Depleted Sporting Fall on the Road to Vancouver

Facing injuries, absences, and their sixth game in nineteen days Sporting KC walked into BC Place with just seventeen players on their game day roster to take on the Vancouver Whitecaps. The likes of Johnny Russell, Dany Rosero, and Memo Rodriguez did not even dress for the game while Remi Walter made his first start since late April. Sporting Kansas City kept just four players from their starting eleven in San Jose on Saturday; Tim Melia, Robert Voloder, Alenis Vargas, and Alan Pulido.

The trouble started early for Sporting as in the seventh minute off one of Vancouver’s four corners in the first half, Robert Voloder saved a ball off the line with a header after Brian White won the initial ball in. It became a warning shot for the first half as most of the half was played in Kansas City’s defensive half of the field. Twice in the half the Whitecaps had goals ruled out due to an offside call as Vancouver played a high line looking to find a goal. Sandwiched between the two offside goals called back the Whitecaps did take the lead as Vancouver sliced up the middle of KC’s team ending with Ryan Gauld getting played into the box where he laid a ball back for White who was beaten to the ball by Robert Voloder, but all the KC center back could do is turn the ball into his own net to make it 1-0 Vancouver.

Half time saw Sporting make three changes, bringing on Stephen Afrifa, Khiry Shelton, and Erik Thommy for Alenis Vargas, Kayden Pierre, and Alan Pulido respectively. The substitutions had an immediate effect as Sporting looked more interested, more involved, and more dangerous when going forward. Thommy especially was the catelist for all of Kansas City’s best offense going forward. He picked out Afrifa with a great cross field ball that was brought down well and banged off the cross bar. The rebound fell to Daniel Salloi who turned and fired a shot that was tipped over the bar by Yohei Takaoka. KC found a deserved equalizer in the 69th minute. After Thommy and Salloi combined well down the left side Salloi fired a shot on goal that Takaoka could only parry into the middle of the box where Willy Agada poked the ball home to level the game at one.

The Whitecaps though responded as two substitutes Vancouver brought on shortly before KC’s goal combined on the winner. Sebastian Berhalter played a great cross into the box in the 76th minute where Fafa Picault had drifted off of Robert Castellanos’ shoulder to head the ball past Tim Melia and in. Castellanos had slid centrally to mark White and Shelton had not recognized the shift of marks and Picault powered the header in. KC had one last chance late on from Thommy in a position similar to the free kick he scored against Real Salt Lake late in the 2023 season but his effort went well over the goal and minutes later the final whistle blew.

With nine games left in the season, and one game left before the Leagues Cup break, Sporting sit in twelfth in the Western Conference on 23 points.