Ndenbe, Sallói help Sporting KC oust top-seed St Louis City with 2-1 victory

1 of 15 |

Sporting Kansas City forward Alán Pulido (9) is tripped by St. Louis City defender Tim Parker, left, during the first half of an MLS playoff soccer match, Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)

2 of 15 |

Sporting Kansas City midfielder Nemanja Radoja, left, trips St. Louis City midfielder Indiana Vassilev, right, during the first half of an MLS playoff soccer match, Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)

3 of 15 |

Sporting Kansas City forward Dániel Sallói (20) and St. Louis City defender Akil Watts, right, battle for the ball during the first half of an MLS playoff soccer match, Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)

4 of 15 |

Sporting Kansas City forward Dániel Sallói celebrates with fans after scoring against St. Louis City during the second half of an MLS playoff soccer match, Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)

5 of 15 |

Sporting Kansas City midfielders Rémi Walter, left, Gadi Kinda (10) and forward Alán Pulido (9) celebrate after a goal with another teammate during the second half of an MLS playoff soccer match against St. Louis City, Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)

6 of 15 |

Los Angeles FC co-owner, comedian and actor Will Ferrell, center, greets Vancouver Whitecaps fans as he leaves the field before Game 2 of a first-round MLS playoff soccer match in Vancouver, British Columbia, Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

7 of 15 |

Sporting Kansas City’s Johnny Russell (7) and Logan Ndenbe (18) celebrate with teammates at the end of an MLS playoff soccer match against St. Louis City, Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)

8 of 15 |

St. Louis City midfielder Eduard Löwen (10) passes the ball as Sporting Kansas City forward Dániel Sallói (20) defends during the first half of an MLS playoff soccer match, Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)

9 of 15 |

St. Louis City forward Nicholas Gioacchini, front right, is examined after colliding with a Sporting Kansas City player during the second half of an MLS playoff soccer match, Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)

10 of 15 |

St. Louis City defender Joshua Yaro, right, heads down the pitch as Sporting Kansas City midfielder Erik Thommy, left, pursues during the second half of an MLS playoff soccer match, Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)

11 of 15 |

St. Louis City defender Joshua Yaro, center, heads down the pitch as Sporting Kansas City midfielders Gadi Kinda, left, and Erik Thommy, right, give chase during the second half of an MLS playoff soccer match, Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)

12 of 15 |

St. Louis City defender Tim Parker, top heads the ball over Sporting Kansas City forward Dániel Sallói, bottom, during the second half of an MLS playoff soccer match, Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)

13 of 15 |

St. Louis City defender Tim Parker, top, heads the ball over Sporting Kansas City forward Dániel Sallói, bottom, during the second half of an MLS playoff soccer match, Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)

14 of 15 |

Sporting Kansas City midfielder Erik Thommy, bottom, strips the ball from St. Louis City defender Kyle Hiebert (22) during the second half of an MLS playoff soccer match, Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)

15 of 15 |

Sporting Kansas City forward Dániel Sallói, right, strips the ball from St. Louis City defender Joshua Yaro (15) during the second half of an MLS playoff soccer match, Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Defender Logan Ndenbe scored his second career goal with both coming this postseason and Dániel Sallói had an assist and delivered an insurance goal in the second half as Sporting Kansas City eliminated St. Louis City, the top seed in the Western Conference, with a 2-1 victory on Sunday.

Sporting KC (13-14-8) grabbed a 1-0 lead at halftime when Ndenbe used assists from Alan Pulido and Sallói to score in the first minute of stoppage time. Ndenbe has one assist and has never scored during the regular season in 37 starts and 43 appearances over the past two seasons.

Sallói stretched the lead to 2-0 in the 73rd minute with assists from Gadi Kinda and Johnny Russell. It was the fifth postseason goal for Sallói, tying him with Miklos Molnar for second most in club history. Predrag ‘Preki’ Radosavljević set the record at eight in two separate stints with the club from 1996-2000 and 2002-03.

Rookie Célio Pompeu scored his first career playoff goal when took a pass from Njabulo Blom in the 86th minute and found the net to get St. Louis City (17-13-5) within a goal. Pompeu had one goal and two assists in nine starts and 26 appearances during the regular season.

Other news

Manchester City's Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Manchester City at Stamford Bridge stadium in London, Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023. (John Walton/PA via AP)

Grealish misses Man City vs. Liverpool match because of illness. Haaland starts

Norway's Erling Haaland, right, and Faroe Islands' goalkeeper Bardur a Reynatrod, left, challenge for the ball the international friendly soccer match between Norway and the Faroe Islands at the Ullevaal stadium in Oslo, Norway, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023. (Cornelius Poppe /NTB Scanpix via AP)

Man City’s Erling Haaland could play against Liverpool on Saturday despite injury scare

PSG's Kylian Mbappe scores his side's second goal from penalty spot during the French League One soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco, at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, France, Friday, Nov. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Mbappé scores a penalty as PSG beats Monaco 5-2 to move four points clear at the top

Sporting KC’s Tim Melia, who finished with one save, did not allow the equalizer through the final four minutes of regulation and 15 minutes of stoppage time. Roman Bürki saved two shots for St. Louis City.

Ndenbe scored the first goal in Sporting KC’s 4-1 victory in St. Louis in the opener. It was the eighth time in league history that a road team won a playoff match by three or more goals and the sixth time the road team scored four goals.

Sporting KC is now 2-3-2 in its last seven postseason matches at home. The club posted a 14-1-3 record at home in the playoffs from 2000-2018.

St. Louis City became the first expansion team to win its first five matches and the first to earn its conference’s top seed. Just two expansion teams have earned a postseason victory on the road — the 1998 Chicago Fire and Nashville SC in 2020.

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer