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The MLS Cup Playoffs channel their inner LA Rams and opt not go to back to st. louis.

Sporting Kansas City complete the sweep and send St. Louis packing in the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs.

Published

2 years ago

on

Credit: Thad Bell

Sporting Kansas City and st. louis met on a beautiful Sunday afternoon in game two of their best-of-three series for round one of the MLS Cup Playoffs (that’s a mouthful). After a shocking and decisive win for Sporting Kansas City a week ago on the road, Peter Vermes opted for one change, rotating captain Johnny Russell in for Khiry Shelton. Willy Agada, back from illness, began the game on the bench alongside Erik Thommy.

Bradley Carnell made a number of changes to his squad, rotating Sam Adeniran into the starting forward line, and making three changes across the back line, with Akil Watts, Kyle Hiebert, and Josh Yaro slotting into the starting lineup next to Tim Parker. Notably, Nicholas Gioacchini and Aziel Jackson were on the bench for the visitors.

FIRST HALF

Sporting, clad in their Sporting Blue Hoops 3.0 kits lined up in their traditional 4-3-3 against st. louis in their Purina Pink™ primary kits who started the match in a 4-4-2 diamond.

The match started with some loose possession for each team before Andreu Fontas took down Joao Klauss in the second minute along the right side of the pitch, putting st. louis in a dangerous spot early. The ensuing set piece was cleared to Gadi Kinda who attempted to drive forward into the midfield but got tangled up with a pink player and was whistled for the foul. st. louis’ ensuing free kick, taken by Löwen was launched towards the moon and Sporting earned a goal kick.

st. louis earned the first corner kick of the match in the sixth minute when a long ball over the top found Sam Adeniran, whose attempted cross was blocked out by Jake Davis. The corner was cleared by Sporting KC and forced the visitors to reset all the way back to their keeper, Roman Burki.

The visitors earned a second corner kick in the ninth minute. Löwen’s outswinger from the right corner sailed over the box and failed to find anyone. Shortly after, Joao Klauss was flagged for offside. He presumably missed the whistle and blasted a ball off Johnny Russell causing a brief stoppage in play.

Through the first quarter hour, neither team seemed to want the ball, with Sporting KC trying to replicate the tactics that secured their away victory and st. louis trying to impose their style by just hoofing it back to Kansas City whenever they were in possession. After a nasty foul in the 17th minute, Sporting KC found a small spell of possession and Gadi Kinda’s speculative shot from outside the box was deflected out for a corner. Johnny Russell’s ensuing corner was an inswinger to the far post that was headed back across the box before being claimed by Burki.

In the 20th minute, Logan Ndenbe earned a harsh warning from the referee, Ismail Elfath, after chopping down Jared Stroud while the midfielder tried to clear the ball up field. Immediately preceding the foul, Sporting Kansas City had a PK shout when Gadi Kinda was shoved in the back by Tim Parker, but the referee failed to make a call.

The first booking of the game came in the 23rd minute when Eduard Löwen for coming through the back of Kinda who was then forearm checked in the face by Jared Stroud. Despite the yellow card, the teams were clearly in the mood for a physical battle and Elfath seemed disinterested in policing the aggressive fouls.

Sporting had a beautiful attacking sequence that ultimately led to a blocked shot in the 28th minute. A ball over the top found Daniel Salloi, who took an excellent touch to steer the ball into space. He found Johnny Russell streaking into the box who then turned it to Alan Pulido. The striker couldn’t find space for a shot but found Kinda as a late arriving runner into the box, but his shot was blocked and st. louis was able to clear their lines.

Sporting had another chance on goal when Johnny Russell was found over the top. His touch let him down and the winger was only able to weakly steer the ball towards the middle of the box where it was easily collected by Burki. In the 29th minute, Daniel Salloi was found with a beautiful diagonal ball to switch the field of play. He left his defender in the dust, running around him shades of Gareth Bale at Real Madrid before driving into the box and firing a shot right at Burki from a tough angle.

In the 32nd minute, Tim Parker earned a yellow for a hard foul on Remi Walter from about 10 yards outside the box along the right side. Johnny Russell’s free kick swung to the back post but was headed out for a corner kick. Daniel Salloi’s corner was cleared but Sporting found possession again. The ball was swung back into the box and headed out for another corner. Sporting chose to take it quickly with Salloi speedily passing it short to Kinda. Kinda hit a step-over and darted into the box where his cross was unable to find anyone in blue.

Sporting had another PK shout in the 40th minute when Johnny Russell cut in from the right. His touch let him down and when he attempted to cut, Njabulo Blom laid Russell out. Rather than earning the penalty kick, the referee whistled Russell for the foul and st. louis earned a free kick.

The visitors earned a corner in the 42nd minute when a shot from inside the box, one of their few attacking plays of the half, was deflected out for a corner. The resulting corner was cleared by Sporting Kansas City, but a sloppy touch in the attacking third of the midfield led to a loose ball. Alan Pulido attempted to slide and win the ball but was late to the ball and cut down Indiana Vassilev, earning a yellow card in the process. st. louis couldn’t do anything with their free kick and Sporting then won a foul when Alan Pulido was hacked by Eduard Löwen.

A sloppy turnover from st. louis led to Sporting Kansas City’s fourth corner kick of the game, but Salloi’s inswinger was collected by Burki. As the fourth official held up the board indicating one minute of stoppage time, the Seth Sinovic Playoff Hero™, Logan Ndenbe, chose to use pen to write his legacy, smoking a ball past Roman Burki and into the far corner of the net, giving the hosts a 1-0 lead entering halftime.

HALF TIME

At the break, Sporting Kansas City owned the possession battle 61%-39%. The hosts also outshot Purina FC 7-3 (3-0). Sporting dominated the passing statistics too, with 208 passes to 132 and 80% accuracy to st. louis’ 61%. Sporting KC led duels won 40-27 and tackles 6-3. The pink-clad visitors did hold the advantage in fouls, committing 11 to Sporting KC’s eight and earning two yellow cards to Sporting’s one.

 

SECOND HALF

st. louis made one substitution at the break, removing Sam Adeniran and replacing him with midfielder Celio Pompeu. In the 51st minute, Gadi Kinda and Josh Yaro came together on a 50/50 ball in the midfield, with Yaro winning it and coming down on Kinda’s leg. The Israeli midfielder was down for a bit before being cleared to return to the pitch.

In the 58th minute, Sporting found their first bit of attacking play for the second half. After Johnny Russell fought to retain possession, Sporting worked the ball in and around the st. louis box before finding Gadi Kinda along the left. He attempted a cross, or shot, or some combination of both, that was claimed by Burki. The visitors marched down field and fired a cross into the middle of the box that found the head of striker, Klauss. His headed effort was hard and low but Tim Melia was able to get down and save the ball off the line, keeping the score 1-0 for the hosts.

st. louis made their second substitution in the 65th minute, replacing Jared Stroud with Nicholas Gioacchini. The visitors nearly leveled the game after the substitution when Celio Pompeu beat Jake Davis and fired a hard low cross across the face of goal. Nobody was home and the ball slid out for a goal kick. st. louis earned their first corner kick of the second half in the 68th minute when Dany Rosero sacrificed face and teeth to deflect a shot out of bounds. st. louis’ corner was what the French call “L’terrible” as it started out of bounds and never came back into play.

Logan Ndenbe earned a yellow card in the 69th minute for a foul on Vassilev. The subsequent free kick was launched over the box and harmlessly out of bounds for a Sporting KC goal kick. The pink team won another corner kick after Klauss was found on a breakaway in transition. He slid the ball across the box to Pompeu whose shot was blocked out.

The corner was cleared by Sporting KC and led to a 2 v. 1 breakaway for the hosts. Johnny Russell found the ball in the defensive midfield and took off down the right side of the pitch. His inch perfect through ball found Gadi Kinda who nutmegged Akil Watts and found the Hungarian Assassin, Daniel Salloi, who slotted it past Roman Burki to make it 2-0 in the 74th minute.

In the 75th minute, Carnell made a third substitution, replacing Akil Watts with Tomas Ostrak in an attempt to bring in more offense. The visitors had earned a free kick deep in Sporting KC territory and made it dangerous, but the Sporting Kansas City defense eventually knocked the ball off of a st. louis visitor and out for a goal kick.

In the 81st minute, Dany Rosero earned a yellow card when he dove in late with both feet on a challenge on Pompeu. No defending this one. It was a very bad challenge and pretty similar to some of the stuff st. louis likes to do. Rosero was injured on the play and was carried off on a stretcher. He was replaced in the 85th minute by Robert Castellanos. Vermes also opted to substitute Alan Pulido for Erik Thommy in the same window.

st. louis pulled one back in the 86th minute with a prayer from outside by box by Pompeu. His worldie from 30 yards out beat Tim Melia to the far, top corner and drew the visitors to within a goal with four minutes of regular time and plenty of stoppage time to find an equalizer. 2-1 Sporting.

The visitors continued to throw body after body forward, looking for a chance to extend their season. Sporting Kansas City earned a late corner kick in the 90th minute when Russell and Kinda combined in the box for a bit of dangerous play. Russell stood over the ball and took a low, hard corner that was cleared by st. louis. The fourth official indicated twelve minutes of added time.

st. louis made their final substitution in the 2nd minute of stoppage time, replacing Indiana Vassilev with Aziel Jackson. Sporting Kansas City countered with their third substitution, replacing Gadi Kinda with Roger Espinoza. Sporting conceded another corner kick in the fifth minute of stoppage time. st. louis’ outswinger found the head of Andreu Fontas who cleared it to the middle of the pitch and briefly alleviated the pressure.

Kyle Hiebert earned himself a yellow in the sixth minute of stoppage time. Peter Vermes took this delay in play to make his final substitution, replacing Johnny Russell with Khiry Shelton. As stoppage time ticked on, Josh Yaro and Daniel Salloi came together along the sideline of the pitch. VAR flagged Elfath for a potential red card, but he either wasn’t called to the monitor or chose to ignore it. As the game entered the 14th minute of stoppage time, the Cauldron began to chant for the final whistle.

Roger Espinoza, always a wily veteran, earned a yellow card in the 16th minute of stoppage time. The ensuing free kick was headed gently into Tim Melia’s hands and the Sporting KC keeper launched the ball long, looking for Elfath to call game.

Finally, the whistle blew, and Kansas City swept their pink-clad rivals out of the playoffs. The top seed in the Western Conference was felled by the hottest team in the conference since May and a legion of fans in blue let out a roar as fireworks launched around the stadium and flags waved throughout the stadium.

st. louis finished the match with the advantage in possession 51% to 49%. They led in shots with 15 to Sporting Kansas City’s eight, though Sporting put four on frame while st. louis only had two on target. The visitors ended up with five more passes than Kansas City 367-362 but Sporting was more accurate 72% to 68%. st. louis led on corner kicks 7-5 but Sporting Kansas City won more duels 55-52 and tackles 12-4. The match ended level on fouls with 14 apiece and Sporting KC earned four yellow cards to st. louis’ three.

Kansas City now await the winner of Real Salt Lake and the Houston Dynamo. There will be three weeks until the next game with the first round of the playoffs extending through next week and a FIFA international break before the Conference Semifinals. Sporting KC will be on the road the rest of the way in the playoffs.

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jdkus11

Ok, I am officially revoking my membership in the PV Out club. I didn’t want to be a bandwagon, so I held out for more than half the season before putting in my application. For awhile, I didn’t think anything could make me withdraw from my newfound brothers and sisters. We burned with a righteous fury that was fed with years of complaints–some petty, others totally legitimate. Eventually, I said the only thing that would turn me over was a trip to the Conference Finals. Then I saw we were matched against STL and settled for knocking them out. I desperately hoped that we would, but secretly doubted our ability given my doubt in PV. Today, the scales have fallen from my eyes and I turn back to the light. PV has managed to help STL make history: becoming the first expansion team to win their Conference and then get bounced out of the playoffs by their rival that they talked crap on for an entire season. For that reason, I withdraw my membership and will be speaking around the foot in my mouth for the remainder of the season.

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David Greenwald

Join me with a nice plate of ortolan! Crow is too gamey.

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jdkus11

LET US FEAST

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Ben Gartland

Instead of a napkin, you have to wear a scarf over your face when you eat it.

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blakeyoh

I was firmly in the PV Out club, too.

What the rest of the season has told us is what I had thought back in April — that PV had “lost the locker room” — was not true. I give him props for keeping his team motivated, united, and focused.

Yes, he has his flaws, but those can be discussed some other time. For now, I’m excited to see how far this team can go!

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J.Wm.

I’ll keep everyone’s spots open for them.

Full props to the team and Vermes for salvaging this season. Vermes’ flexibility – rarely observed in his tenure – was a key to eliminating the allpinks. It’s also clear that the roster Vermes constructed is sufficiently talented to compete at the top of the league.

I still have reservations about the wisdom of reliance on veterans; a market such as KC needs a strong youth development program as a foundation for consistent success.

A monolithic organization with concentrated authority can instill a common approach throughout all levels; it’s also more susceptible to inbreeding and groupthink.

I question the choice of someone with a financial background to lead and set direction for a sports franchise.

Having said all this: I may not be actively #VermesOut, but he – and the organization – have spent previously earned capital and will have to continue to rebuild trust before I turn in my card.

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David in the Chat

I will say, this series had huge contributions from U22 Ndenbe and homegrown Davis.

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J.Wm.

Concur. I fully realize that Busio-types are the exception, but SKC need to see far more from their homegrowns and U22s. Davis, in particular, has been a revelation.

Given that the franchise will never be the biggest of spenders, these are avenues where they can get the best bang for their bucks. Develop, sell, reinvest – it becomes self-sustaining and they’re not scrambling for signings every off-season.

(Quick aside: are you an Athletic subscriber?)

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KCOutsider

I’m with J.Wm. I’m a long-term thinker and none of this solves the issues that led to protests and discontent earlier in the year. I’m happy to set those aside for now and root for the players, and give credit to PV for his new-found tactical flexibility, but (a) in no other year would they even have made the playoffs, (b) they beat probably one of the weaker 1 seeds in memory, and (c) need to go a lot farther before this really becomes a redemption tour (the last two playoff “runs” ended in second-round failure after riveting openers). STL has still done a ton of things right in their opening year that up the bar for an SKC ownership/management that seems to have gotten complacent, taking fans and fan experience for granted at the worst possible time.

That being said, I root for the players, not the ownership, and I love what this set has become and am so excited to stick with them on this ride. And they’ve already given us a true franchise memory: this series that will never fade no matter what comes after.

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Dag

I hear ya. But I meant what I said. Perhaps this season doesn’t go down the same without a very vocal group of people calling for PVs job.

Things started to turn when we actually started playing some youngsters.

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Questionmark

Love the headline!

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wet water

So….what is the MLS record for most stoppage time?

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dancey.prancy

STL have secured their position as the first expansion team to lose two playoff games, I don’t understand why they aren’t advertising that as one of their records.

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Chad Smith

They truly did invent this one. Unlike many of their other “inventions,” they are an original here.

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wet water

And the first top seed to ever lose to an 8 seed… congrats to the st louisonians for their many fabulous records.

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Mister Murse

I did my part. I purchased drinks for those around me, led chants/cheers and have lost my voice. I am firm in my belief that redemption is held in winning the cup this year. If not then we need to make changes.

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jdkus11

That’s fair. I think everyone can agree that there are still issues with the team that need to be addressed whether or not they win a cup.

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Dag

I sat next to the Dog Food supporters last night. That was fun. Two things, though

Why do they call themselves “St. Louis ‘CITY’?” They just added that in there to be more “euro?” – anyway, I kept flashing my “For the Glory of the City” 2012 US Open Cup scarf at them. WE are ‘city’ not you!

Second, why the hell do they call themselves “red” – it’s clearly a weird coral/pink/salmon color

SKCTID

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J.Wm.

St. Louis City is a separate entity from St. Louis County; that’s a distinction that’s second nature to a St. Louisan. It actually makes more sense than some of the franchise names, though I’m not sure why they’d choose to alienate the county and the Illinois side.

Why it’s capitalized, I have no idea.

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jdkus11

I’ve always thought that it’s a middle finger to the county for not supporting the team financially when they were making their bid to join MLS. The first deal fell through because of funding and it was in part because the county didn’t want to be a part of the funding deal.

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J.Wm.

I’m sure that played into it. I haven’t lived in StL for nearly 25 years, but the squabbling between the entities is part of the fabric of the region.

It goes back 150 years, when the city decided the rural county was too much of a drag and separated themselves. Making a gesture like that would be so on brand.

Last edited 2 years ago by J.Wm.
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KCOutsider

Yeah, I think this version of “City” makes more sense than other MLS version (like Orlando, which really is a poser name, not that “Sporting” has much standing on that front).

Honestly, I don’t know that CITY openly alienates broader areas so much as just re-emphasizes the team’s central identity as representing St. Louis (I mean, they’re not called the “Mississippi Valley Cardinals” or the “Suburban Blues”). And given that MLS’s fan bases are a lot more urban and concentrated than in other sports, emphasizing that identity makes sense. There were CITY banners everywhere this past weekend in the city proper, but good luck finding one at a bar in, say, Pacific.

The capitalization thing is a subtle way to make the name unique vs. the other “City” teams in MLS, and I’ve always wondered if it was meant as a subtle poke/pun on the “Soccer Capitol/Capital of America” theme.

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KCOutsider

So I was in St. Louis over the weekend but was unable to watch the game live. I actually went internet-dark from Sunday afternoon through Monday evening, when I returned home and was finally able to watch the game. My wife set it up for me so I wouldn’t encounter accidental AppleTV spoilers (thanks!). It was torture trying to avoid any references to the game Sunday night and Monday, especially with the amount of CITY banners at local businesses and restaurants. But I managed it! And it was a worthwhile wait, what a performance. I just hope Rosero is ok, he made an ugly tackle but was more than punished for it.

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Thad Bell

Impressive diligence and willpower. I would not have been able to not look online at the very least.

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