Sporting KC falls in Panama in opening leg of Champions League quarterfinals
Sporting Kansas City’s roster fits neatly into a blueprint designed for a jammed schedule. Peter Vermes calls it the deepest team he’s had at his disposal, supplying a chance to rotate lineups.
He finally did Wednesday in Panama.
The result left something to be desired.
Independiente pounced on a turbulent outing from Sporting KC for a 2-1 victory in Panama in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals series.
It was an unfavorable performance. It’s not necessarily an unfavorable outcome.
The two-game series, which features aggregate scoring, concludes next week in Kansas City. With an away-goal tiebreaker, Sporting put itself well within position to continue its advancement in a tournament never won by an MLS club.
A 1-0 victory next week, for example, would put Sporting through to the semifinals.
“We obviously have to do business at home,” Vermes said. “That’s the Champions League. That’s just the way it is. Based on the fact that I don’t think we played all that well, it’s a result that is at least in a (decent) position.”
Independiente forward Alexis Corpas blasted a 25-yard strike into the top corner for the tiebreaker in the 59th minute, a goal worthy of its game-winning stature. Ilie Sanchez scored Sporting’s only goal, a 51st-minute penalty after Independiente had opened the scoring late in the first half.
Sporting KC achieved the majority of the possession in teh game, but little of it was productive. The club was choppy in its execution on a slow turf, allowing Independiente to do what it does best — play the counter.
Independiente, a fast-footed club, tested Sporting KC keeper Adrian Zendejas six times. He stopped four shots and stood little chance on the two scores. The match’s best chances fell to Independiente, an unexpected participant in the second round of CCL, several of them on the heels of Sporting turnovers.
“I thought we gave away the ball way too much in the game,” Vermes said. “I would sum it up by saying that was the number one thing. I really think we gave away the ball way too much tonight.”
The quick-moving possession team that cruised past Toluca 5-0 in the first series of the Champions League never arrived Wednesday. Vermes highlighted his players’ lack of movement off the ball, pinpointing it as the reason for the giveaways.
The penalty kept Sporting KC in the series. Jaylin Lindsey drew a foul on the edge of end line, and Sanchez stepped to the dot to draw even.
Lindsey, 18, was part of the crop of new faces in the lineup. With Sporting KC playing for the third time in seven days, there were eight of them in all.
After Sporting beat Toluca, Vermes rode the hot lineup Sunday in Los Angeles in the club’s league opener. The rotation arrived Wednesday instead.
After beginning the season with the same starters for the first three games, Vermes kept only three players in the group on Wednesday — Sanchez, captain Matt Besler and midfielder Roger Espinoza. That provided eight players their first start of 2019, including Zendejas, leaving Tim Melia with a rare day off.
Sporting KC returns to Children’s Mercy Park on Sunday for its MLS home opener against the Philadelphia Union before concluding the series with Independiente.
This story was originally published March 6, 2019 at 9:28 PM with the headline "Sporting KC falls in Panama in opening leg of Champions League quarterfinals."