Sporting Kansas City manager Peter Vermes has praised Ghanaian forward Latif Atta Blessing’s impact in the club’s victory over New York Red Bulls to win the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
Sporting Kansas City were crowned champions of the 2017 U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday night, defeating the New York Red Bulls 2-1 in a nail-biting final at sold-out Children’s Mercy Park.
A 25th-minute header from Latif Blessing and a 66th-minute strike from Daniel Salloi were just enough to secure victory as Sporting Kansas City continued their mastery of North America’s oldest soccer tournament, lifting the Open Cup title for the fourth time overall and the third time since 2012.
“Where I thought we were really good in the first half is exactly what we wanted to do, figuring that they would come as much as they did and send as many numbers forward that we were going to get counters on them.
“And we did. We had a couple different breakaways, I mean Gerso could have scored a hat trick in the first half. It’s a shame that we didn’t put more away and give ourselves a cushion. To get the goal, great goal, beautiful cross, excellent run by Latif [Blessing],’’ Manager Peter Vermes said after the game.
Latif Atta Blessing joined the club last season after winning the Most Valuable Player in the Ghana Premier League where he emerged top scorer.
Having excelled in Ghana, he made the switch to the Major League Soccer but had to be farmed out to Swope Park Rovers before returning to the senior side, and has since been a sensation.
By Lukman Evergreen Mumin