Sporting KC finishes on losing end of 1-0 decision, falling to Whitecaps in Vancouver

Sporting Kansas City couldn’t generate the offense it needed in Canada on Saturday night and returned home with no points following a 1-0 loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Ryan Raposo scored for Vancouver, giving the previously winless Whitecaps (1-3-1) their first victory of the season. Sporting KC (2-4-0) is back at Children’s Mercy Park next Saturday for an 7:30 p.m. game against Nashville.

Raposo’s goal came in the 73rd minute and was enough to keep Sporting winless on the road this season. On the plus-side for Sporting KC, however, Khiry Shelton and Uri Rosell each made their first starts of the season, and it was just the second game of the year for winger Daniel Salloi and captain Johnny Russell.

All four were returning from various injuries.

Sporting and Vancouver were evenly matched throughout the first half on Saturday. Both created some chances, but neither looked especially dangerous in the attack.

The second half saw Roger Espinoza replace Rosell in a planned substitution that gave Sporting KC a different look. Sporting had a pretty good opportunity early in the second half, when left back Ben Sweat drove to the end line and sent a cross to Espinoza in the middle of the box.

But Espinoza’s side-volley bounced off the turf and into the hands of 22-year-old Whitecaps keeper Thomas Hasal.

Raposo’s goal came during a scramble on the edge of the goal. There was some uncertainty whether he was onside or if Sporting defender Nicolas Isimat-Mirin had played it to him. Raposo was able to slide in at a narrow angle, just inside the far post, to give Vancouver the goal that would stand as the game-winner.

A final note from the game: Three minutes of stoppage time became nine in large part because a fan ran onto the field and was able to remain there for about three minutes. And even more time was added when two Whitecaps defenders collided while trying to head away a ball; both were injured and one was bloodied.

“The only thing lacking was goals,” Sporting KC manager Peter Vermes said. “The game plan was good; we took advantage of the things we talked about.

“We just need to score the chances we’ve had. We had some very good chances that we either didn’t execute on the final shot in a good technical way or we were too slow in the trigger. What we lacked tonight was scoring goals.”

Homegrown midfielder Felipe Hernandez, who played the first 77 minutes before giving way to another homegrown midfielder, Cam Duke, wasn’t pleased with the result.

“I think we dominated most of the game,” Hernandez said. “We created chances. I don’t think they created much. They got a few lucky bounces and then stuck it in the back of the net.”

Sporting KC has been a strong road team in recent years, but this season the club has struggled away from Children’s Mercy Park. That makes the fact that three of Sporting’s next four matches are on home turf, starting Saturday at 7:30 p.m. against Nashville (2-2-1), all the more important.

This story was originally published April 2, 2022 at 9:25 PM with the headline "Sporting KC finishes on losing end of 1-0 decision, falling to Whitecaps in Vancouver."