporting's 12, and Gallagher's were the ones that did damage.

Damian Las made three saves, every one of them on Afrifa, two of them in the final three minutes of the first half.

Stefan Cleveland made five saves at the other end, including the stoppage-time stop on Jorge Alastuey, and did not have much help on either goal.

The Turning Point

The 78th minute. Harris cut the ball back, Afrifa jumped in front of his marker and, as he described it, the ball came off his toe. Instead of 2-1 Sporting with 12 minutes to play, it stayed level, and Austin made them pay eight minutes later. Afrifa did not hide from it: "Myself, I got a goal, but I feel like I let down the team with the big opportunity I missed."

Wicky's diagnosis was more structural: "You have to become a team who doesn't need five or six chances to win a game." On the winner itself, he called it "a very easy gift of a goal again."

Stats That Matter

• Shots: Sporting 19, Austin 13. More volume, fewer points.
• Shots on target: Austin 8, Sporting 5. Uzuni alone matched the hosts' total.
• Possession and passing: Austin held 56.2 percent of the ball and completed 431 passes to Sporting's 337.
• Discipline: Five yellow cards for Sporting, two for Austin. Afrifa said the bookings left midfielders backing out of 50/50 duels.
• Clearances: Sporting made 30 to Austin's 13, a sign of how often the visitors were knocking on the door.

What It Means

Austin move to 8-10-13 (wins, draws, losses) with 34 points. MLS had laid out four ways Austin could be eliminated from playoff contention on this matchday, and every one of them required Austin to draw or lose at Sporting Park. Uzuni made sure none of them could happen. By our count of the season's results, Austin sit 14th in the West after Saturday's games, and this was their first win since beating Vancouver on Sept. 13, ending a five-match winless run.

Sporting fall to 6-4-21 with 22 points, last in the West and 12 points behind Austin. They have lost three straight, conceding nine goals in that span, and have one point from their last five matches. The season series finishes level, after Sporting won 2-1 in Austin on May 16.

The Closing Take

Afrifa summed up Sporting's season better than any stat could: "We've let this happen way too many times." This is Groundhog Day in Kansas City. Score first, exhale, watch the opponent climb back in, wake up and do it again. Bill Murray eventually escaped the loop by getting better at everything. Sporting's exit is simpler: put away the chance at the far post. Uzuni did it twice in one night.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes as reported by Sporting Kansas City; additional match details from Austin FC and MLSsoccer.com.