KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Peter Vermes knew what he was getting into when he drew up his starting lineup.
With Sporting Kansas City needing all sorts of things to fall their way in order to advance out of their CONCACAF Champions League group after going 0-1-1 last month, Vermes held nearly all of his first-choice players out of Tuesday night's match against the Vancouver Whitecaps.
The players Vermes went with – some of them still coming back from injuries, four of them called up from USL side Swope Park Rangers – hung in until the closing minutes. However, a stoppage-time goal from 15-year-old Alphonso Davies sealed Vancouver's 2-1 victory and clinched a quarterfinals berth for the Whitecaps while eliminating Sporting from the tournament.
“I think there were certain moments that were good in the game,” Vermes said during his postmatch news conference. “I also think at the end, giving up a goal at the end like we did, it shows a lack of concentration, which has to do with fatigue.
“I think there were a lot of guys out there that just weren’t 90-minutes fit to play at the pace we want to play at. There is no doubt that fitness had a lot to do with it.”
Another lapse in concentration, this one shortly after a two-hour lightning delay that began in the 35th minute, led to Erik Hurtado putting the Whitecaps up 1-0 in the 41st minute.
“Were we soft? Yes,” Vermes said. “Was it a soft goal? Yes. One guy dribbled through three of our guys at the end. There is no way that should happen. He gets a great cross across and the guy beats us to the ball. It’s a snowball effect. It’s just one breakdown after another.”
Sporting fought back and evened the score in the 55th minute when center forward Diego Rubio worked free in the penalty area, took one last touch to throw off his defender and slotted the ball past Spencer Richey. But the hosts left themselves open in the back while pressing for a late winner, and Davies made them pay for it.
“It was difficult with the delay, but I thought both teams had a chance to win this game,” Rubio said in a club-issued statement. “Both teams had chances. Especially in the second half, after my goal, it was wide open. We gave everything, they gave everything, but they were able to score the second goal.”
