Sporting Kansas City hosted the Seattle Sounders Sunday afternoon in threat level midnight heat. Sporting again put on a display of dominance and Seattle, who rested key players in the midweek U.S. Open Cup game specifically for this game in KC, were ran down. The 102-degree heat index was a factor, but Sporting played through it to their first victory by more than one goal this season. The game ended 3-0 with two from Dom Dwyer and one from Jacob Peterson.
Sporting Kansas City Held Back Melting Sounders in 3-0 Victory
By the 20th minute, SKC had five shots on goal and one goal and Seattle had begun to melt. Benny Feilhaber cut through their defense, sent the ball wide to Roger Espinoza, and Espinoza picked out Dwyer in the box who sent a perfect header by Stefan Frei to the back of the net. Manager Peter Vermes praised this goal for setting the tempo for the rest of the game:
“The important aspect was if you add on what the climate was, if they got on the counter and scored early, I think they really would have packed it in even more so than what we did to them with our play. You have to give credit to our plays for going after them with and without the ball. The fact that we got the early goal was kind of an insurance policy.”
Slowing Pace
After the first goal, the pace of the game decreased dramatically. Shirts were sticking to skin and legs were getting heavy. With the temperature hovering around the upper 90s and getting as high as 106 some days all summer, Kansas City are more accustomed to it than Seattle. Accustomed or not, playing in that heat is dangerous. Multiple water breaks were needed.
“We’re just used to this weather a bit more. We’re a fit team and we just kept working. We knew once we opened them up that it would be difficult for them,” Dwyer said.
Second Half
Seattle showed a little life at the beginning of the second half. They changed their formation and made two substitutions in an attempt to get back into the game after being 2-0 down. They created two chances on a break, but Sporting recovered and kept the Sounders pinned back in their half the rest of the afternoon.
This could have easily been a four or five -nil blowout for Sporting KC, but their finishing problems are still there. Even against a backline almost standing completely still, they struggled to get shots on target. Connor Hallisey, who came in for a freshly injured Graham Zusi, had two of the best chances he’s had all season long. They both went wide.
Newly signed Cameron Porter made his debut in the 76th minute for goal scorer Peterson. Porter made an immediate impact with his pace on the right side. “It felt amazing to get out there and get acclimated to the style of play so quickly,” Porter said after the game. The third goal of the night came not long after he stepped onto the pitch.
Sounders struggles
The Sounders didn’t get a single shot off until the 86th minute.
“Brad Evans, our captain, I thought he worked his rear end off defensively and in the midfield, but our team effort wasn’t good,” manager Sigi Schmid said. “KC was good. We were not good.”
Schmid’s future with the Sounders has to be in question after this performance. It was hot and it was humid, but Sporting didn’t quit. Dwyer, when asked if Seattle quit, said, “I wouldn’t say they quit, they were tired. When you’re tired you make mistakes and they made mistakes and we punished them for it.”
