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MLS Sporting Kansas City

Sporting KC Falls to St. Louis

September 30, 2023 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Sporting Kansas City News Release


Sporting Kansas City (10-14-8, 38 points) suffered a 4-1 loss to St. Louis City SC (17-10-5, 56 points) on Saturday night at CityPark in St. Louis.

The hosts did their damage late in the second half, scoring four goals the space of 12 minutes as Sam Adeniran and Jared Stroud found the back of the net before Joao Klauss bagged a brace. Sporting striker Willy Agada came off the bench for a late consolation goal, burying a header for his second tally in as many games.

The result leaves Sporting three points below the playoff line in the Western Conference with two regular season matches still to play. The club's penultimate regular season game will take place next Saturday, Oct. 7, as Sporting visits Real Salt Lake for an 8:30 p.m. CT kickoff with live coverage on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV.

Manager Peter Vermes made three changes to the Sporting Kansas City lineup from last weekend's 2-1 home win over Houston Dynamo FC. Striker Alan Pulido supplanted Agada after missing one match with a quad contusion, while winger Daniel Salloi replaced suspended captain Johnny Russell. In the midfield, veteran Felipe Gutierrez entered in place of Gadi Kinda.

Battling the Western Conference leaders in a hostile environment at sold-out CityPark, Sporting were first to threaten inside three minutes as center back Dany Rosero met Gutierrez's corner kick and steered a strong header on frame that St. Louis goalkeeper Roman Burki dropped low to save. Shortly thereafter, the visitors broke forward on the counter with Pulido spreading the ball wide left to Salloi, who lifted his off-balance shot over the crossbar.

Sporting had veteran goalkeeper Tim Melia to thank in the seventh minute as St. Louis went worryingly close to surging ahead. Wide midfielder Indiana Vassilev, who had scored twice inaugural meeting between the clubs this season, pounced on a Sporting defensive miscue and hammered a left-footed side volley on target, but Melia reacted brilliantly by touching the ball over the bar to keep the game goalless.

Melia was called into action again in the 12th minute, blocking a venomous blast from Aziel Jackson at the top of the box before Rosero ushered clear. The fleeting chance preceded another close shave as Adeniran thrashed a shot marginally wide of the near post and into the side netting on 21 minutes.

The hosts were thwarted again at the half-hour mark as Melia delivered heroics once more. Finding the ball amidst a scramble in the box off a corner kick, Klauss swiveled and struck from near the penalty spot, prompting Melia to reach low for a one-handed, world-class stop on the goal line. Only a minute later, Klauss was on the receiving end of another guild-edged chance but spurned the look as he directed an incoming cross inches wide.

A breathtaking spectacle continued to unfold as Sporting nearly drew first blood in the 34th minute. A flowing move into the attacking third culminated with Gutierrez playing diagonally to Salloi, who did wonderfully to shimmy past two defenders on the left side of the box before firing low at close range. Burki was equal to it, however, as the German palmed the shot aside and allowed St. Louis to extinguish the danger.

The second half opened with Gutierrez and the all-action Erik Thommy slamming long-range strikes high and wide as Sporting began to enjoy a greater share of possession. Vermes' men were then desperately unlucky not to score near the 60th minute as a chaotic sequence left spectators gasping. An unrelenting siege on the St. Louis goal culminated with Salloi settling the ball on the right side of the penalty area and unleashing a thunderous blast that smacked off the crossbar and bounced downward to the goal line before the hosts managed to clear their lines.

Burki spared his team's blushes again in the 66th minute as both goalkeepers continued to stand on their heads. Salloi squared up his defender and clipped a clever cross to the opposite side of the box for left back Logan Ndenbe, whose diving header to the near post was touched onto the woodwork by the outstretched Burki.

At the opposite end, Kansas City native Niko Gioacchini almost put his hometown club to the sword with a quick impact from off the bench, but his lunging attempt amidst traffic was saved smartly by Melia before his follow-up effort was blocked.

Adeniran and Stroud notched quickfire goals for St. Louis in the 73rd and 75th minutes, respectively. Adeniran nodded home the breakthrough off a looping Eduard Lowen free kick, powering a header into the top right corner. Sporting had yet to recover when St. Louis doubled their advantage, Stroud picking up a loose ball and slotting low past Melia from the top of the box.

Things went from bad to worse for Sporting in the 80th minute when Lowen was afforded space to deliver a ball to the back post for Klauss to apply a simple finish. The Brazilian-born striker then secured his brace with a well-taken strike into the top left corner in the 85th minute.

Agada salvaged Sporting a goal in second-half stoppage time, snapping a header inside the far post off a decadent cross from Salloi. Agada has now scored in consecutive matches, while Salloi has seven goals and seven assists during his 2023 regular season campaign.

QUOTES

Sporting Kansas City Manager Peter Vermes

On the final 20 minutes...

I would say, up until that time, we also had the best chances of the game as well. We had quite a few. Their goalkeeper was outstanding in a bunch of those. Why did we give up those goals? Poor decisions. It was poor decisions. At the end of the day, it was just poor decisions. The set piece goal that they score, we need better recognition in that situation. They had three guys at the first post and we have to be able to be with them - simple as can be. The other is we go to clear a ball into the middle of the park. You can't make that mistake. They finished well in their chances, but the game wasn't a 4-1 game as far as I'm concerned. But they scored their goals and we didn't. So that's the difference in the game today.

On if heads dropped after the first goal...

Obviously, we have got to get back into the game at that point. But, again, I think we went away from what we were doing for the majority of the game. Unfortunately, we did but now we have got to change it up.

On if it can be attributed to the absence of Johnny Russell...

I don't know. All of these guys have played the game long enough. They don't need one guy to cheer them along and help them along. I think maybe there were certain things that Johnny could have helped in the game with, but no, I think that the guys were more than capable. They were more than capable.

On the team's results in St. Louis...

At the end of the day, they're losses. The rest of it is what it is, but they're losses. That's the problem with it. That's what I don't like.

On what he would have changed in the second half...

All the guys that went into the game were capable. They were more than capable. Unfortunately, what happened happened and we have got to get over it quickly.

On the challenge and headbutt on Jake Davis...

I saw the challenge. I thought that was over the top. Personally, I think it was over the top. I didn't see the headbutt. I heard that's what he did, but I didn't see it.

Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper Tim Melia

Thoughts on the match...

I thought we defended well in the first half. We always knew it was going to be a game where they were going to get opportunities and I think everyone was defending really well and committing. They're a good team. They're a team that grinds you down and ultimately that's kind of what they did. They took their opportunity on a set piece and we kind of just started opening the door for them a little bit. They have quality where they're going to take advantage of it. That's pretty much the story of the game.

On the loss...

I thought it was great to see our traveling fans to come to this game. They're always supporting us. We always know they have got our back, but ultimately for us the objective is the same. We said we needed to win two of these last three games and we still have to do that. It would have been great to get the go-ahead win in the rivalry, but ultimately that is not our goal. We need to make sure we get into playoffs and now we've just made the task a little bit more difficult but the objective still remains the same.

On if the team was deflated after the first goal...

I think it has more to do with the fact of the quality they have. Are they avoidable goals? 100 percent, but I think when you're under that much pressure and then all of a sudden you drop the curtain for a second, a quality team is going to take advantage of it.

On the goals conceded...

Any goal that goes in is my responsibility as the goalkeeper. So the first person that I evaluate is myself. Is my positioning good? Was my decision making good? So that's what I'll do when I go back and look at this game. The goalkeeper's job is to keep teams in the game and ultimately when I'm letting in four goals, I'm not doing that. So the first person I will always look at is myself.

On what the team could have done differently in the second half...

I think if we just continued the way that we played up until that first goal, I think we have an opportunity to get out of here with the result.

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