Editorial- In Sporting KC’s 3-2 Victory over the Chicago Fire last night, a couple things were evident. One, Dom Dwyer wasn’t there. The other? That Sporting KC will be just fine without him.

Saturday’s victory is indication that Sporting KC should be just fine without Dom Dwyer

Dom Dwyer has been the face of Sporting KC since his breakout 2014 season, and of course when he stepped up to the plate in their 2013 MLS Cup run. The shocking nature of his trade put Kansas City into a bit of shock. A fan favorite will never be easily erased from memory. It does become easier when your team plays well without him though. And Saturday’s performance should begin to do that for Sporting KC fans.

The Sporting KC attack was different. Instead of swinging it wide into the channels and looking to play a ball into the box, it was the front three combining and interchanging, giving Chicago’s backline an incredibly difficult time.

The front three of last night’s match was actually a man short, as Gerso Fernandes was suspended. So it was left up to Latif Blessing, Diego Rubio and Daniel Salloi. All three got on the scoresheet in some fashion, and Rubio could’ve easily had another goal and assist. When asked about the front three’s play after the match Sporting KC Manager Peter Vermes said, “Some of the best we’ve had all year.”

Rubio and Salloi’s combination play was really eye popping, especially in the second half. “I was telling somebody before that I thought Diego and Daniel, it’s almost like they played together for 10 years, the relationship and type of play they had, the ball that diego plays him there late in the second half, that was a fantastic little combination,” said Vermes.  

That was just the start as well. According to Vermes, the front three were hungry. “They were hungry. I knew that putting Daniel out there, he’s gonna go for goals. And then his movement is going to be very good,” said Vermes. “Then I also thought that Latif was very dangerous in the first half. He stretched the defense a lot, and they weren’t ready for it. But being able to play through a focal point up front was a big piece of tonight’s success.

The biggest line of Vermes’ post match comments though had to be the very last line of that answer. “…being able to play through a focal point up front…”

Let’s take a look at the passing map from 11tegen11 for Sporting KC vs. Chicago:

Passmaps & xGplot for Sporting Kansas City against Chicago Fire. #passmap #xGplot #autotweet pic.twitter.com/ER9YWIbqL3

— 11tegen11 (@11tegen11) July 30, 2017

Notice how there is a complete look to the passing map. There is some connectivity between the midfield, wingers, and back up to the point of the attack in the striker, and even in from the wing backs to the striker. Now the Next photo is from the passing map of Sporting KC’s 2-1 win against the LA Galaxy, Dom Dwyer’s last match for Sporting KC:

Passmaps & xGplot for LA Galaxy against Sporting Kansas City. #passmap #xGplot #autotweet pic.twitter.com/FMWl7fRTqr

— 11tegen11 (@11tegen11) June 25, 2017

Notice how unconnected to the attack Dom Dwyer is. The focal point of their attack wasn’t playing through him up front, it was into the midfield. But against Chicago, there was much more play through the front three.

It takes a long time to scroll down through all of their tweets to find games, but I did it. I can virtually guarantee you it looks like that for every time Dom Dwyer is in the match.

Dwyer’s role with Sporting KC was very much as a lone operator up top. His passing game wasn’t refined, but man could he close down a center back in the high press and cause a lot of problems. Not only that, if you gave him time and space, he’d kill you in dangerous areas. The big thing here is that Sporting KC no longer need to rely on the high press to keep the ball. They do it well enough with their passing and possession.

Dom Dwyer became expendable because his style of play no longer fit the system of Sporting KC. Sporting KC might be better off without Dom simply because fitting what he does best into Sporting KC’s needs from a striker is like putting a square peg in a round hole. Diego Rubio is that round peg right now.

Rubio is a better passer than Dwyer, and he’s much more comfortable with the ball at his feet for longer than two or three touches. It’s not that Sporting KC needed someone who could dribble at a backline, they already have that with their technical, yet pacy wingers. Rubio just holds up the ball well, and passes better out of that. He can also combine with the in-cutting wingers really well. That’s why when you look at the passing map, there are actually lines between a winger and the striker.

This isn’t to say that Rubio is going to be Dom’s long-term replacement. This is just to say that he has more of what Sporting KC need now, than Dom Dwyer does. It’s a continuation of the evolution of Sporting KC’s style of play. At the beginning of the season, Peter Vermes mentioned it was like Sporting KC 2.0.

Could it be that the change up front was just the last part of that evolution? Maybe. Dom Dwyer is still an incredibly talented and gifted player. But when your coach and technical director are the same person, they’re going to be on the same page about what the team needs best to make this version of Sporting the best it can be. We’ll have to see what that looks like without Dwyer. But if Saturday is any indication, they’re going to be in pretty decent shape.