Their old rivals in orange have fallen on hard times this season, but Sporting Kansas City aren't counting three points against Houston just yet.
Sporting and the Dynamo have met in the last three Eastern Conference finals, Houston prevailing in 2011 and 2012 before Kansas City avenged those defeats on their way to the 2013 MLS Cup championship. But while Sporting sit second in the East going into Friday's home match with Houston, the Dynamo are all the way down in ninth place in the 10-team conference.
That doesn't make Dominic Kinnear's side any less dangerous, Sporting manager Peter Vermes said on Thursday during the club's weekly news conference.
“I know Dominic very well, and we're good friends, and I say this all the time: He prepares his team to play well in this league and find success,” Vermes said. “And they've hit a rough patch this year. They've had a lot of injuries as well. They've been a lot like us. Sometimes you fall on the right side of the ledger, and sometimes you fall on the left side of the ledger.
“But the one thing you can't do with them: You can't ever count them out, because they have a lot of good players within their group, and when they start to get a little bit of form, they can go quickly,” Vermes added. “And that's why you never, never count that team out. They've shown it year after year after year, so it's always a tough game for us to play.”
It hasn't been quite so tough in recent meetings, though. Counting playoff matches, Sporting are unbeaten in seven straight against the Dynamo, including a 2-0 shorthanded win in Houston when they last met on June 6.
That doesn't have any bearing on Friday's match, left back Seth Sinovic said later in Thursday's news conference.
“It's hard to say that they're down,” Sinovic said. “Obviously, they're not as high in the points as they usually would be, but they've got a lot of talented players, a lot of similar players to what we've had. I think we've developed somewhat of a rivalry with them over the past couple of years, and it's a game we always look forward to, because they are such a talented team and they play a style that competes well with us. The make the game difficult for you.”
Three points on Friday also would help Sporting stay in the thick of a crowded Supporters Shield race, but Vermes said his club has to keep a different focus as they head into the regular-season homestretch.
“I think the first goal is to make the playoffs,” he said. “Between regular-season games and (CONCACAF) Champions League games, I think we've got like 12 games left before you get to the playoffs. So our goal has to be to make the playoffs and qualify for the next round of CONCACAF, and that's the two things we've got to push towards. That's the bottom line.”
Steve Brisendine covers Sporting Kansas City for MLSsoccer.com.
