MLS Sporting Kansas City

Sporting Earns 1-1 Draw at Vancouver

Published on June 4, 2023 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Sporting Kansas City News Release


Forward Alan Pulido scored his second MLS goal of the season to help Sporting Kansas City (4-8-5, 17 points) extend its unbeaten run to three matches in a 1-1 draw against Vancouver Whitecaps FC (5-5-6, 21 points) on Saturday night at BC Place in Vancouver.

Pulido nodded the visitors ahead in the 20th minute with an excellent header off Erik Thommy's corner kick to give Sporting a 1-0 lead that would remain protected until the 88th minute, when Vancouver leveled terms on Ryan Gauld's late penalty kick. Since the start of May, Sporting has a 4-1-2 record and leads the Western Conference with 14 points.

With his team playing its third MLS match in seven days, Manager Peter Vermes deployed a lineup that featured two changes from the starting XI that helped secure home wins over the Portland Timbers last Sunday and FC Dallas on Wednesday. Center back Robert Castellanos replaced Dany Rosero, who was rested after earning 11 straight MLS starts, and midfielder Remi Walter relieved Gadi Kinda, who was an available substitute while continuing his return to full fitness following a 17-month absence due to injury.

The Whitecaps, who exploded for a club-record six goals in Wednesday's 6-2 home victory against Houston Dynamo FC, were first to put a shot on goal as German midfielder Julian Gressel tested goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh from distance in the 12th minute. Shortly thereafter at the opposite end, Pulido saw his low drive deflect through traffic and into the mitts of Vancouver gloveman Yohei Takaoka.

The visitors drew first blood with 20 minutes on the clock. Thommy whipped in a right-footed corner kick that was met at the near post by Pulido, who glanced an inch-perfect header into the far left corner for his third goal of the year in all competitions and his fourth in three career appearances against Vancouver. It was also his second career headed goal in a Sporting unform, the first of which came on his MLS debut as Sporting beat Vancouver on Feb. 29, 2020. Thommy, meanwhile, has tallied two goals and three assists since the start of Sporting's uptick in early May.

Head coach Vanni Sartini's men thought they had restored parity in the 24th minute when Gauld's long-range strike took a wicked deflection and trickled into the back of the net. However, VAR intervened and referee Lukasz Szpala disallowed the goal for an offside infraction on Vancouver, much to the relief of Sporting.

An injury setback hit Sporting three minutes before halftime when Logan Ndenbe was forced to exit with a leg problem, summoning the introduction of fellow left back Tim Leibold. The moment preceded a brief period of dominance for the Whitecaps, who peppered Sporting's goal on the cusp of intermission but were unable to pull even.

Four minutes into second period, Thommy unleashed an identical corner kick from his assist to Pulido by finding substitute center back Robert Voloder at the near post, but the German's booming header carried high and wide of the target.

McIntosh produced a world-class save on the hour-mark to preserve Sporting's one-goal advantage. The Whitecaps countered quickly through Gauld, who powered into the attacking third and spread a pass left to Brian White on the breakaway. White tried to beat McIntosh at the near post, but the keeper dove at full extension to get his fingertips to the shot and touch the ball onto the woodwork.

Marinos Tzionis threatened for Sporting in the 64th minute, combining well with Daniel Salloi inside the box before seeing his turf-trimming effort smothered by Takaoka.

Kinda entered the fray with a quarter-hour remaining and wasted no time trying his luck from 25 yards, dragging his shot marginally wide.

VAR worked to Sporting's favor in the first half but benefited the Whitecaps in the dying embers of the contest. Szpala initially deemed that Voloder's sliding challenge on Deiber Caicedo inside the box was not a foul, but reversed his call after taking a second look. Gauld promptly stepped to the spot and buried the penalty into the top left corner to make the score 1-1 in the 88th minute.

Sporting spurned a glorious chance to retake the lead in the 9nd minute. Salloi settled into possession on the left side of the box and sent a teasing cross to the back stick for Kinda, who planted his header wide after being pushed to the turf by former Sporting defender Luis Martins. Szpala saw no harm in the play and blew his full-time whistle moments later, drawing an end to a fiercely competitive battle in British Columbia after Caicedo hammered a volley high at point-blank range with the final kick of the game.

Each of the next four Saturday nights will see Sporting play in the friendly confines of Children's Mercy Park, beginning with a game against Austin FC on June 10 at 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets are available at SeatGeek.com and fans can catch the action live on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV.

QUOTES

Sporting Kansas City Manager Peter Vermes

Thoughts on the match...

I think tonight we deserved three points based on the way we battled. I always say when you have these three games in seven days and when you have to go on the road for the third one, it's always the most difficult game just because of the accumulation of everything. I think the guys battled. They really didn't give much away. And the fact that we scored and then we had a great chance after they scored the penalty when Gadi (Kinda) had the diving header, but unfortunately he didn't score. I feel like we deserved three points, but it's a great point for us on the road. (Vancouver is) a team that plays with a lot of energy usually at home. I thought today in the first half we had a lot of energy. At the end, the guys are disappointed because they didn't get three but it's still a good point and we keep adding points as we go.

On the penalty decision...

I did not see it. For all intents and purposes, I'm assuming that it's a penalty. I just don't know. I don't know if he hit the ball or not. But at the end of the day, I'm assuming it was. It's just one of those things. All I would say is that sometimes in the heat of the battle you're a little bit emotional and you go for it whereas sometimes that's where you have got to really know where you are. You have got to smell the situation and you have got to deal with that a little differently. You have to stay on your feet and make the guy beat you because we were defending pretty well to that point.

On the status of Logan Ndenbe...

A couple of guys just felt a little fatigued muscular wise. Some guys were cramping and stuff like that. So it was just best to get those guys off and give the other guys a run. Because like I said, based on the couple weeks before where we had the five games in 14 days and then coming into this stretch, it's been accumulation of a lot of load on the guys. So we needed to use a lot of different bodies.

On rotating the roster...

When you have to play the third game in a three-game stretch like this in seven days and you have to play it on the road, it's a tough one and this was from that perspective. It was very tough. We obviously played on Sunday and Wednesday and then now today, and having travel all the way up here, so that was a difficult proposition, I think, in a lot of respects. But the guys battled hard. They stayed focused and concentrated. They were throwing everything at us in the second half. They were pumping balls all the time over the top. That's all they wanted to do. But we did a really good job of defending the majority of those balls. The guy that came on, they executed on their role and responsibility within the game.

On picking up seven points in seven days...

Over the last like six or seven games, we've been pretty darn good and we've been getting points and we're going to keep working towards it.

On the key to picking up a point in Vancouver...

I won't say exactly what they are, but we stayed away from some things that they capitalize on teams when they come in here where they turn them over in certain parts of the field and they wind up getting on the attack very quickly in transition. And they usually score goals on those situations. I think that we were actually very intelligent executing and not losing balls in those places, which effectively took that advantage away from them. And then the other is that I think that we knew in the second half that they were going to be pumping a lot of balls down the middle. It's one thing to win the first ball, but it's really the second ball that you have got to win. And if we didn't win it, we at least had our back line and we also had our midfield already behind the ball, which really helped us a lot.

On the goal from Alan Pulido...

I think he got over a hump on the five-game stretch. I think this week was heavy as well. I think it's going to be good that we get back to some one-game-a-week type situation here for the next few weeks, which will help him immensely. It'll help a lot of guys just to kind of get back into the rhythm and get some training under their belt. But he's muscled through it and he's getting closer and closer to himself, but he's not there yet. He's still got some time.

Sporting Kansas City forward Alan Pulido

On scoring on his MLS debut in Vancouver in 2020 and scoring tonight in Vancouver...

Yes, I spoke with (Andreu) Fontas and the other players that my first goal as here in Vancouver. We played and won in this stadium and I think it's in the same goal. So I am very happy and I am proud because I work very hard. Of course, the team has had a lot of matches, but it's a good result for us.

On the team's turnaround...

Yes, everybody has confidence about themselves now. We play better. We play to support other players. This is a couple of the things and we changed in the mind also. We know we are a very good team with the ball. We try to play better every match. We are so happy. Of course, the sentiment in this match is different because we wanted to win, but also it's a very good result for us. This stadium is not easy because it's turf and we played okay.

On getting three results in seven days...

We know who we are. This is most important. The confidence for everybody has come back. I am so happy and I am proud about the team because it's not easy when you lose a lot of matches and you don't have very good results in the past. Now, I think the matches are better. We play better with the ball. Everybody supports other players and yourself also. I am very good and I am happy because the team has come back.

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