Playing with a makeshift lineup, Sporting KC held off Real Salt Lake for roughly 80 minutes on Saturday night.
But Sporting’s issues defending set pieces showed up late, as Cristian Arango’s header off a free kick in the 80th minute doomed Sporting KC to a second straight road defeat.
“I think the difference in the game was the set piece,” Sporting manager Peter Vermes said after the match. “I think up until they scored their goal, we had some chances. They had a few, but the difference in the game was that set piece.”
Following the 1-0 loss, Sporting has 2 wins, 4 losses, 5 draws on the season and hasn’t won a match since March 30, going 0-3-2 in that time.
John Pulskamp, who filled in for Tim Melia in net on Saturday night, said the result hurts.
“To lose a game one-nil, and you were defending well…” Pulskamp said. “I thought that was definitely the positive from this game was we were defending so well.”
He added: “To concede late on a set piece in that kind of fashion just stinks.”
Captain Johnny Russell made his first start since Sporting KC’s win over the San Jose Earthquakes on March 16 and played 60 minutes. But other regulars were absent.
Remi Walter and Dany Rosero didn’t make the trip due to injury. Nemanja Radoja was a late scratch due to illness; he was replaced in the midfield by Marinos Tzionis.
Memo Rodriguez served as the lone defensive midfielder as Sporting’s formation shifted back to a standard 4-3-3. Vermes said he felt Rodriguez played “a really good game” in that role on short notice.
Sporting KC’s best chances came in the first half, but the game remained a scoreless draw through 45 minutes. When Russell came off the field in the second half, Sporting KC slowly took on more and more pressure from Real Salt Lake.
Arango’s goal came off a free kick that was curled to the back post. His downward header had enough juice on the bounce to clear Pulskamp and multiple defenders before crossing the line.
Sporting’s back line had been porous of late, conceding 11 goals in the four matches before Saturday’s game. But that group mostly defended well on Saturday, save for a few nervy moments with so many players shifted around in the lineup.
While the collective performance from a shorthanded Sporting deserves some praise, the set-piece goal will ultimately stick in the craw of the staff and players. It was Sporting’s fifth set-piece goal conceded this season, and that was an issue last season when the club gave up 13.
“The game is not just defending through the run of play,” Vermes said. “It’s set pieces as well.”
Vermes added there was “no reason” to give up the set piece where Sporting did and lamented the overall defending of it.
Pulskamp said his plant foot slipped, not allowing him to lift off high enough to try and get to the looping (and abnormally high) bounce the ball took off the turf. Ultimately, he’d like the team to be more physical and aggressive on set pieces.
“We gotta not foul anybody,” Pulskamp said. “But don’t be afraid to be physical with runners, and just have a bit more intensity to defend the box.”
Sporting KC will travel north to Omaha for U.S. Open Cup play on Wednesday night. The club will face Union Omaha at Caniglia Field on the campus at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
Daniel Sperry covers soccer for The Star. He can be reached at sperry[email protected].
This story was originally published May 4, 2024, 10:58 PM.
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