Sporting KC Earns 0-0 Draw at Houston
September 10, 2022 – Major League Soccer (MLS) – Sporting Kansas City News Release
porting Kansas City (8-15-7, 31 pts.) settled for a 0-0 draw with Houston Dynamo FC (8-16-6, 30 pts.) at PNC Stadium on Saturday night. Despite playing with a man advantage following Matias Vera’s 41st-minute red card, Sporting was unable to find a way through a stubborn Dynamo backline.
Manager Peter Vermes made two changes from last Sunday’s draw in LA, as Felipe Hernandez stepped into central midfield in place of Roger Espinoza, while Ben Sweat returned from a recent back ailment to replace Logan Ndenbe at left back with the Belgian not making the trip while in health and safety protocols.
The game sprung to life just before the 15-minute mark as first Houston’s Teenage Hadebe saw a volley ricochet dangerously around the Sporting area before John Pulskamp pounced on the loose ball. Moments later, Johnny Russell cut inside on his left foot and curled an effort wide of the post from the edge of the area.
Felipe Hernandez went close in the 18th minute as he latched onto the ball on the edge of the area after Russell’s free kick had been half-cleared, but his strike fizzed wide of the post. Moments later, Erik Thommy almost provided the breakthrough as his thunderous effort from 25 yards was tipped onto the crossbar by Steve Clark.
A major flashpoint arrived in the 41st minute when Houston’s Vera, already sitting on a yellow card, crunched into Willy Agada near the halfway line and was sent off after being shown a second yellow card, leaving Sporting to play the final 49 minutes up a man.
Despite their numerical disadvantage, it was Houston that created the first threatening moment of the second half as Sebastian Ferreira, Fafa Picault and Corey Baird all linked up to get in behind the Sporting backline but Sweat produced an impressive defensive intervention to clear the ball in front of goal. When the ball recycled out, Picault’s shot was deflected into the path of Baird but Pulskamp raced off his line to charge down the winger’s effort.
In the 56th minute, Sweat popped up on the other end of the field as he drove into the area and lashed an effort on goal that Clark was forced to tip onto the bar for the second time on the evening.
Four minutes later, Pulskamp was called upon again to keep the game level as he dove to his left to parry away Picault’s effort from just inside the area.
Sporting should’ve taken the lead in the 65th minute as Sweat’s delivery picked out Willy Agada in the area and his powerful header was tipped into the air by Clark before Daniel Salloi thrashed the ball across the face of goal. Agada had another great look at goal in the 74th minute as again Sweat picked out the Nigerian striker but he flashed his left-footed strike narrowly over the bar.
Substitute Marinos Tzionis almost found a way through in the 80th minute as he controlled a bouncing ball and his volley seemed destined for the bottom left corner, but Clark was able to tip it around the post. A minute later, Tzionis picked out Agada sandwiched between the two Houston center backs but was unable to redirect his header on target.
With Sporting piling numbers forward looking for a winner in stoppage time, the Dynamo should’ve stolen it as Adalberto Carasquilla fed Thor Ulfarsson inside the area who saw his powerful effort tipped onto the underside of crossbar and out by Pulskamp. It was a day for the goalkeepers as Clark had the final say, pushing away Tzionis’ close-range attempt deep into stoppage time.
Sporting will now play their next three matches in the friendly confines of Children’s Mercy Park, starting with Tuesday’s clash with D.C. United. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT with tickets available via SeatGeek.com.
QUOTES
Sporting Kansas City Manager Peter Vermes
Thoughts on the match…
I think that we just weren’t dangerous enough in the game. They did a good job of sitting deep, parking the bus and then trying to counter from there. What, at times, we did very well was we actually did move the ball, but we kept getting impatient and then the impatience also created hesitancy on our part. When you should play the ball, you wait a second, it’s a second too late. Now when the next guy gets the ball, it’s not a good ball. He’s now under pressure, which he wouldn’t have been if you given it a second earlier. Those little details didn’t give us the opportunities in and around the box to better looks. Now we had some really good opportunities on the left side where we got in deep into their box and towards the goal line, and we were inside there. I wasn’t out there, so it’s hard from where we sit, but it seemed to me there were quite a few opportunities where we could have found us, but they were there to clear the ball or we just played it to them. I just don’t know which one. I’ll have to see it later. We could have been much better in that final third. If you’re already up 1-0 and you’re winning, it’s a little different mindset the way you play. If you get the goal, then all of a sudden the game changes and now they have a different mentality. Credit to them, they fought for the game.
On the team’s play down the left flank…
The interchanging of and turning and playing little combination play was good. When you’re doing that, that part is very good. But we have got to find somebody and we have got to stick the ball into the back of the net. That’s what we didn’t have today.
On if he was disappointed…
Am I disappointed (in how we played)? No. I don’t think that we were bad. I just don’t think that we were clicking offensively. Am I disappointed (in the result)? Sure, I’m disappointed. I want to get three points. We just couldn’t get a goal. That’s what I’m disappointed in.
On the insertion of Robert Voloder…
When he came on, he was actually very confident which he should be. There’s no reason not to be. He came in and played and didn’t miss a beat, so that was very good.
On the use of substitutions with a quick turnaround to Tuesday’s match…
I made the changes I made because we needed something different. That’s why I made the changes I made. I made quite a few changes.
On the confidence of John Pulskamp…
John has always been confident. I think what he has is he’s getting more and more of a routine playing in games, more and more MLS games which he wasn’t doing before. He’s always been a very confident person, and he should be because he works very hard all the time. He’s prepared himself to be ready to do this. For me, he’s always been very, very confident.
Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper John Pulskamp
Thoughts on the match…
It’s good to get a point on the road, especially when you get a clean sheet as well. I’m proud of that and the guys should be. They get that red card in the first half and it changes the game. We had the majority of the ball. We kept the ball very well and, for the most part, we were really good on the ball. A couple of times, especially in the second half, we maybe could have been a little cleaner and I think we could have had a little bit more urgency to go forward and to be cleaner on the ball going forward. So that’s one area I think we could have been a bit better.
On Houston’s ability to counter…
I think we were kind of expecting that to a degree. Anytime a team goes down a man early in the game in the first half, we kind of knew they were going to sit back and they were going to fight for the clean sheet themselves and then try to either play balls over the top or just try to get forward really, really quickly with one or two guys. So we were expecting it and it makes it difficult when a team’s only focus is to not concede and is to sit back and just protect their 18 (yard box), it’s hard sometimes to beat them.
On his confidence after another clean sheet…
The more games you get under your belt, the better. I wouldn’t say confidence has ever been an issue from the debut early last season until now. I’ve always felt good out there. I’ve always felt very comfortable. But, of course, experience is massive in the sport and especially this position. The more games I get under my belt, the better off I’m going to be.
• Discuss this story on the Major League Soccer message board…
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
