Colorado Rapids defender Reggie Cannon scored a fine header in the second half to break the deadlock against Sporting Kansas City on Saturday night.
Youssef Maziz, making his MLS debut as a substitute, provided the assist for Cannon’s opener with a well-weighted pass in the 65th minute.
Cannon’s goal was only his fourth in 111 career appearances, making it a memorable strike at an important moment in the match.
The Rapids had been playing with a man advantage since the 38th minute, when Sporting KC midfielder Kwaku Agyabeng was shown a red card.
Maziz had only entered the game in the 56th minute, meaning it took the debutant less than ten minutes to register a direct contribution.
Goalkeeper Nico Hansen was impressive throughout for Colorado, turning away three shots on goal to earn a clean sheet on the night.
Hansen now has four clean sheets in ten starts this season and an impressive seven in twenty career starts, underlining his growing reliability.
Rafael Navarro wrapped up the victory in the fifth minute of stoppage time by converting from the penalty spot after another Sporting KC red card.
Sporting KC defender Moisés Mosquera had been dismissed three minutes before Navarro stepped up to put the result beyond any doubt.
Navarro’s winning mentality was already on display last time out, when he also scored a stoppage-time penalty to secure a 1-0 win over Austin FC.
Colorado’s strong recent record against Sporting KC continued after Paxten Aaronson had scored twice in the Rapids’ 4-1 road win over them back in March.
Stefan Cleveland made two saves in what was his tenth start of the season for a Sporting KC side that has now lost five of its last six matches.
Sporting KC sit at 4-13-2 on the season and have been outscored by seven goals during their damaging recent run of poor form.
Colorado move to 8-10-1 and will look to maintain momentum when they host Los Angeles FC on Wednesday, while Sporting KC return home to face St. Louis City.
