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MLS Sporting Kansas City

Sporting Battles LA to Stalemate

March 11, 2023 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Sporting Kansas City News Release


Sporting Kansas City (0-1-2, 2 points) battled the LA Galaxy (0-1-1, 1 point) to a 0-0 draw on Saturday in the club's 2023 home opener at Children's Mercy Park.

The hosts were dominant from wire to wire in cold and wet playing conditions, outshooting LA 30-8 and pushing their shutout streak to 264 minutes-the second-longest active streak in MLS. Goals were elusive on both sides, however, and the 69th regular season meeting between the MLS charter members produced just the fourth goalless tie in the series.

Manager Peter Vermes made two lineup changes from Sporting's road draw against the Colorado Rapids last weekend. German left back Tim Leibold earned his first MLS start and Children's Mercy Park debut as Ben Sweat dropped to the bench, while forward Khiry Shelton replaced Marinos Tzionis on the right side of the attack.

Shelton was on the receiving end of Sporting's first opportunity inside three minutes, steering his header over the crossbar after Salloi clipped in a cross from the left edge of the box. It was the first of 17 first half shot attempts for the hosts, who held a decisive edge in the run of play throughout the night.

Buoyed by a sold-out crowd of raucous home supporters, Sporting remained on the front foot early by unleashing a deluge of shots that prompted saves from Galaxy goalkeeper Jonathan Bond. LA weathered the early storm, however, and manufactured a decent look of their own near the 10-minute mark when Memo Rodriguez saw his low drive cast aside by Sporting keeper John Pulskamp.

Sporting midfielder Erik Thommy entered the weekend ranking second in MLS in shots on target and forced Bond into a smart near-post save in the 28th minute, squaring up his defender and firing low with his left foot from a tight angle. Thommy then turned provider five minutes later, swinging in a corner kick for Roger Espinoza, but his headed attempt was corralled by Bond.

Misfortune continued to plague the home side closer to halftime, with Thommy dragging a breakaway shot wide in the 43rd minute and Bond diving at full extension to palm away Remi Walter's 28-yard sledgehammer shortly thereafter.

Pulskamp enjoyed a stress-free first half but spared Sporting's blushes nine minutes into the second period. A sustained spell of Galaxy possession sprung Efrain Alvarez free on the right side of the penalty area, but Pulskamp advanced off his line to smother the shot and Leibold performed a vital clearance on the rebound to extinguish the danger.

Shelton and Sporting striker Willy Agada then combined on the hour mark, the latter receiving a pass near the top of the box and pirouetting before curling a shot over the bar. The Galaxy survived another scare seconds later as neither Shelton nor Agada could pull the trigger in a crowded penalty area prior to Thommy having his off-balance effort saved.

Salloi was next to test the Galaxy gloveman in the 66th minute, sparking a counterattack by charging into the attacking half and striking a long-range dipper that lacked the direction to beat Bond. The play came a short moment before Serbian midfielder Nemanja Radoja, a longtime veteran of the Spanish La Liga, replaced Espinoza for his MLS and Sporting debut.

Another Sporting substitute made his presence felt in the 72nd minute as Leibold galloped forward at full speed and laid the ball off to Tzionis, who took a settling touch before pinging a shot wide of the near post.

Sporting would ask further questions of the Galaxy defense in the dying embers of the contest, but LA held out for a sharing of the spoils.

Vermes' men hit the road next Saturday for a road test against FC Dallas (1-1-1, 4 points) at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. The Western Conference clash is slated for 7:30 p.m. CT and will stream for free on Apple TV.

QUOTES

Sporting Kansas City Manager Peter Vermes

Thoughts on the match...

I'm incredibly excited about our team. I really am. I'm incredibly excited because, based on what those guys did tonight and the way they played, the way they controlled the game, I think it was 31-32 shots on goal, 60 some entries into the final third, 48 actions inside the box. It says so much about what we're capable of doing. And we have so many other players still to add back into the team and they're players that bring also qualities of finishing. There's a lot of those guys that are not in there right now. It's not that the other guys can't, it's just that we have so much more to add to the group, which is great. It'll keep us hungry. It'll keep us competitive. It'll keep us fresh. I feel bad because we should have got the goal. I know that right now, they're not happy about it, but they also know they played really well and they should feel really good about that.

On the team's effort in the match...

I don't think this is news to a lot of you guys who have been around for many years. But I've always said from the first day when we entered into this stadium that there's a responsibility that goes, whether you've been here or you just got here, there's a responsibility that goes with being a player on that field. The one thing is that you cannot leave that field with any energy. You have to leave all your energy on the field. The fans deserve that. That's our responsibility to them. We may not win every game. There's going to be a win, a loss, a draw, whatever, but they're always going to appreciate when you leave everything out there. That's what those guys did tonight. I appreciate that very much from them, but they also know that that's what's expected and that's why they dominated.

On the play of the defense...

It's not just the backline. John's made some very good saves, for sure. He's come up big on actions where he needed to. At the same time, I think what also is good is the back four continues to get better for sure. But the front six are playing with much more determination in not allowing people to go right through us. We had a little bit of that last year where we weren't as good in our front six. I think the front six, they're very conscientious about their defending and they're working really hard. Guys are covering a lot of ground. Everybody comes in and has a really good understanding of their role when they come in and they're executing, which is huge.

On Tim Leibold and Nemanja Radoja...

Tim I thought was really good. The reason why we grabbed him is he's got all the right qualities for the position. He's incredibly technical. He's quick, but he's great over distance. He's got a great engine. He's not 90 minutes fit yet. Imagine when he is. The other thing is that he makes great decisions on the ball. I really appreciate that. Then the other is that he has an attacking mentality, even when the other team has a ball and a guy is getting a ball, you see him always try to get there in time and try to steal it. When you're playing against somebody, it puts them under a lot of pressure. He's got a lot to add to our team. He was good. And then Nemanja came in more as an eight when he came in because I didn't want to have to disrupt two positions for one, because he can play he can play an eight or as a six. He can play four or five if he wanted to as well. But he came in and it was good for him to get into that flow of game. He needs that because he's still trying to get his fitness. I think he got 20 some odd minutes. That's probably where he is and we'll build them up again this week to get some more in him. But it's important for us to have him 100% fit. And it's nothing against Roger (Espinoza). Roger has been playing actually really well, but my expectation is not to be starting Roger game in and game out. But until those guys are fully fit, it's hard to put all those guys out on the field.

On the play of Willy Agada...

I think it's a combination of a lot of different things. I think we were better with the ball. We talked about using him a little bit differently this week. I also talked with him about his movements, so it was a combination of a lot of things. Everybody had a good mentality to get that done. He was dangerous. He held the ball up well and found good spots in our build up, which was really good. I think he was a handful for their guys. I think he was a little unlucky on a couple of situations, but the hunger and the desire is there for sure. I expect him to get on the mark here pretty quickly.

On the status of Alan Pulido...

I could try and make a prediction, but I really don't want to. He truly is kind of week to week. There's two things he needs. One, he needs a lot of trainings under his belt where he's full contact. The other is I just want to make sure that his fitness is good so that when he enters, he is in a place where - I've said this many times - his knee and all that stuff is great. There are no problems there. I just want to make sure he's fit enough so that he doesn't wind up hurting something else, like pulling a quad or a hamstring or something like that. So we're just trying to be really careful, but I would tell you that in the next couple of weeks, I fully expect him to be involved with the group.

On the team's run of five matches unbeaten against LA...

First off, I think we're a good team. I think they're a good team. I think when two teams want to play, I think it always presents a great match to watch for the fans. What I also would say is that we've been a big recipient of this over the years and that is you wind up getting everybody's A game. I feel like we always wind up getting everybody's A game. And I think they're a club just in status alone and who they are, they wind up getting everybody's A game. I think for us, it winds up being that we're usually a tough team to play and I think this is another night of that. They're strong, we're strong. I think we're good and I think we're growing, and we'll continue to try to get good results against every opponent that we come against because we have the ability to, especially as we continue to bring more and more players back into the fold.

Sporting KC forward Daniel Salloi

On not finding a goal in the game...

Yeah, it's a little frustrating that we couldn't score but it's coming. I think we did well in the game and, you know, on to the next one. I think it's just a matter of the first goal and then it's going to click after that.

On fighting until the final moment...

I think the crowd was amazing. They were pushing us and we were trying to get that goal and win the game. I thought we did everything. It's just unlucky. I felt like everybody gave their best and all their energy and it's just one of those days. As I said, the first goal is going to come and then it's going to be just fine.

On finding moral victories from the game...

It's important that we didn't give up any goals. Credit to our defense. They were really good and in three games they have only conceded one goal. I think that's amazing and we have just got to find the back of the net. I think we have got to take every positive we can because it's a long season.

On the team's defensive effort...

I thought we were more aggressive trying to press the Galaxy than we did in the past two weeks before. We overturned the ball a couple of times. We were disciplined up front, but the defense and John (Pulskamp) made a big difference because it gives us the security to be able to be comfortable in attack because you know that your defense is not giving up goals. So well done to them.

On playing with Tim Leibold on the left...

I think he was doing well and I hope to play many more games with him. I think he's getting more and more comfortable and we have just got to find each other even more. I thought he did very well. I'm looking forward to the next game with him.

On his chemistry with Tim Leibold...

I think it takes a little bit of time. I have good chemistry with Ben (Sweat) and I hope I can build the same with Tim because he's also a very good player.

On the stitches above his eye...

It's fine. It's just unlucky. It happened before halftime in Colorado, but they're going to take it out on Monday so it's going to be fine. It's just, as I said, an unlucky injury.

LA Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney

Thoughts on the game...

I was proud of our guys for the grit, the determination and the effort. I thought it was a character point on our behalf. We weren't great with the ball tonight by any stretch - so many transitions to have to defend because we lost possession too easily at times in the first half. Structurally we were kind of all over the place, which led to transitions where you spend a lot of energy on the defensive side and a lot of energy protecting your goal and defending the box. But that's not something that we've typically been great at and tonight we did what we had to do to get a point in a tough place and not on our best night. I'm proud of the guys in that we know that from a soccer perspective, football perspective, we're going to continue to get a little sharper and get better. To come to Kansas City and take a point -- this is a tough place to play and they're a good team that's well coached -- the guys gritted it out. We put ourselves into some tough situations throughout the night with just some losses of possession that were uncharacteristic and really just careless.

On the play of Jalen Neal and Jonathan Bond...

With Jalen in particular, I don't know if I can keep saying as many good things about the kid. It's going to start going to his head at some point. He's been outstanding from the day he played a preseason game with the U.S. team, two in a row, I thought he looked very composed and looked like he fit in. We've always been super high on his talent and his ability. Tonight he showed it a little bit different side, which is just the grittiness defensively and making some plays in the box by doing some of that side. One of the greatest qualities I think he has is his capacity on the ball and tonight you don't see a ton of that just because we weren't great on the ball, but he showed something different, which is again, that defensive side and his game reading and winning some duels and making some great defensive plays. I'm happy for him to come. This is not an easy place to get your debut and we didn't play great as a team which put him under some stress, but I was happy with him.

As far as the back line and (Jonathan Bond), I thought, again, they managed a lot of situations. We lost a lot of balls in the midfield. We lost a lot of balls right in front of them. We didn't do a good job of controlling the middle of the field, which should be one of our strengths given the midfield that we have. We lost so many balls in front of those guys that they probably had an unprecedented amount over 90 minutes of transition defending moments that they had to deal with. I thought they stood tall in those moments. And when (Jonathan Bond) was called upon, he made those plays. So, again, proud of them because, again, in a way, we've had some changes and some different things across the back line and we're still a little bit unsettled in that side of things, but the guys managed the night well.

On the performance of Dejan Joveljic and the front line...

I think we missed a little bit of the speed and the stretch and the players who put the back line on notice, because if they get tight or get high, you're going to go in behind them. And that softens things up for our midfield to be able to play as well. With the group that we have that's kind of fit and ready and healthy, we lack a little bit of that. And the guy who suffers the most sometimes is the striker, because you don't have players who are getting in behind and moving centerbacks, forcing center backs to have to track different runs through the back line, things like that. So it's sometimes hard to get into the striker in those situations. But we didn't hold onto the ball well enough, especially in the attacking half of the field. Once we got in there, we were often one and done - one pass trying to make the big ball and then we were out. I thought in the second half we had a few more sustained possessions. We were a little bit more patient, but, it became a tough night for the striker. It became a night where he had to work hard defensively, to try to keep the group together in many ways and find his moments to hold up the ball. It wasn't a night that you're really assessing the striker on the attacking side of things too much. You're really kind of assessing him for just the work that he was able to put in through the course of 65 minutes.

On the play of Riqui Puig...

I think I saw what everyone saw. He had some good moments that are Riqui like. He lost some balls that he doesn't normally lose. Again, I think some of it was structurally. We started, especially in the first half, we were drifting into areas that don't make sense, not just Riqui, but a lot of guys. We were getting too far away from each other or disconnected. And when Riqui is at his best he's combining off of people and he's bouncing the ball, moving and building speed in his actions. Today I felt like some of those combinations and some of those actions just never really got off in the right way because, first of all, we weren't in great positions in the first half. Second half was a little bit better, but again, in just too few passes we were losing the ball. We were either too slow with it or tried something we didn't need to try. And then numerous other things that led to, again, us losing the ball in bad areas that turned into transition. It wasn't just Riqui. It was collectively. Each guy made more losses in possession than they should have.

On the status of players missing due to injury...

Javier, Douglas, Sega and also Chase - they'll all be back into some version of on the field this week. So we'll see on the day to day who can get themselves ready for next weekend. But they're all making progress as to getting back on the field for return to play. That's kind of the expectation. Some are a little bit further than others, but we'll see as the week progresses how far they're able to get and whether we can get them ready for the next week.

Sporting Kansas City is owned by Sporting Club, an entity comprised of local business and community leaders. Sporting prides itself on a commitment and vision to provide high-performance experiences. Sporting Club purchased the team from the Hunt Sports Group in 2006, and under its direction has launched Swope Soccer Village, Children's Mercy Park, Compass Minerals Sporting Fields, Compass Minerals National Performance Center and Central Bank Sporting Complex while investing in the Sporting KC Academy and Sporting Kansas City II for developing local youth into homegrown talent. A charter member of Major League Soccer, Sporting are two-time MLS Cup champions (2000, 2013) and four-time winners of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (2004, 2012, 2015, 2017).

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