Sporting Kansas City played yet another game that finished with only 10 players for SKC and another loss. Despite that, there were a couple of bright spots against the New England Revolution.
My scale:
1 – Never Play Again. You shall be cursed to the fifth generation for your travesties.
…
5 – Your play was completely unoffensive. You are a cream wall in an office park building.
…
10 – You are the chosen one! They will forever sing of your aptitude! You are the most interesting man in the world!
Starting XI
Tim Melia – 7
Had some truly excellent saves and really was the only reason that SKC stayed in the game. Might have been able to do a little better on the second goal by deflecting it out instead of right to the feet of an attacker.
Cameron Duke – 2.5
Not sure what to make of Duke’s performance other than to say he was absolutely roasted by Boateng all night. Was culpable on both goals and offered surprisingly little going forward. Another oddity, he went to ground so easily all night, multiple times he had dribbled through people and then fell over trying to get a call versus completing the play. Hopefully, this is just him playing out of position, but it was certainly a disappointing outing.
Dany Rosero – 6
Let’s just get this out of the way, there was nothing he could do about the first goal that blasted off his shoulder. Outside of that looked good and was covering for Duke all night. The only mark against him is when he goes to ground in the buildup to the red card which leaves Fontas all alone. Not his best outing but still the most capable defender on the team by a mile right now.
Andreu Fontas – 2.5
Fontas’s lack of legs was really showing in this game which was played at a frenetic pace from the start. The straight red (or second yellow) were well-deserved and clumsy. He could have just shown him to the edge of the box but alas he did not.
Logan Ndenbe– 5.5
Looked great for his first outing this season. He showed some slick passing, the ability to dribble, and defensive solidity that have been sorely needed from the left-back spot.
Remi Walter – 6
Worked tirelessly on the night but would still like to see a bigger range of ball progression with this passing.
Roger Espinoza – 4
Struggled with the pace of the game and was notably absent in defensive help for Cam Duke. A couple of times got in behind, but he does not have the wheels at this point to stay in front of the defenders.
Erik Thommy – 5.5
Thommy was able to deal well with the press by New England and wiggled out of some tight spaces. Unfortunately, his final ball is still off, and it makes it very difficult for the team to break quickly in transition.
Johnny Russell – 6.5
Was all over the pitch driving the attack and got the lone goal for SKC. It was an easy finish but only because he was right where he needed to be. Still seems like he has lost a step on the dribble though and his efforts in that department were less successful.
Alan Pulido – 4.5
Was influential in possession but really feels like he is playing as a center-attacking midfielder most of the time. Needs to get more time being actually goal dangerous.
Daniel Salloi – 5.5
Had a great attempt early on and combined well with Ndenbe and Thommy throughout the game, but like Pulido we just need him to be more goal dangerous. That said he picked up an assist on the Russell goal with an excellent whipped-in ball.
Subs
Khiry Shelton – 4.5
Was a good game for him to use his motor and keep the Revs from relaxing. He succeeded to that end but was ineffective with the ball at his feet.
Robert Voloder – 4.5
Struggled a bit with the pace of NE but he was largely unoffensive at the back. I assume he will be getting the start next week with Fontas out with the red card.
Felipe Hernandez – 6
Used his motor to good effect and nearly found an equalizer off of a well-struck shot from just inside the box. Tracked back well on a NE breakaway in the closing minutes.
Marinos Tzionis – 5.5
Showed some neat dribbling skills and setup Felipe up for the last big chance of the night.
Chris Rindov – 5
Had an uneventful Sporting debut. Showed some flashes of why they signed him to a deal. I assume he is getting some minutes because Peter plans on starting him for the US Open Cup game on Tuesday.
Coach
Peter Vermes – 4
Used all his subs to good effect but I am unclear why you start Fontas against a team with so much pace. That said the team looked good while being down a man and it feels like this was a game where SKC could have stolen a point.
Conclusion
As I said last week, this season is over so I think I would like to see us start building for the future by starting Voloder, Pierre, and Ndenbe consistently. Obviously, they have not all been healthy, but I want to see if they are actually consistent starters for this team or not.
It was maddening to see Pulido keep popping up on the right wing. His crosses were good but he can’t cross it to himself!
It’s hard to know what to make of this team when most of it seems trained to stay out of the opposition’s penalty area.
Eh. Rosero got away with a St Louis City assist. Absolute howler of a backpass that left Melia having to make one of his several worldies. Melia’s rating is low, if anything.
Have no idea what to think of a system that routinely had Roger Espinoza making center forward runs. Right before the turnover on the 1st NE goal, it was Roger up top, Thommy wide right, Russell as the 6, with Duke inverted between the last 2. Ball goes out, Roger takes the throw into the teeth of NE’s defense. One pass bypasses the entire midfield, and 2v1 for the goal. Baffling how often Russell was the deepest midfielder collecting the ball.
Forgot about the Rosero give away yeah that was real bad
Roger getting a 4 is gracious. What made him once great was his never ending motor, ability to read the game and disrupt the opposition.
Unfortunately, he’s lost a step (or four) and simply can’t keep up with the pace of the game, which causes issues in SKC’s midfield, pulling players out of position.
IMO, he’s a liability and should only be used as a late game sub.
#VermesOut
#BlissOut
100% agree
This would do better divided into 3 parts: first half, second half and post red card. Roger cannot keep up and needs to be a 2 or a 3. He gets outpaced and now can’t even stay in the ranges he needs to be in to be effective, forcing our wingers to drop too deep.
Pulido lost his eye putting himself in threatening positions. He stopped dangerous runs (a perfect pass from Duke in the first half would have had him in on goal) and to me has lost his eye for goal.
This rating is not fair to Duke. Cam is not by any means a FB. He would be better had he seen more recent minutes but Vermes refuses to develop the kids so the keep sharp. Duke absolutely was a liability on defense, because he isnt a defender. He contributed a much needed creative spark and pace offensively. He did go to ground easily, though had his touch been better those would have been fouls instead of turnovers as he lost possession right before contact was made.
Shelton still can’t contribute meaningfully on offense. He gave up on a fair number of presses. For his limited minutes we needed him to have a motor.
The issue with Thommy isn’t always with his pass. Our wingers make the same predictable run every time. There is no creativity that grants a space as their defenders don’t have to do much to cover the run. Roger is so slow he can’t move to be a consistent outlet for a pass and remi is everywhere trying to plug holes because Roger can’t and Duke isn’t a defender. Combine this with the fact that Russell has to drop so deep it often leads to him and Roger being inverted. Not ideal when you need a passing option.
We got more creative offensively when we subbed salloi off and Russell stopped playing like a winger. That should say something. He is not a threat in the air, on the dribble, or with breakaway speed
Salloi consistently gets generous ratings but I have yet to see him produce opportunities and goals consistently enough to warrant the minutes he gets. He has flashes of brilliance, but we need consistency, not sparks.
I really didn’t see Russell driving the attack so much as work rate. He stopped driving the attack some time last year. He can’t dribble defenders anymore and gets stopped almost every time. He would be more effective in Roger’s position almost and has said that we wouldn’t mind playing that role. I would say he is a 6 only because he put in a clinical finish, but he also failed to put another shot on frame with his left foot.
I don’t think you can really argue that a guy should get a ratings bump because he wasn’t playing a different position. If you throw Pulido in at goalkeeper and he lets in 17 goals that’s still a 0 for him on the day. Duke doesn’t get a bump to a 5 because he was maybe out of position (more on the maybe in a second.) He was roasted by Boateng all night, gave up on plays all night, and turned the ball over all night often due to his inability to stay upright so 2.5 is warranted.
As for him maybe being out of position, IIRC Cam Duke played right back in the academy, in high school and has appeared there many times for SKC2. His acquisition announcement referenced the fact that he can play multiple positions and Vermes was sure to point out early and often that he’s played a lot of right back. I haven’t done a minutes count but I’d wager that he’s played more minutes in wide spots than central between the academy, hs, SKC2, and SKC. The fact is though that when he is in the midfield he doesn’t do a whole heck of a lot different than he does when he’s at wingback. He runs fast, looks for fouls he doesn’t get, and struggles to get back into plays when he’s looking for the foul. His final pass is inconsistent, he rarely shoots, I don’t know if he’s ever won a header in the pros, and the one time we’ve seen him try to up his physicality he got two yellows in five minutes. He just has a ways to go before he is an effective option anywhere on this team IMO.
As for “had his touch been better those would have been fouls instead of turnovers” we can say “had Shelton’s finishing been better he would have scored more goals instead of scoring less.” His touch wasn’t better, so they were turnovers. Coulda shoulda wouldas can’t be doled out selectively. Duke does have fantastic pace and I love how direct he plays and he looks like he has some great ideas but his execution is rarely there.
I don’t want to just crap on Duke though. I agree that Salloi’s rating is generous but he did drop that free kick in the perfect spot for the goal so that boosts him in the same way that Russell finishing it boosts him. I was actually more impressed with Tzionis than I’ve ever been in this last game. He was actually eliminating guys from the play when he’d do his shake and bake instead of trying to continue to beat them once they’ve been beaten. I think it might be worthwhile to give him a couple starts and let Salloi see the game from another angle.
I’ve been thinking for awhile that it might be interesting to see Thommy on the right wing and Russell in the midfield with Hernandez. I feel like Russell is more creative with the ball at his feet and looks for the pass a lot more often than he used to and Thommy is more “I’m just gonna run at you and then shoot” than he was last year. Might be a horrible idea but Thommy isn’t getting it done as the primary playmaker in the midfield. He’s looking for Pulido more than he looked for Agada though so that’s nice.
It was a cascade of exposure due largely to Roger being selected again. If a proper 8 is playing Roger’s spot, perhaps Duke isn’t exposed quite as frequently. (Not that Duke had any business playing RB given the known threat NE posed in that channel.) If Duke isn’t roasted time and again, maybe the center backs aren’t exposed quite as frequently.
The total lack of positional discipline was even worse last night than it has been all year. How much of that is guys trying to cover their mates and how much of it is guys tuning out Vermes’ “system” and just playing like a disorganized D5 youth team?