Sporting KC hammers St. Louis City SC in first game of best-of-three MLS playoff series
After surrendering four goals in each of their first two road matches against Major League Soccer newcomer St. Louis City SC, it was Sporting Kansas City’s turn to put four on the scoreboard.
Sporting KC, seeded No. 8, blasted top-seeded St. Louis in stunning fashion, scoring three first-half goals en route to a 4-1 Sunday night victory in Game 1 of a best-of-three MLS Round One series.
“I think from the opening whistle, we were knocking on the door,” Sporting KC manager Peter Vermes said. “The goals were tremendous, tremendous goals.”
Per the Apple MLS broadcast, it was the first time since 2003 that Sporting KC had scored a first-half goal in a road playoff match.
Sporting KC won by flipping the script on the team’s usual possession-heavy tactics. Instead, they let St. Louis have the majority of possession. St. Louis controlled the ball 60% of the time in the first half.
The approach clearly worked for KC. Vermes initially didn’t want to allow that this was a tactic, calling the possession numbers a result of how the game played out. Pressed further, Vermes acknowledged a slight shakeup in how they’d carried out the instructions for their usual 4-3-3 formation.
“There’s a lot of nuance that goes into playing that way,” Vermes said. “And depending on different situations and different teams you play against, you have to make adjustments.”
Vermes gave credit to his players. And Remi Walter talked a little bit more about the adjustments.
“We like to play, we like to have the ball,” Walter said. “But here, I think it’s hard because they put a lot of pressure, and it’s their quality, for sure. So we’re just thinking another way, and tonight it works.”
St. Louis struggled to create the type of buildup it needed in order to beat Sporting KC from a live-play situation. And Sporting KC were ruthless with the chances they took.
Logan Ndnebe broke the ice in the 27th minute. With St. Louis overloading the right side of the field, Ndenbe was wide open on the left. He picked up the ball, took a touch, and ripped a shot past St. Louis goalkeeper Roman Bürki.
What a time for Ndenbe’s first goal as a professional. Of every goal he’s scored in his life, he said, this one is his favorite.
“It’s a banger, so it’s different,” Ndenbe said. “I’m not used to scoring goals like this.”
Tim Parker leveled the score a minute later, but that would be the last punch thrown by St. Louis. Walter finished a shot from outside the box to make it 2-1 in the 36th minute, and three minutes later, Gadi Kinda created a moment of magic.
Kinda dribbled through four defenders before unleashing a perfect curling shot into the top corner of St. Louis’ net.
Sporting KC’s three first-half goals came on shots outside the box, making Kansas City the first team in MLS to score more than two from outside the box this season.
Daniel Salloi added the visitors’ fourth goal in the 61st minute, and Sporting KC closed out the game in style by keeping St. Louis off the board.
Now the best-of-three series shifts to Kansas City. Sporting will play host to St. Louis in Game 2 of the Round One series at 4 p.m. Central Time next Sunday, Nov. 5, at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kan.
Should St. Louis win and a third game thus be required to determine the outcome of this series, that Game 3 would take place in St. Louis on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 5 p.m. Central Time.
Sporting’s hoping the series won’t come down to a third match. They stressed that the job is not finished yet.
“It means a lot for us, but we have to keep pushing,” Walter said of Sunday’s road victory. “We will be in our stadium, in front of our fans, and we have to do the job at home.”
Check out the Sporting KC goals
Here are clips of each Sporting KC goal against St. Louis City on Sunday night:
This story was originally published October 29, 2023 at 11:20 PM.