Sporting Kansas City manager Peter Vermes praised his side’s tactical play after May 23’s scoreless draw against Seattle Sounders FC. Shorthanded due to injuries, Sporting KC put forth a defensive-minded effort on the road that included allowing just one shot on goal.
Ahead of Saturday’s rematch at Sporting Park, Vermes expects the roles to be reversed, with the Sounders throwing numbers behind the ball. Or as some call it, “parking the bus.”
“Most people do when they come to this place,” Vermes said Thursday at training. “We’ve been trying to work through that for a number of years, to be able to crack that code if you will. I think we’ve gotten better at it.
“It’s not hard to deny the fact that in our last two home games we’ve scored eight goals. I think there are some good things in regards to what we’re doing on the offensive side. But I said this a couple days ago, everything stems from how strong we are defensively. If we’re strong defensively, we’ll get chances on the other side.”
Seattle may be forced to sit back defensively. The visitors will be without Osvaldo Alonso as he serves one-match suspension for “violent conduct” in the Sounders’ weekend win over the New York Red Bulls. They will also be without the services of Brad Evans on the backline. Evans was called into U.S. Men’s National Team camp Sunday ahead of friendlies against Holland and Germany.
Midfielder Gonzalo Pineda and forward Obafemi Martins are questionable as they both recover from injury. Star forward Clint Dempsey was spared a National Team call-up but could miss Saturday’s game as he and his wife await the birth of their fourth child.
With a six-match unbeaten streak hanging in the balance, Sporting KC aren’t overly concerned with what lineup Seattle will field or if they will sit back and play for a draw.
“I’m not sure what they’re going to do,” Sporting KC defender Kevin Ellis said. “We try not to pay attention too much to the personnel that teams put out, and we just focus on us. We know that if we do the game plan that we put in place, we’ll be successful.”
Sporting KC will be eyeing a quick start to June after cruising through the month of May, 3-0-2, scoring 10 goals to just three goals given up and climbing as high as second in the competitive MLS Western Conference.
The team will be without May’s MLS Player of the Month in Krisztian Nemeth Saturday against the Sounders. Nemeth was called into Hungary Men’s National Team camp on May 27 after tallying three goals and two assists in his last three matches. Dom Dwyer and Jacob Peterson are between "questionable and available,” according to Vermes, after training with the team partially on Thursday.
Regardless of who’s available, Vermes and Ellis believe Sporting KC have found their stride and are hungry to extend that unbeaten streak to seven games.
“I think we’re in good form,” Vermes said. “I think the guys believe in what they’re doing. We just got to keep riding the wave.”
