After Dom Dwyer's first career MLS brace, his manager didn't mince words. Then again, he was just underlining what Dwyer had already shown on the pitch at Sporting Park.
“Sorry, but he was a pain in the ass for their defenders,” Sporting Kansas City manager Peter Vermes said in his postmatch news conference, after Dwyer blew open Sporting's 4-0 victory over Montreal with goals in the 74th and 86th minutes. “He really was. They were having a hard time with him all night.”
But for 73 minutes, Dwyer – making back-to-back starts at center forward for the first time this year – had nothing to show for all of that effort. And when he got free in the 67th minute, only to have Troy Perkins stop a blistering shot with his face, it was beginning to look like a repeat of Kansas City's scoreless draw against Real Salt Lake two weeks ago.
In that match, Jeff Attinella made eight saves – including a 1-v-1 stop on Dwyer – against the defending MLS Cup champs.
Dwyer never gave up against the last-place Impact, though. And three minutes after Aurelien Collin's 71st-minute goal put Sporting up 2-0, Dwyer finished off Jacob Peterson's long cross and the rout was on in earnest. He capped it four minutes from time with a header off Graham Zusi's high ball from the left side, giving him four goals in Sporting's last four matches.
“I was pleased to get a couple of goals, obviously,” he said later in the news conference. “I needed it. The last game, I thought I played well and was just unlucky. I thought that was coming again today, when the keeper saved it with his face. But I just kept going and got chances, and we closed the game out well.”
Despite the brace, though, Dwyer didn't consider this his best outing of the year.
“I was more pleased with the way I played two weeks ago, in regard to my holdup play and stuff like that,” he said. “I thought I gave it away easily a few times tonight, but obviously I got myself in the right position and I got two goals. So I'm pleased in that sense.”
