Sporting KC
Sporting Kansas City vs Los Angeles Galaxy Match Thread
Sporting Kansas City is back out of the playoffs as they travel to take on the Galaxy in a midweek match
Sporting Kansas City vs Los Angeles Galaxy
Time: 9:30 pm CST
Location: Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson, California
How to Watch: Apple TV MLS Live
Commentators: English: Mark Rogondino, Heath Pearce Spanish: Rodolfo Landeros, Martin Zuniga
Line: Sporting KC +105, Los Angeles Galaxy +270, Draw +200
Referee:Â Filip Dujic
The Teams
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Sporting Kansas City
5-5-9, 20 points
10th in the West
Head Coach: Peter Vermes (15th season)
Last 5: W-W-D-W-L
Injury Report: OUT: Tim Melia (quad), OUT: Kortne Ford (Achilles surgery), OUT: Logan Ndenbe (hamstring), OUT: Graham Zusi (hamstring), OUT: Cam Duke (concussion), OUT: Willy Agada (tibia stress fracture), OUT: Marinos Tzionis (international duty), QUESTIONABLE: Andreu Fontas (hamstring), QUESTIONABLE: Kayden Pierre (hamstring)
Los Angeles Galaxy
3-4-9, 13 points
13th in the West
Head Coach:Â Greg Vanney (3rd season)
Last 5: L-L-L-W-D
Injury Report: OUT: Sega Coulibaly (knee), OUT: Javier “Chicharito Hernandez (torn ACL), OUT: Memo Rodriguez (thigh)
2025 KC Current Season: A Reflection
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Hailie Mace Says Goodbye to Kansas City and the Current
Seven Current Players, Andonovski Named Finalists for Year End Awards
Juice Boxes and Post Game Stats: Current Season Ends
Hailie Mace Says Goodbye to Kansas City and the Current
Lots of Random Sporting KC News and KC Current Playoffs
KC Current’s NWSL Shield-winning season ends vs. Gotham
Match Thread: Kansas City Current vs Gotham FC
I know seeing Shelton in the lineup will make a lot of people angry, but I am begrudgingly glad. PV will find a way to put Shelton in the game somehow, so I’d rather he be worthless on the wing rather than putting him into a position he has no business playing except under extreme emergency. Hopefully we can take advantage of a toothless LA offense.
Obligatory complaint about Shelton in the XI. Why not put Thommy on the wing, where he was so dangerous last game, and put in Hernandez in the midfield?
Hernandez spot start > Shelton spot start
Hopefully JFR can go at least 45 tonight.
Without Kinda, we can’t afford to put Thommy out wide because then we’d have only one sub at midfield (Roger or Hernandez because I doubt PV would use Flores for meaningful minutes). Also, this means that he will most likely be taken off for Johnny at some point.
Let there be one sub in the midfield, then. Thommy would slide over anyway when Johnny comes on.
Six minutes in and Shelton is already just taking up space. Thommy has had two runs on the right side and Shelton is just a decoy.
He did get an assist….
I’m far from a Khiry fan (as a player. He’s a very nice person). But he’s not playing poorly so far tonight.
And then Khiry didn’t mark Caceres. Soooo a really mixed evening for Shelton so far.
He provides league minimum value at a 600k price tag. 3 goals in 2 games on him
You’re not going to see me banging the drum for Khiry.
I know that. It is just so damning on vermes to continue to play him over so many others. Especially when we can now pin 3 goals (2 against, 1 denied for) on his play…
Here is me drinking to not adding “and counting” to that last sentence.
When I see his name in the XI, I feel like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day
This. Shelton sucks, but it’s on Vermes for signing him long-term AND constructing the roster so poorly that he has to play him out of position.
#VermesOut
#BlissOut
#WeDeserveBetter
PULIDO
That is exactly what we’ve been missing: a striker that knows where to be and how to put away sitters. Great way to start this one.
Was that Shelton’s man? …..
I love that strike by Thommy. Just wide!
Oops, did not mean to post that as a reply 🤦
You know the answer.
I stand corrected, perhaps it would be better with just one sub in the midfield. Shelton loses his man and now we’re tied.
It takes courage to admit mistakes. Good on you!
I do appreciate the attempt at the silver lining though.
Why is Shelton on this team still
He has Intel on vermes. Only explanation at this point.
We seem to be playing a lot of passes behind our players. We either need to start playing to feet or leading each other better because it keeps stalling attacks
That Pulido pass in the 45th minute was exhibit A. A bit too far behind
How often does Shelton win aerial duels?
And will Shelton and salloi crash the damn box?
You know a lot of real jerks would put that goal on Shelton and I’m here to be one of those jerks.
Seriously though, should that even have been a free kick? Attacker appeared to have tripped over his own foot.
I think it just seems like we are jerks because it can’t be THAT obvious, right? It is.
I thought the same, I didn’t think it was a foul
Every time I watch SKC and Shelton is starting, it feels like we are down a man on offense, he just has no urgency or interest in driving at the defense, taking shots. He just takes up space. I know he probably hasn’t practiced much but just give Afrifa a shot PV. Hell at minimum he will take up space and drive at defenders. I hate seeing a talented player in Afrifa just sit on the bench with not even a chance to play.
Thommy is playing two positions at the moment. Even pressing and forcing turnovers. Afrifa should request transfer at this point.
I was thinking the same thing about Thommy. I have seen him cover nearly all the space between Right wing and midfield.
It reinforces that thought of how we looked better with 10 men early this season
Shelton adds such a dynamic element to the attack. The dynamic changed from a driving attack to a counterattack from Galaxy.
I need to stop. It isnt fair at this point.
We look so sloppy tonight
Bad pass from Jake Davis or lack of effort from Shelton on the turnover? A little bit of both.
Actually, the more I think about it the more frustrated I am about this. Two goals that we’ve given up and Shelton was in the build up to them. Perhaps I’m over critical, but perhaps a $600,000 player should be better than him.
I saw Shelton start to check to the line and then stop. An argument is made for both, either way he jogged
This is annoying. Judd is fucking trash and has a goal.
God, I hate fontas just as much as Shelton. It sucks because voloder isn’t any better and there’s no one else as cb
To me it looked like he stepped to cut off the free shot at the top of the 18, but that ball from puig was world class.
He didn’t even bother to sprint to track his back man
Shelton gives me a sick feeling in my stomach when I see him in the lineup and tonight proved why!
We’re a hot mess at the back
Yay, Espinoza instead of someone that might give us a slight chance to create a goal…
Time for the Vermes scripted sub pattern
Johnny hasn’t improved things over Shelton to be honest. And Espinoza just got torched by a slow turn.
I type this as Johnny has a good run that Shelton would never do. Tastes like feet.
How was there only 6 minutes of stoppage time? The Caceras injury and subs that immediately followed were almost exactly 5 minutes. Did all the other stoppages add up to only 1 minute?
Regardless, Shelton has cost us 3 points in the last 2 games. Without his jog on Saturday, we walk away with a draw at minimum. Instead we lost (1 point dropped). Tonight, their first goal never happens and we walk away with a win (2 points dropped). Sure, goals happening or not happening can have ripple effects, but we can only go off of the tangible facts that happened. And the most tangible fact is that Shelton absolutely sucks.
Stoppage time doesn’t matter when you gift goals. Ref was ok this game
Oh yeah he wasn’t anything to complain about. I’m just genuinely curious how there wasn’t more.
Now I’m probably just being over the top, but here’s a few forwards around the league that are making around the same amount as Shelton this year:
Under $600,000
-Bongokuhle Hlongwane from MIN (4G, 2A, 1416 minutes)
-Leo Campana from INT (3G, 1A, 805 minutes)
-Dom Badji from CIN (2G, 3A, 531 minutes)
-Leo Chu from SEA (1G, 7A, 952 minutes)
-Brian White from VAN (6G, 1A, 1173 minutes)
Just over $625,000
-Gabriel Pereira from NYC (6G, 3A, 1375 minutes)
-Yaw Yeboah from CLB (2G, 2A, 939 minutes)
-Chris Mueller from CHI (2G, 2A, 709 minutes)
Shelton has 1 goal and 0 assists in 596 minutes.
He got an assist tonight.
You are twisting the knife
We’ll give them Shelton, fontas, some bbq sauce and a Ted Lasso shirt for anyone of those, one of those must be better than Shelton
Mann how have we not shopped for a Dom Badji or Chris Mueller. We are just giving away $600,000 without hardly any production to show for it.
Not even just production, but anything useful. He’s a waste of a body on the field, nothing he does is productive in any way and helps the team achieve the goal of winning.
What will vermes blame this time?
Name a better duo to screw up points for us. I’ll go first: Shelton and fontas, Pv and subs. I have no answers or suggestions to fix it
Very happy to hear the disappointment in the announcer’s voice as this one came to a close.
What’s deal with Kinda? He was no where in the line up.
New baby girl this week. Did not travel.