Sporting KC wins 1st game of the post-Vermes era, a rivalry match vs. St. Louis

For the first time since last September, Sporting Kansas City won a match. And it did so against its biggest rival at Children’s Mercy Park.

Dejan Joveljic came up clutch in the second half with two goals to give Sporting its first win, 2-0, of 2025. The club had lost 12 of 13 prior, drawing one time dating back to a Sept. 18 win last year.

This win came after the club parted ways with longtime manager Peter Vermes earlier in the week. It was an emotional week for all, including interim manager Kerry Zavagnin.

“I’ve had to compartmentalize a lot of my emotions and feelings because I knew what I needed to do and what we needed to do to get the result tonight,” Zavagnin said. “The emotions for me are probably still inside somewhere. But to be able to do this against a rival, in my first time coaching, with the commitment that the players gave, and the confetti on the field that we’ve been missing for a while … it’s a magical night.”

In the first half, Sporting won the possession battle but only put up two shots. The players looked lively and energetic and possessed the ball well within the final third, but just couldn’t break into the St. Louis box.

The first half was a microcosm of what has plagued Sporting so often this year: Plenty of good things happened between the boxes, but there wasn’t much quality beyond that.

It was tight, and Sporting was in the game, but the home side needed that extra bit of quality.

“It’s the first time in a while that I heard at halftime — after what was a pretty tight first half — (players) walking out of the locker room and saying, ‘We’re not losing tonight,’” Zavagnin said.

In the second half, it took Sporting seven minutes to double its shot total for the match — and chances inside the 18-yard box finally followed.

Sporting ceded some of its possession to St. Louis, but the game began to open up. When it did, Sporting KC hit a breakthrough.

As the clock passed the 70-minute mark, Nemanja Radoja found Manu Garcia, who threaded a pass perfectly into space for Joveljic. Sporting’s new designated player took a shot with his first touch and buried it.

Twice this season Sporting had taken a lead and coughed it up within 10 minutes. Right at that 10-minute mark, Sporting coughed up possession at midfield and St. Louis began streaming forward with four attackers on one.

“When we have the 1-0 lead, we have the result in our hands,” midfielder Jake Davis said. “That’s when we run harder, we talk louder, we tackle harder, we do everything with more intensity.”

That’s exactly what Radoja did, making an all-important tackle — a risky challenge from behind — and winning the ball to turn the counterattack the other way.

Daniel Salloi said he was mentally screaming to tackle, even if it took a foul or worse — a potential yellow or red card.

“It was an unbelievable slide tackle,” Salloi said. “That’s the grit that the team needs to show.”

“That tackle? Those are the little things that turn games,” Zavagnin said. “What is now a fantastic night with a 2-0 win, without that tackle, maybe they go in and they make it 1-1. Those are the little things.”

Joveljic scored a second goal, finishing off a shot from Garcia that was crushed off the bar in the 88th minute. The first-year Sporting standout had multiple chances for a hat trick, too.

From the timing of Radoja’s tackle through the end of the match, Sporting was in complete control. The players grew in confidence and, by the end, were in full-on celebration mode.

St. Louis native Jansen Miller earned his first career MLS win and first shutout. The young defender said he went to games as recently as last season. But during a throw-in late in the game, he took the opportunity to shush the visiting supporters and put his hand to his ear.

“I want to win every game so bad,” Miller said. “But this one felt good. And I kind of let it out at the end. I’ve got a lot of respect for them and I appreciate everything they’ve done. But … (it’s) the emotions of the game.”

Late flareup between KC, St. Louis

At the final whistle, Davis celebrated in the corner in front of St. Louis fans, bringing together a fracas.

St. Louis’ Cedric Teuchert was given a yellow for charging after Davis. It was another flash point in a budding rivalry, which sees its second and final edition this season in about a month.

Sporting (1-5-1) has plenty of games between now and then. And at the moment, this is just one win, with a lot more work to do.

“If you lose the next game, this win means nothing,” Joveljic said. “So we need to take points in the next game.”

Up next: Sporting KC hosts the Portland Timbers on Sunday, April 13, at 1:15 p.m.

Daniel Sperry covers soccer for The Star. He can be reached at sperry.danielkc@gmail.com.

This story was originally published April 5, 2025 at 9:53 PM.