Too soon to talk about MLS titles, but Sporting KC’s on right track: a midseason review
Sporting Kansas City had handed FC Dallas a 2-0 loss in Texas, Daniel Salloi stepped off the field with a satisfied look on his face. He had turned in another stellar performance, made another strong statement.
Just 19 games into this Major League Soccer season, the MVP candidate said Sporting KC is on the right track toward becoming a championship team.
“I think teams winning on the road is always very important,” Salloi said. “Long-term I think that’s what makes teams champions, so we’re on the right track.”
The Hungarian winger, whose 17 goals this season is tied for the MLS lead, certainly isn’t wrong. Even if he said it just halfway through the 2021 campaign.
Kansas City sits atop a tight Western Conference and, with a game in hand, is just six points behind the Supporters Shield-leading New England Revolution.
KC has dealt with injuries to key players, international-duty absences, brutal fixture congestion and even the sale of one of its best players. All this has occurred in just the first half of the season, and yet Sporting’s sitting pretty at the top.
That’s not to say other teams haven’t endured similar struggles. Sporting KC has just managed it better.
“We’re all in the thick of it at the moment,” Sporting coach Peter Vermes said Tuesday. “Everybody’s in the grind of the summer months and everybody’s fighting for whatever they can.”
Vermes refuses to be pulled into any title talk. And rightfully so — there’s still a lot of games left to be played.
But that hasn’t stopped him from being incredibly proud of this team. Including the throwaway Leagues Cup loss to Leon, Sporting has lost just two games in its last 10.
That’s including impressive road wins at Seattle, the L.A. Galaxy and Saturday night’s gritty 2-0 win at Dallas that snapped the hosts’ 18-game undefeated home streak.
“You have to be able to find different ways to win games and our guys have for the most part been good at that,” Vermes said. “I will commend their commitment, their effort on a regular basis, taking care of themselves when they aren’t here and keeping their focus. It’s been excellent; it’s actually been outstanding.”
Interestingly, Sporting KC has struggled recently at Children’s Mercy Park. Sporting hasn’t won a home game since beating LAFC 2-1 on June 26. Since then, KC has tied San Jose and lost games to Dallas and Leon at home.
Goalkeeper Tim Melia believes Sporting KC is happy to sit back and absorb pressure before springing counterattacks on the road, which has led to a league-leading six road wins (tied with New England). But at home, Melia thinks KC wants to control possession and attack quickly, which often leads to his team being caught out on the break.
“It is something we need to improve,” the veteran keeper said. “To have the support that we have here in Children’s Mercy Park and not be getting those points at home is something that weighs on me and everybody else.”
Sporting’s next chance to pick up its first win at home since June comes Wednesday night against the Portland Timbers. Portland, coming off a 6-2 home loss to Seattle, sits seventh in the West.
Melia expects the Timbers will be hungry to put things right quickly Wednesday evening.
“Portland is a quality team and we lost to them when we went and played there earlier in the year,” Melia said. “They’re a team that’s very capable ...”
This story was originally published August 17, 2021 at 3:16 PM with the headline "Too soon to talk about MLS titles, but Sporting KC’s on right track: a midseason review."