Sporting KC lost Espinoza to a red card. And then the game at RSL got away from them

Sporting Kansas City had to play much of the second half down a man, and a pretty key man, at that.

Roger Espinoza was shown a red card in the second half after sliding into a Real Salt Lake player, and Sporting KC went on to lose 3-0 at Rio Tinto Stadium on Sunday night.

Sporting got to halftime scoreless but conceded a goal just six minutes into the second half.

“We tried to chase the game and they knocked two in after that,” Sporting KC manager Vermes said. “It was just really hard for us to get back into it.”

John Pulskamp made seven saves, six before halftime, in a game that was scoreless at intermission. The 21-year-old got his second straight MLS start as Tim Melia continues to recover from an injury.

Poor defending on crosses and the straight red shown to Espinoza allowed the scoreline to spiral out of hand in the second half as Sporting fell to 5-12-5.

“If it’s not straight red, it’s a second yellow,” Vermes said.

Two of RSL’s goals result directly from crosses that split Sporting KC’s center-backs. Six of the last eight goals that Sporting has conceded have come via headers off crosses sent toward the back post.

“I include myself when I say this, but it’s a mentality thing,” Pulskamp said. “It’s a desire to win the ball. It’s an aggression to go, and expecting guys to come in and challenge you.

While Pulskamp has only been in the mix for two of those games, and two of those crossed goals, he offered his thoughts on why things haven’t gone right for Sporting of late when it comes to defending crosses.

“Right now it seems like we’re almost going slow at the ball, like we’re expecting it to be a free header for us,” Pulskamp said. “No, attackers are going to be crashing into the box and you’ve gotta be 100% aggressive to the ball. So I think mostly it’s just a desire-to-defend problem”

Sunday’s loss will leave a sour taste in Sporting’s mouth as the final chapter of a road trip spanning three matches in eight days. The final 45 minutes, especially, will taint what had been a largely successful journey.

“I think the guys performed well in the other two games,” Vermes said. “It was good to get four points.”

But silver linings won’t help now as last-place Sporting falls farther from the playoff line and teeters just above the “wooden spoon,” a supporters-created trophy for the team that finishes with the season’s worst record.

“When something goes wrong, you need to be able to take hits in a soccer match, right?” Pulskamp said. “Ninety minutes … not everything is going to go perfectly.

“So the second something goes wrong, it’s a test of character, it’s a test of mentality to see how you react to those things.”

This story was originally published July 17, 2022 at 10:37 PM with the headline "Sporting KC lost Espinoza to a red card. And then the game at RSL got away from them."