Sporting Sounds: Matt Besler lauds Graham Smith, Luis Martins amidst three-game winning streak

In the thick of a heated playoff race, three wins on the trot has Sporting Kansas City’s captain feeling good as the calendar turns to September.

Center back Matt Besler made his customary appearance on Sports Radio 810 WHB this morning with The Border Patrol hosts Nate Bukaty and Steven St. John. The Kansas City native has helped his team to three consecutive wins against fellow Western Conference clubs, instilling belief that a ninth straight postseason appearance is within reach.

“What I like about all three games isn’t just the defense,” Besler said. “If you look at each game, they were all different. Against San Jose, we had to come from behind. Against Minnesota, we had a tough time scoring and didn’t break through until almost the final minute. Against Houston, we scored early and had to figure out how to close the game. We had to overcome three different challenges, so we should feel really good about that.”

The most recent triumph, a 1-0 defeat of rivals Houston Dynamo at Children’s Mercy Park, extended Sporting’s shutout streak to 245 minutes dating back to Aug. 17. During that stretch, Besler has partnered alongside fellow veteran Graham Zusi and a pair of fresh faces along the backline—center back Graham Smith and left back Luis Martins.

Besler had particular praise for Smith and Martins, both of whom have acclimated impressively over the last three weeks.

Smith joined Sporting as a 2018 SuperDraft pick but hadn’t secured a regular first-team place since mid-August. The Denver University product was named to MLSsoccer.com’s Team of the Week yesterday for his role in the Houston victory, having assisted Johnny Russell’s game-winner.

Martins, meanwhile, signed for the club in July and debuted as a second-half substitute at Orlando City SC on Aug. 14. He has started three straight matches since then—all wins, of course.

“When you come into a new team, you aren’t going to know how certain guys play and you aren’t going to know the style the team plays,” Besler said. “Luis is basically relying on instinct, so for him to be playing this well, that’s a sign that he’s a very smart player.”

Even with an impressive winning streak under their belts, Sporting are still five points shy of the seventh and final playoff spot in the West. Six regular season fixtures remain between now and Decision Day on Oct. 6, and Besler insists that the only schedule his teammates have their eyes on is their very own.

“We’ve just got to worry about ourselves and take it one game at a time,” Besler said. “We’re still a few games away from looking at the standings and breaking down schedules. We shouldn’t be spending our time and energy in that way. Let’s win a few more games and continue playing well before doing that.”

Listen to the full podcast below.

Besler and Sporting (10-11-7, 37 points) will now turn their attention to Saturday’s monumental road match against the eighth-place Portland Timbers (12-11-4, 40 points), who sit three points above Sporting in the table. Kickoff is slated for 9:30 p.m. CT with live coverage on FOX Sports Kansas City, FOX Sports Midwest Plus, FOX Sports GO, ESPN 94.5 FM and La Grande 1340 AM.