Sporting KC pleased with "really stingy" defense in road draw against LA

CARSON, Calif. - Even with two of LA Galaxy’s major scoring threats not in the lineup, Sporting KC Head Coach Peter Vermes knew his defense would be put to task Thursday night. 

The SKC backline put in one of their top performances of the season, limiting a Galaxy attack that included Giovani Dos Santos, Mike Magee, and Sebastian Lletget, to one shot and zero corners in a 0-0 draw Thursday at StubHub Center.

With Robbie Keane and Gyasi Zardes away on international duty, Sporting’s defense stuck in throughout the night, only allowing one shot, a second half effort by Magee, that was blocked near the edge of the 18-yard box.

“I thought we were very well organized,” Vermes told reporters. “We were very well disciplined in the game. I thought we were very stingy there, and I thought we were really hard to break down." 

Central defender Ike Opara praised his teammates’ efforts, noting that they’ve been focusing on limiting their opponents’ chances. 

“It’s one of the things we’ve gotten better with over the last few weeks, not giving up too many chances,” Opara said. 

Vermes categorized the game as one of his squad’s best defensive performances this season.

“The crazy thing is that we’ve had a lot of good performances over the course of the season,” Vermes said. “The big issue was that we made a lot of silly mistakes that have led to easy goals. And tonight, what I’m most proud of is the fact that we were organized and disciplined, and were really stingy.”

On the other end, Sporting KC peppered LA Galaxy goalkeeper Brian Rowe, recording 15 total shots, but were unable to find the back of the net. Vermes noted that their gameplan was to get out on the counter, but the quest now is to achieve better finishing moving forward.

In the end, he’s happy with the hard earned road point.

“A few times, we could have been a little bit more clinical maybe, in and around the box,” lamented Vermes. “We created some very good chances, and a couple opportunities where we were smart on set pieces. All in all, I think it was a good road performance for us, and getting a shutout was important to us, and obviously at least leaving here with something.”

If the goals come, Opara knows there are good times ahead for Sporting.

“Now we just gotta score some goals. When we get that sorted, I think we can make a good run in the second half of the year.”