Result: 3-2 victory on Saturday night against Chivas USA (0-1-0, zero points) at the Home Depot Center
Table position: Tied for first place in the Eastern Conference on three points (1-0-0) with 33 games remaining
Three things to take away…
1) One down, nine more to go.
More than any other team, Sporting Kansas City know the season’s first three months could very well make or break their year. Against a Chivas squad with a new manager and an identity in limbo, starting things off with three points in the first of 10-consecutive road games was crucial. Manger Peter Vermes’ squad made things interesting at times, but the only thing that really matters in the long run is the points.
The countdown to June 9 when LIVESTRONG Sporting Park opens has already begun. Now, the question is how many points Sporting will have when they finally have the opportunity to play in front of their own fans.
[inlinenode:331496]2) Omar’s coming, yo!
Even if it is only one game, it certainly seems The Farmer in the Dell is going to be a popular tune this season at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park. The Wire references aside, many critics wondered exactly what kind of impact Omar Bravo would have when Kansas City signed the Mexican star as a Designated Player last year.
One game is a small sample size to be sure, but Bravo oozed class against Chivas, scoring twice, just missing a third and demanding Heath Pearce’s full attention for most of the game. It remains to be seen exactly how the rest of his inaugural MLS season will play out, but Bravo couldn’t have hoped for a better start to his Sporting career.
3) With plenty of rough spots to smooth out, the work has just begun.
Three points tend to shroud imperfections, but no one can argue there won’t be plenty of teaching points for the coaching staff to dedicate time to this week. Kansas City gave up two sloppy goals from corner kicks and got caught out of position multiple times with a lineup that included five new faces.
Sporting also lost the possession battle as Chivas held the ball for 55 percent of the game to 45 percent for the visitors, and were fortunate that goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen managed to keep a couple quality efforts out. It’s still early and perfection would be an unreasonable expectation, but rest assured there are plenty of flaws to be attended to.
Two players who stood out…
[inlinenode:331576]Forward C.J. Sapong
Since we already touched on Bravo’s obvious brilliance, this spot goes to Sapong, who showed that Teal Bunbury isn’t the only talented, young American striker on Sporting’s roster. Sapong, who is actually bigger in frame than Bunbury, posed a physical test for Chivas USA center backs Jimmy Conrad and Zarek Valentin and scored a superb solo goal to open his MLS account less than two minutes into the game. Not bad for a rookie who wondered if he would have professional future in the game this time a year ago.
Forward Kei Kamara
Kamara was a little erratic in his own attempts on goal, but he otherwise picked up right where he left off late last season, dishing out assists on both of Bravo’s goals and putting in a solid, all-around shift on the right flank. Kansas City won’t have the services of the Sierra Leone international next weekend against Chicago as Kamara makes the long trip to Niger for an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier. His pace, ability to keep possession and eye for the final pass will definitely be missed.
One play that changed the game…
One year ago, Sapong was a standout attacker at a small East Coast university who hoped his collegiate performances would give him the opportunity to pursue a professional career. Two minutes into his first MLS game, he grabbed the opportunity with both hands as he opened his goal-scoring account with a piece of individual brilliance.
Following the match, Sapong was so elated afterwards that he described the feeling of celebrating his first career goal as “dancing with fairies.” That goal set the tone of the match for Kansas City and gave Sapong another jolt of confidence that will be vital this season as he competes with Bunbury for the starting striker spot.
Final verdict…
So far, so good. Other than the goals and a few other nice moments, it wasn’t a particularly pretty game for Sporting. But with the points in the bag, that matters very little in the grand scheme of things. Vermes will use training this week to continue building tactically, and Kansas City can be content in the fact that they got a result with three key cogs (Michael Harrington, Teal Bunbury and Ryan Smith) unavailable or unused because of injury.
Next up...
Saturday March 26 at Chicago (0-0-1). The Fire may be in a rebuilding phase for the most part, but Carlos de los Cobos’ men were probably unlucky not to leave Dallas with three points this past weekend. Still, Sporting will see this match as another chance to pick up points and must approach it as such.
