Stefan Cleveland Makes Nine Saves as Sporting KC Beat Minnesota United 2-1 Behind Joveljic and García

Minnesota United had the ball, the shots and the territory. Sporting Kansas City had Stefan Cleveland. Guess which one mattered more.

Cleveland made nine saves, Dejan Joveljic and Manu García scored a goal in each half, and Sporting Kansas City beat Minnesota United 2-1 on Wednesday night at Sporting Park. Devin Padelford's late header made it tense, but SKC held on for what the club called their second home win of the season, in their first home match since the FIFA World Cup break. In a season like Sporting's, that is not a footnote. That is a parade.

Minnesota Knock, Cleveland Answers

Raphael Wicky made three changes from last week's loss at St. Louis, all along the back line, with Emir Karic making his first start for the club at left back, per SKC. The new-look defense got tested almost immediately. Cleveland saved a Kelvin Yeboah header in the eighth minute, Yeboah smacked the left post in the 15th, and Cleveland got a hand to Morris Duggan's follow-up from distance moments later.

Then Sporting showed Minnesota how counterattacking works. In the 28th minute Lasse Berg Johnsen sprung Capita down the right, the winger beat his man and squared it, and Joveljic finished from the middle of the box for his eighth goal of the season, according to the club. Capita got the primary assist and, later, a yellow card in first-half stoppage time for good measure.

Joveljic nearly doubled the lead right before halftime with a free kick that Drake Callender parried away. Minnesota went into the break down 1-0 despite seeing plenty of the ball, which is a sentence Loons fans have probably said before.

García Doubles It, Padelford Makes It Interesting

Early in the second half Calvin Harris rattled the left post on a fast break set up by Joveljic. Three minutes later, Sporting got the second goal anyway. Harris found Jake Davis overlapping down the right, Davis cut it back, and García curled a right-footed shot from the right side of the box into the bottom right corner. The club said it was his second goal of the season.

Minnesota threw everything forward. Cleveland saved from Tomás Chancalay in the 69th minute and from substitute Mamadou Dieng in the 73rd, and Davis, per SKC, headed a Chancalay effort off the line. The pressure finally paid off in the 75th minute. Bongokuhle Hlongwane drew a foul outside the box, per Minnesota, Joaquín Pereyra whipped in the set piece and Padelford headed home from close range for his first goal of the season. In the same minute, Cameron Knowles took him off for Jefferson Díaz. Talk about leaving on a high note.

The last 15 minutes were a siege. Cleveland stopped Duggan and Anthony Markanich in back-to-back minutes, Markanich then dragged a shot just wide in the 90th, and Cleveland saved Dieng's header in stoppage time. At the other end, Callender kept it at 2-1 by denying Stephen Afrifa. The whistle blew, and Sporting Park exhaled.

Who Showed Up

Stefan Cleveland made nine saves. That is not a typo. Minnesota put 10 shots on target and only one beat him, a header from very close range.

Dejan Joveljic scored, had two shots on target and set up Harris for the post. Per SKC, he is the team's top scorer. He did pick up a yellow card in the 74th minute.

Manu García had three shots, two on target, and the goal that proved decisive. "I play my best game when I don't think much and when things come natural," he said. "I didn't think. I was just playing."

Capita delivered the assist on the opener and drew praise from his coach. "Capita had a nice assist. He's always a danger, right? He's so fast," Wicky said.

Jake Davis, an SKC Academy product according to the club, set up García's goal and, per Sporting, headed a Chancalay effort off the line. That is a full night's work at both ends, and Wicky's decision to restore him to the lineup looked smart.

For Minnesota, Joaquín Pereyra assisted the goal and was the creative engine, while Tomás Chancalay put all three of his shots on target. Drake Callender made five saves in a losing effort.

Turning Point: The Post That Wasn't

Yeboah's 15th-minute shot off the post is the moment Minnesota will replay. Score that and the whole night tilts in their favor. Instead, Sporting stayed patient, struck 13 minutes later and never trailed.

Wicky did not pretend it was smooth. "Wins are rare, so wins we have to enjoy. You have to suffer to make wins," he said.

Stats That Matter

• Saves: Cleveland 9, Callender 5.
• Possession: Minnesota held 65.9 percent of the ball.
• Shots: Minnesota led 16 to 11, and 10 to 7 on target.
• Clearances: Sporting cleared the ball 42 times. Minnesota cleared it 11.
• Woodwork: Each side hit the post once, Yeboah for Minnesota and Harris for Sporting.

What It Means

Sporting improve to 4-2-10 (wins, draws, losses) with 14 points. It is still a climb, but Wicky said the club spent the break looking for ways to improve a home record that he admitted "hasn't really been great" over the last 18 to 24 months, including training in the stadium. One home win does not fix that. It helps. SKC visit LAFC at BMO Stadium on Saturday.

Minnesota drop to 6-4-6 with 22 points. The club noted the Loons were winless in four before the break, and this makes it five league matches without a win, going back to a 2-2 draw with Austin in May. Next up is a home date with Vancouver at Allianz Field on Saturday.

The Closing Take

Minnesota did everything you are supposed to do in a soccer game except beat the goalkeeper. Cleveland turned Sporting Park into his own personal highlight reel, and García summed up the vibe best: sometimes you stop thinking and just play. For a team that has spent most of the season overthinking it, that might be the whole lesson.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes and club notes as reported by SportingKC.com and MNUFC.com.