Sporting Kansas City have been one of the best possession teams in Major League Soccer of late, showcasing impressive passing rhythm and patterns of play in the early going of the 2019 campaign, in both MLS and Concacaf Champions League play.
Tim Melia, their man in net, has also been one of the league's top goalkeepers across all categories, adding comfort with the ball at his feet to his already-substantial skill set to facilitate SKC's buildups out of the back.
So it was particularly shocking to see Melia and his teammates make such a messy hash out of a seemingly innocuous goal kick in the second half of their road match vs. the Colorado Rapids on Sunday night.
Melia's miscue on the return pass from Matt Besler handed their former teammate Diego Rubio a simple finish from close range, breaking a 0-0 deadlock and putting the visitors in danger of a second loss in their first three league games of the season. Did Rubio's Sporting past give him a cheat code as he pressed Melia?
