Improving Sporting KC hold off last-place Earthquakes

Striker Alan Pulido snapped an 11-match league goalless drought and visiting Sporting Kansas City held on for a 2-1 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday night.

Erik Thommy opened the scoring with his fifth goal of the season for Kansas City (6-13-5, 23 points), which completed its first back-to-back MLS wins of the season and has four wins in its last five games in all competitions.

Nemanja Radoja assisted both goals for SKC, which moved up one spot to 12th in the 14-team Western Conference table and snapped an eight-match away losing streak.

Last-place San Jose (4-17-2, 14 points) pulled a late goal back through an own-goal off SKC defender Khiry Shelton.

But the Quakes failed to produce another moment of real danger in the final stages and fell to 1-3-0 under interim manager Ian Russell.

Starting in part because fellow striker William Agada had started in Kansas City's 2-1 U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal win over FC Dallas on Wednesday, Pulido was the most active attacker for either team before halftime.

He forced William Yarbrough into his first save on a well-struck effort from the edge of the area in the 44th minute, and had an apparent goal ruled offside in first-half stoppage time.

But it was a moment of magic from Thommy that opened the scoring in the 48th minute.

After taking a pass from Radoja with his back to goal, Thommy turned and angled his dribble to the right toward the penalty arc, cut back on his left foot to evade a defender, and then drove a low finish that beat Yarbrough to the bottom left corner.

Eight minutes later, Pulido had his fourth goal of the season when he timed his run to remain onside, sprinted onto Radoja's perfectly weighted throughball, and finished low and hard past Yarbrough and inside the left post.

Shelton redirected the ball into his own net in the 83rd minute when he was trying to intercept a cross inside the 6-yard box.

San Jose had one clear look to level the game, but Preston Judd did not connect cleanly, sending his shot well wide of the target from about eight yards out.

--Field Level Media