Sporting Kansas City trounced by St. Louis City SC in first game of new MLS rivalry

The first matchup between new Major League Soccer rivals Sporting KC and St. Louis City SC was all about The Lou.

Indiana Vassilev scored twice and Eduard Löwen and Nicholas Gioachinni once each Saturday as the recent MLS expansion team shut out Sporting KC 4-0 in St. Louis.

Multiple crunching challenges at the outset of the match might’ve signaled what was to come, but Sporting KC (2-8-4) never showed up to the fight. Instead, St. Louis landed blow after blow at a sold-out CITYPark.

Löwen scored a penalty in the 19th minute following a dubious call. VAR chose not to recommend a review despite video evidence showing KC’s Nemanja Radoja had won the ball with his challenge in the box.

Sporting KC manager Peter Vermes said the call was not the reason his team lost and gave credit to St. Louis for the result. But he lamented the call’s effect — along with netting St. Louis a goal, it gave the hosts an early energy boost.

“(Radoja) actually steps on the ball, so I can’t understand why it’s not reviewed,” Vermes said.

Per the pool report process, referee Chris Penso was asked after the game what foul Radoja had committed. According to Penso, Radoja made contact with Vassilev prior to stepping on the ball. The VAR then confirmed that call.

That wasn’t the only call that frustrated Vermes. He believed Gadi Kinda was fouled, leading to a turnover and St. Louis’ second goal. Vermes also said Gioachinni could’ve been offside on St. Louis’ third goal.

“There was a lot of different things that occurred, and I think that, unfortunately, they had an impact on the game,” Vermes said. “Again, they played with a lot of energy, a lot of intensity. But at the same time, you shouldn’t get the advantage in those situations, and they did.”

Sporting KC never got on track Saturday. The match was Sporting’s third in seven days — the club tied LAFC 1-1 in L.A. on Wednesday night. Meanwhile, St. Louis City did not play in the middle of the week and seemed to have fresher legs.

For Sporting KC, the touches were off, passes were misplaced and mental errors led to poor giveaways and lost possession. Sporting simply didn’t match St. Louis’ intensity and energy.

The visitors had their chances in the second half, but St. Lous goalkeeper Roman Bürki stood tall with seven saves.

St. Louis seemed to enjoy the rivalry aspect of the win. Vassilev told reporters afterward that his team took inspiration from its fans.

“We heard it was a rivalry,” he said. “We heard they (the St. Louis City fans) didn’t like SKC, so we don’t like SKC.”

Sporting KC veteran Rogers Espinoza lauded the atmosphere for the match but said the rivalry might take some time to develop fully because “we haven’t played them.”

That will change soon enough. Sporting KC plays St. Louis twice more this season.

Sporting KC’s Andreu Fontás said he felt bad for the KC fans because this game meant a lot to them.

“I think everything that happened today will make us even more motivated,” he said. “It wasn’t the way we expected the game to go. There’s two more games against them, and we’ll be back.”

Sporting KC returns to action next Sunday, May 28, playing host to the Portland Timbers. It’s a 2 p.m. kickoff at Children’s Mercy Park.

This story was originally published May 20, 2023 at 10:54 PM.