It’s still early in the season, but Sporting Kansas City has limped from the gate — quite literally, looking at the injury report during the first month.
With two home wins and four road losses through the first six games, Sporting KC isn’t making excuses as it prepares to face Nashville SC (2-2-1) at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at Children’s Mercy Park.
But there’s urgency to turn things around sooner rather than later.
“When you’re a competitor, you feel it in preseason,” Sporting KC Manager and Sporting Director Peter Vermes said of the urgency to find better results. “You feel it before the first game starts. You want to win.”
Rather than shy away from the pressure to perform better, Sporting KC (2-4-0) is leaning into it.
“We always have that urgency, especially when the results haven’t been as favorable as we would like them to be,” right back Graham Zusi said.
He added that he believes Sporting has been close to garnering better results and the changes needed aren’t “massive, glaring things that take a long time to get right.”
But Nashville will provide a stern test to Sporting's unblemished home record.
According to Vermes, whose club has scored four goals and allowed nine through six games, Nashville is organized and competes well on defense.
“When you have those two things going for you, you’re usually pretty stingy when it comes to giving up goals,” Vermes said. “So, that’s where they’ve been really good. Then, they’re also quick on the counter, so tough team.”
Zusi said Nashville has a “definitive style of play” that “can be difficult to break down.”
“We’re going to have to be locked into our gameplan and really try to maintain and determine the flow of the game with and without the ball,” he added.
Finding a way to generate more goals obviously would help, but that’s proven to be a challenge with a patchwork attack so far this season.
“It’s very hard to predict,” Vermes said when asked if he sensed Sporting KC was close to gelling up top.
Even for teams that return a lot of players and have a normal preseason, which Sporting’s was not this year with a number of late signings and late arrivals, Vermes said the attacking rhythm is often the last piece to click.
The lack of early-season continuity hasn’t helped with Sporting KC’s early-season injury misfortune — forwards Alan Pulido, Daniel Salloi, Johnny Russell and Khiry Shelton have all missed time with injury along with midfielder Gadi Kinda and Uri Rosell — and the temporary loss of winger Marinos Tzionis and left back Logan Ndenbe for international duty.
“Most of them have been our attacking players ... which just makes it that much more difficult,” Vermes said. “Are we closer? I hope so. We work on it weekly, we work on it daily.”
He’d like to see Sporting KC’s players — no matter who’s on the field — be aggressive and smart.
“You have to take your chances when you get them, and you also have to be a little selfish and greedy when you get those chances as an individual,” Vermes said. “When you get a good chance, you have to take it as opposed to passing it on to someone else.”
Zusi said he has “no doubt” the attack — which got its leading scorers from last season, wingers Daniel Salloi and Johnny Russell, back from injury last week — is close to settling into a productive rhythm and flow.
“It’s not anyone’s fault,” Zusi said. “Injuries happen, and we caught the injury bug a little bit early this year and it’s been tough to put a consistent lineup on the field. When that happens, the flow gets interrupted. From what we’ve had to deal with this year, it’s a little bit to be expected.”
As players return to health, he expects the consistency and chemistry to build.
Until it does, Vermes wants Sporting to feel a sense of urgency to turn the corner.
“Our guys, they should feel the pressure,” Vermes said. “We want to be at the top. So, when you're not at the top, then you’ve got to work to get there. We should feel the pressure, and we’ve got to fight for everything in front of us.”
<h2>Familiar faces at Children’s Mercy Park</h2>
Aurelien Collin will be among a trio of familiar faces Saturday at Children’s Mercy Park, including CJ Sapong and Chance Myers.
Collin — an MLS Best XI performer and MLS Cup champion during four seasons with the club, who recently retired — will sign autographs at 6 p.m. Saturday at Mazuma Plaza.
He also will be recognized on the field at 7:15 p.m., lead the pregame “I believe” chant at 7:35 p.m. and join the Sporting KC broadcast on 38 The Spot during the first half.
Sapong, who scored 20 goals in 110 appearances with Sporting from 2011-14, is in his 12th MLS season. He’s a forward with Nashville SC and finished second with 12 goals in his debut season with the club last season.
Myers — a former No. 1 overall draft pick, who spent nine of 10 MLS seasons with Sporting KC — serves as Nashville’s chief scout. He made 147 appearances, including 114 starts, and helped SKC win the 2013 MLS Cup.
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April 09, 2022 at 06:20AM
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Sporting KC still trying to find ‘rhythm, flow’ for 2022 season - KSHB 41 Kansas City News
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