Courtesy: Sporting Communication
Photos: Carlos Chicas & Edvin Zepeda
(May 29, 2024) — A late Marinos Tzionis goal was not enough to prevent defeat on Wednesday as Sporting Kansas City (2-8-5, 11 points) fell 2-1 to Vancouver Whitecaps FC (6-5-4, 22 points) at Children’s Mercy Park. Whitecaps attacker Ryan Gauld scored on both sides of halftime to give the visitors a 2-0 advantage before Tzionis scored his third goal of the season in all competitions during second-half stoppage time.
Sporting will conclude a frantic stretch of five games in 15 days by visiting regional rivals Minnesota United FC on Saturday at Allianz Field. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. CT with live coverage on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV.
Manager Peter Vermes reshuffled his lineup to the tune of eight changes, including the first MLS starts of the season for Felipe Hernandez, Khiry Shelton and wingers Stephen Afrifa and Alenis Vargas. Hernandez earned his first league start since April 2023, Shelton was deployed at right back in his first start since last September, Afrifa logged his second career MLS start and his first last July, and Vargas was named to the starting XI for the first time in his Sporting career. Homegrown defender Jake Davis was notably pushed into the central midfield for a Sporting side that averaged 25.9 years of age, the club’s youngest lineup for an MLS match since July 2022.
The hosts enjoyed a vibrant opening half hour and threatened twice inside the first three minutes. Davis drove into the attacking third and forced a save at the top of the box from Whitecaps goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka before Vargas showcased his blistering pace by galloping down the right channel and swinging in a low cross for Agada, whose shot near the penalty spot was blocked. Vargas asked further questions of the Vancouver defense in the 11th minute, cutting on the edge of the area and clipping a delightful ball into Agada, whose leaping header missed by inches.
Hernandez nearly had his third goal in three games in the 15th minute when his searching free kick into the mixer nearly found the back of the net untouched amidst a slew of bodies, but Takaoka produced a reflex save by palming the ball wide. Vancouver created its first fleeting chance on 17 minutes when Sebastian Berhalter’s searching delivery into Brian White was nodded marginally over the crossbar. At the opposite end, Sporting continued to knock on the door with Hernandez having a shot blocked, Dany Rosero heading high off a corner kick and Agada seeing his header corralled by Takaoka.
Against the run of play, Vancouver landed its first punch with 39 minutes on the clock. A long throw-in from the right sideline fell fortuitously to Gauld, who had his initial strike blocked before bundling home the rebound to make the score 1-0. Sporting brought in reinforcements during a cagey second half as Alan Pulido, Johnny Russell and Daniel Salloi all had their numbers called, but the game’s second goal would fall to Gauld and Vancouver. In the 82nd minute, a costly giveaway afforded Gauld a simple breakaway finish to push the scoreline to 2-0.
Not lacking in effort, Sporting grabbed a goal back in the 92nd minute. Shelton surged into the box and played a smart cutback to Tzionis, whose deflected effort nestled inside the near post for his first MLS goal of the campaign and his third of the year overall. The rally was stopped short, however, as Vancouver saw out the game to take all three points.
QUOTES
Sporting Kansas City Manager Peter Vermes
Thoughts on the first half…
I think, other than the goal that they scored, those guys played very well. We created a great amount of chances in that first half. Other than the goal on the throw-in, outside of that the guys were very good. They really were. Sometimes you think something’s going to come. You can feel a goal coming with the number of chances and just the situations we were in around the box and the way we were. We were very good. But some of those guys also ran out of steam, unfortunately, because they’re not playing 90 minutes on a regular basis. But they did a really good job throughout the game, I thought (Robert) Castellanos was very good at central defense. I think, through the run of play, we really didn’t give up all that much to be honest with you. The second goal is a mistake obviously. You saw what happened. But through the run of play, I thought the back four — for not playing together — I thought they did a really good job in a lot of situations. They were good when the ball was being crossed into the box. They cleared a lot of balls. It’s the same thing if you just kind of switch the two situations. Look at how many times we got in their box and how many chances we got. I didn’t see the same on their side. They get the corner and then obviously we made the big mistake.