Leagues Cup: Sporting KC falls 4-0 at Columbus

Sporting Kansas City lost in the first round of knockout matches for the second straight year in Leagues Cup. The Columbus Crew throttled Sporting KC on the back of a Diego Rossi brace, one right before half and the other early in the second half. Crew newcomers Dajuan Jones and Dylan Chambost each notched a goal to put it out of reach of SKC.

Peter Vermes made a few changes from the 2-1 loss versus Toluca a few days earlier. Jake Davis and John Pulskamp are back and rested from their trip to the Olympics and started. Kayden Pierre started at right back and Dany Rosero in at center back. Erik Thommy and Daniel Salloi were the other additions to the starters for SKC.

“I thought in the first half we were actually pretty good,” Peter Vermes stated after the match. “A little lack of organization on the first goal that they scored to end the half when they had a little momentum. I thought we were very organized, and I thought we were good in the first half. I don’t think they created all that much. In the second half, we just couldn’t keep up the work that we needed to do, and tactically we got tired in our heads a little bit. We missed some very easy situations where they capitalized on those because they were moving very well off the ball.”

Our XI in shape 💠#SportingKC | #LeaguesCup2024 pic.twitter.com/V0uxWMlm8t

— Sporting Kansas City (@SportingKC) August 9, 2024

Columbus was the better team in the first half but Sporting KC was competing well. Erik Thommy had a goal called back for being offside. Both keepers made some strong saves keeping it level at zero until the 44th minute. Cucho Hernandez deftly slid a pass through the SKC backline as Rossi made a perfectly timed run that caught SKC flat. Pulskamp came out to cut the angle but Rossi’s shot went just inside the back post to give the home side the lead right before halftime.

Signed, sealed, and delivered by Diego Rossi 📨#Crew96 | #CLBvSKC pic.twitter.com/6oiMoVJF0v

— The Crew (@ColumbusCrew) August 10, 2024

Rossi doubled the lead in the 57th minute. Columbus took a quick throw that Robert Voloder intercepted. Unfortunately for Voloder and Sporting KC, the clearance went straight across the field and landed in front of Rossi. The Columbus forward knocked a skipping ball on goal, just out of reach of a diving Pulskamp.

Diego said… lemme double it 😎

It’s a brace for Diego Rossi 🤩#Crew96 | #CLBvSKC pic.twitter.com/gN7ExgbKKu

— The Crew (@ColumbusCrew) August 10, 2024

The Crew added a pair of goals thanks to their two new players but the match was already out of reach for the visitors.

It was the second time that Sporting KC lost 4-0 in Columbus this year and the disparity in how Sporting KC played and how the Crew performed was not lost on captain Johnny Russell.

“We spoke about how to take away their threats,” Russell told media after the match. “We had a gameplan in place which we stuck to for 44 minutes and then we gave them one opportunity which they scored. A team of that quality is going to hurt you when you give them chances. That’s the only time we had a lapse in our discipline and concentration in the first half and they punished us.”

“In the second half, we didn’t stick to the gameplan at all,” Russell continued. “It ends up the same as the last time. We get dragged out of position, were out-disciplined in our shape and credit to them. That’s the second time, I’ve seen them live. For me, they’re the best team that I’ve played here. It sucks when you play in games like that, and it just shows you how far you are as a team from that level of quality. That’s disappointing as a player and as a competitor to know that you’re so far off a team like that.”

Sporting KC returns home on Saturday, Aug. 24, to face Orlando City.

Sporting Kansas City: John Pulskamp; Kayden Pierre (Khiry Shelton 80′), Dany Rosero, Robert Voloder, Tim Leibold (Logan Ndenbe 68′); Jake Davis, Remi Walter; Johnny Russell (Willy Agada 56′), Erik Thommy (Alenis Vargas 80′), Daniel Salloi (Stephen Afrifa 56′); Alan Pulido

Subs Not Used: Tim Melia, Ryan Schewe, Zorhan Bassong, Robert Castellanos, Andreu Fontas, Sebastian Cruz

Columbus Crew: Nicholas Hagen; Steven Moreira, Rudy Camacho, Malte Amundsen (Yevhen Cheberko 62′); Mohamed Farsi, Sean Zawadzki, Darlington Nagbe (C), Max Arfsten (Dajuan Jones 76′); Christian Ramirez (Dylan Chambost 68′), Diego Rossi (Jacen Russell-Rowe 76′); Cucho Hernandez (Alexandru Matan 68′)

Subs Not Used: Patrick Schulte, Aziel Jackson, Derrick Jones, Cole Mrowka, Yaw Yeboah

Scoring Summary:
CLB — Diego Rossi 1 (Cucho Hernandez 1) 44′
CLB — Diego Rossi 2 (unassisted) 57′
CLB — Dajuan Jones 1 (Jacen Russell-Rowe 1) 77′
CLB — Dylan Chambost 1 (unassisted) 79′)

Misconduct Summary:
None

Referee: Juan Calderon
Assistant Referee: William Arrieta
Assistant Referee: William Chow
Fourth Official: Marianela Araya
VAR: Ricardo Montero
AVAR: Priscila Perez Borja