KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Three matches. 15 seconds of brilliance. The latter overshadowed the former in the regular-season series between Sporting Kansas City and their first opponent in the Audi 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs.
The Portland Timbers did not score at all in those three matches and have not put a ball in the net in their last 292 minutes against Sporting. Kansas City nearly went scoreless in the season series as well, until the dying minutes of their match on Oct. 3 at Providence Park.
That's when Krisztian Nemeth dropped jaws – and would-be defenders – with a twisting, weaving run and finish to deliver a critical 1-0 victory.
Since that defeat, the Timbers have been on a tear down the regular-season stretch – 10 goals in a 3-0 run, with four tallies from Fanendo Adi and three from Darlington Nagbe over that span.
“They're on fire,” Sporting manager Peter Vermes told reporters on Tuesday. “There's no doubt. They're in very good form, and they've been scoring a lot here lately. Does that change that much? I don't think any of us have really done much in the second half of the season that's been so much different … What I would say is that I think the same ingredients are still in place. They've always had many attacking weapons, and you have to be ready for all of them.”
With that in mind, Sporting's forecast for Thursday's Knockout Round (9 pm ECT; 38 the Spot; UniMás) is for more of the same sort of gritty, hard-nosed play that marked the first three meetings.
“Of course, you have to take into account when a team changes up personnel or the way they play,” center back Kevin Ellis told MLSsoccer.com on Tuesday. “But I think, in the games going there and the game that they were here, that we were pretty disciplined in our defensive responsibilities. I think if we go in with that mindset, it'll be difficult for any team to break us down.”
Portland have not lacked for scoring opportunities against Sporting this season, though. They just haven't been able to get them past the goalkeepers.
Tim Melia has 13 saves in two games against the Timbers since taking over from the now-departed Luis Marín, who made three stops for his shutout in a scoreless draw between the two sides in March.
“Portland's a good team,” Melia said on Tuesday. “The beginning of the season, the middle and the end. They've kind of hit a little bit of a stride now in terms of good form, but the way that we play our game, we're going to play the same way we played, the same formation, and do the things that we know we're good at.”
One thing Sporting will have to do is minimize Nagbe's influence on the game. With his speed and skills on the ball, that won't be an easy proposition.
“He's one of the best players in the league, especially when he adds the dimension of scoring goals to his game, like he has the last couple of weeks,” center back and captain Matt Besler said. “He's a player we always have to keep an eye on, and we have to limit his touches.”
Steve Brisendine covers Sporting Kansas City for MLSsoccer.com.
