Nine in and still no win: Sporting KC drops third straight with loss at New England
Another slow start doomed Sporting Kansas City in the team’s MLS road game at New England Revolution on Saturday night.
Down 2-0 at halftime, Sporting KC (0-6-3) responded within the first five minutes of the second half, with Johnny Russell doing the honors.
But a red card derailed Sporting’s hopes of completing the comeback, as the visitors fell to the Revolution 2-1 in Foxborough, Mass.
Sporting’s Felipe Hernandez clanged a shot off the post in the 90th minute. Instead of last-minute heroics, it was Sporting’s ninth straight match without a win to start the season.
Team captain Russell blasted his side for its first-half performance.
“(For) anyone who watched it, it was night and day,” Russell said. “I thought it was a really bad first half in every aspect of our game.
“And then it took us to slightly before we go down to 10 men, and then after that, to take the game to them — which is pretty baffling in itself.”
Frustration certainly abounds — about Saturday night’s loss and how the season has started for Sporting KC.
“(We’re) not going to get out of the position we are in by going out and playing like we did n the first half,” Russell said.
“That’s evident. No one’s going to help us, we have to do it. The guys that are in that locker room have to be the ones who change us, and you’re not going to do it the way we did in the first half.”
By the time Sporting’s play improved, Russell said, it was too late.
“Yes, there were positives and there are good things to take from the second half,” he said. “But if you’re not winning games and you continue to be where we are in the league, then none of that really matters, to be honest.”
Sporting’s Cam Duke started at right back in place of Graham Zusi, who had been listed as questionable. The Revolution picked on Duke’s side of the field for the majority of the first half, and did so with success.
Both of the Revolution’s goals developed down Sporting’s right flank.
Giacomo Vrioni scored each for New England, with the first coming in a 2-v-1 situation that started because of the space behind Duke.
The second followed some interplay down Sporting’s right side. Carles Gil took a shot and Vrioni picked up the rebound from SKC goalkeeper Tim Melia.
Sporting’s goal occurred when Russell tapped home Daniel Salloi’s set-piece service at the back post in the 50th minute. That goal broke a 405-minute goalless streak for Sporting KC.
In the 61st minute, Vrioni was in on goal from the halfway line, and Sporting’s Andreu Fontas made a recovery run to track him down. But Fontas fouled Vrioni and was sent off for his second yellow card.
The play was reviewed on recommendation from the VAR, and Fontas was given a straight red card. Sporting had expected the review for what KC thought was a foul on New England during the buildup.
Sporting has now played nearly 90 minutes a man down over the last two matches due to red cards. It was Sporting’s third of the season.
“Is it concerning? Sure,” Sporting KC manger Peter Vermes said. “I don’t want to be a man down. Three games going a man down puts you in a really difficult position.”
Sporting KC has a quick turnaround now. Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play begins for KC Tuesday, when Sporting plays host to NPSL opponent Tulsa Athletic at 7:30 p.m. at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas CIty, Kan.
