Sporting KC’s home opener is occasion for 4-0 rout of the Houston Dynamo

If Sporting Kansas City’s home-opening 4-0 win over the Houston Dynamo Saturday night is any indication, Children’s Mercy Park is will play host to some big games in 2020.

New signings Gadi Kinda and Alan Pulido scored in their home debuts, veteran Roger Espinoza goal found the net and Khiry Shelton capped the rout with a goal on his return to Children’s Mercy Park.

“The game was a culmination of the offseason training and preseason preparation and preparation the last couple of weeks while we’re back in KC,” Sporting KC coach Peter Vermes said. “The guys have a very good level of concentration and it’s what you do when you prepare well and you execute.”

After last week’s season-opening win at Vancouver, in which Kansas City held on to a slight lead for much of the game, Vermes said his side has moved on from last season’s demons.

After finishing a mediocre 7-6-4 at home in 2019 — this from a team that not so long ago enjoyed a 24-match home unbeaten streak — Sporting looked to exorcise one more Saturday night.

And Saturday’s performance against Houston was nothing short of electric.

Sporting pressed the gas from the first whistle and kept its foot there throughout the game, unsettling the Dynamo from their typical high line of offense.

“We expected them to press, and they did press a lot,” Vermes said. “We saw on the goal kicks how high up the field they were, but I thought the guys were very brave.”

“And when we got into their half of the field I thought it was good choices to open the game up. And we made them have to chase the ball a bit.”

Pulido endeared himself to the home crowd with a tight snapshot in front of The Cauldron in the 16th minute. A quick layoff by Shelton fell to the feet of Johnny Russell with a clear sight of goal, but it was Pulido who surprised the Dynamo defense and goalkeeper Marko Maric with a quick curling shot into the far corner.

And as was the case against Vancouver, Kinda’s play created a goal. The Israeli attacking midfielder has only one direction when he’s got the ball: forward.

His repeated assault down the middle of Houston’s defense was the catalyst for Pulido’s opening goal.

“He is one of the players that I would say at the club that has the most quality, and on the field,” Pulido said. “I can already start telling that there is this connection (between us).”

Kansas City sustained the high pressure and was rewarded 10 minutes later with its second goal, courtesy of Espinoza.

Pulido was fearless on Saturday in putting his head toward the ball in dangerous situations. Despite not being credited with the assist, it was Pulido’s challenge for the ball that put the ball on a platter for Espinoza.

Trailing 2-0 less than half an hour into the game, Houston looked hapless, unable to gain any sort of sustained pressure.

“I thought the guys were very brave,” Vermes said. “We talked about building out from that kind of pressure — it’s never easy, but I thought that we were brave in those moments and we started to break them down.”

A pair of second-half goals from Kinda and Shelton made it a dominant home opener for Kansas City. Sporting KC outshot Houston 17 to 10. To make matters worse for the Dynamo, only one of those shots was on target compared to KC’s seven.

Shelton’s goal highlighted a superb return to CMP. Despite playing primarily as a number nine during his first stint here, Shelton’s inclusion on the right wing has been a pleasant surprise for Kansas City’s offense.

“When I signed and immediately after they signed Pulido, it was a question of, ‘What’s Peter’s thoughts? Where am I going to play? Where do I fit in?’” Shelton said. “And Peter was just like, ‘Be open-minded.’ It’s been good, though. I’ve enjoyed every second playing on the wing and learning little things to help me improve my game on the wing.”

Playing out wide has allowed Shelton to not only utilize his strength and speed but has also showcased his defensive efforts as he tracked back throughout the game.

“I’m sure somebody else got the most valuable player, but what he did in the game from end to end, set pieces, everything, just tremendous,” Vermes said of Shelton. “He’s a handful.”

“Very, very good performance by him again, and he gives a big help to the team and I think there’s a lot of things that go unnoticed, but I see them all. The work ethic, just that alone, is incredible.”

Sporting KC returns to the road next week at Atlanta United. Atlanta has also started the season with two wins. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.

This story was originally published March 7, 2020 at 9:51 PM.