How a 1st-half burst buried Sporting KC in loss to MLS-best Whitecaps in Canada
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Vancouver Whitecaps defeated Sporting KC 3-0 with three first-half goals.
- Sporting KC registered no shots in the opening half and trailed 3-0 at halftime.
- Sporting KC last won on March 14 and lost an Open Cup match earlier this week.
Sporting Kansas City was no match for its high-powered hosts in Canada on Friday evening. Especially, and pivotally, in the opening 30 minutes.
The Vancouver Whitecaps got goals from Emmanuel Sabbi in the 13th minute, Bruno Caicedo in the 23rd and Thomas Muller in the 28th, creating an insurmountable obstacle for Sporting KC in a late-night Major League Soccer game on the road at BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Sporting KC (1-1-6) didn’t manage to create a shot in the opening half of play. MLS Western Conference-leading Vancouver (7-0-1) took seven in the opening 45 minutes plus injury time and went on to win 3-0.
The second half played out much like the first, although Sporting did eventually manage to record that elusive first shot — on target, no less. Kansas City never really got anything going beyond that, however, and thus never found a way back into the match.
Sporting mustered two shots total on Friday. The Whitecaps, meanwhile, put five of their 14 shots on goal. Possession was split nearly evenly.
Friday night’s MLS outcome made for a long week for Sporting KC. The club lost its Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup opener to a USL Championship side, at Colorado Springs, on Tuesday.
Sporting’s last win was against the L.A. Galaxy on March 14 in Carson, California. Kansas City’s lone draw of the season, to date, was against the Columbus Crew on Feb. 28 at Sporting Park.
Up next: Sporting KC remains on the road next weekend, taking on the Chicago Fire at 7:30 p.m. Central Time on Saturday, April 25 in Illinois. Sporting’s next home match is May 2 at 1:30 p.m. against the Seattle Sounders at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kansas.