Sporting KC tops conference standings after blanking DC United
The 2018 version of Sporting Kansas City has been a wide-open one, with the ability to score and concede goals at MLS-leading rates through the first four matches of the season.
To that end, Saturday night’s 1-0 victory over DC United at Children’s Mercy Park was a refreshing — and familiar — change of pace. It also put the home side atop the Western Conference standings on goal differential. Both Sporting KC and Vancouver have 10 points.
Sporting KC (3-1-1) scored the match’s lone goal early. Felipe Gutierrez worked his way deep inside the DC United 18-yard box in the third minute and fired a hard cross along the ground across the face of goal.
The ball never reached its intended target. Instead, it clipped the heel of DC United defender Chris Durkin and crashed into the back of the net, giving Sporting KC a 1-0 lead. Gutierrez was credited with his MLS-leading fifth goal of the season, and he has the game-winner in all three Sporting KC victories this season.
Unlike previous matches this season, Sporting KC's defense made the lead stand up. Goalkeeper Tim Melia stopped all three shots on target, and Sporting KC enjoyed 62 percent of the possession.
“I think the two biggest things I took from this game is Gutierrez continues to just be exceptional for us. His level has just been second-to-none on this team,” Melia said.
“And I think this was our first complete performance. By that, I don’t mean we were perfect for 90 minutes. But we got the goal we needed to get, we defended well, we defended as a group, and we won 1-0, which was important.”
It takes a team effort to both score and concede nine goals over four matches, which is what Sporting KC did coming into Saturday. The path to the season’s first shutout started between the club’s collective ears.
“It probably sounds simple, but it really is: I think our decision-making was just at a higher level today throughout the game,” Sporting KC coach Peter Vermes said. “In those other games, I think we just made some poor decisions that this group would not make. We just started getting into a place where we weren’t responding correctly to situations, but tonight I thought we were locked in.”
It wasn’t a total lockdown performance. DC United did generate some chances, with the best one coming in the opening moments of the second half.
“We were a bit sloppy and slow in our circulation of the ball,” Sporting KC defender and captain Matt Besler said. “They were able to pick it off a few times and go on the counter. My second thing would be putting away a second goal, just to make it a little bit easier on ourselves.”
Perfection hasn’t been attained yet, but victories in the pursuit of perfection are always welcome.
“There’s just a higher standard in the way we’re playing at the moment than before, and I think that’s all over the field,” Vermes said. “It’s early and that’s good. We still have a lot of work to do, and I think we can be a lot better, but we’re getting there.”
Notes
▪ Gutierrez was subbed out of the match in the 53rd minute after a collision.
“He’ll be fine. He just had a little bit of a knock that he didn’t want to push,” Vermes said. “We have Easter Sunday, and we don’t play until next Sunday, so he’ll have more than enough time. He’ll be fine.”
▪ Besler made his 225th regular-season start on Saturday, second in club history. Current Sporting KC assistant coach Kerry Zavagnin leads the club with 228 regular-season starts.
▪ Forward Khiry Shelton had an assist for the second consecutive match.
This story was originally published March 31, 2018 at 9:46 PM with the headline "Sporting KC tops conference standings after blanking DC United."