Category Archives: Sporting_Kansas_City
Donnelly: Sporting Rockets Into First Place, But Will Its Luck Hold?
Though still a bit out of sync, Sporting Kansas City vaulted into first place in the Eastern Conference Wednesday…
Sporting scored a 2-1 win over the Columbus Crew and is almost guaranteed now to see some playoff soccer in the next few weeks at LIVESTRONG. Prior to the match, KC and Columbus were tied for second in the division, so the three points from the win- combined with Columbus collecting zero from their loss- is huge with only three games left before the playoffs.
Was it pretty? No. Was it kind of lucky? Yes.
Is Sporting’s form over the last few games a bit troubling, even though they continue picking up points? You bet.
Donnelly: Sporting Out of Sync, Jeferson Benched, In 1-1 Tie With Philly
In another game most observers dubbed "the biggest of the season," Sporting Kansas City managed to walk away with a point after battling to a 1-1 tie with the Philadelphia Union Saturday at Livestrong.
It’s true, every game is "the biggest" when the season’s winding down and the top of the Eastern Conference is jammed with five teams that have between 38 and 42 points.
Houston sits atop for the moment, with 42. Then Columbus and KC at 41, Philadelphia at 40, New York at 39, and DC 38. So you can see, the last few games of the regular season are absolutely crucial.
Donnelly: KC’s Best Team Riding High Atop Eastern Conference After Houston Shutout
.jpg "C.J. Sapong celebrates vs. Houston Dynamo")
Kansas City sports fans, take notice.
KC has a first place team.
A team that at various times earlier this season floundered during a self-imposed two month road trip. A team that heard many call for the firing of their head coach and technical director. A team that many said was buried half way through the long season, starting off the 2011 campaign with a 2-6-1 record.
A team with grit, personality, and a penchant for late-game dramatics. A team with a local ownership group that doesn’t skirt issues, but tackles them head-on. A team that is committed to winning, and has made public that they will accept nothing less than a playoff berth THIS SEASON.
Donnelly: Sporting Ties Best Team in MLS, LA Calls LIVESTRONG Pitch ‘Embarrassing’
The stars shone brightly on Monday night at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park...
Sporting KC and the LA Galaxy scrapped their way to a 2-2 draw, with late drama coming again in the form of a stoppage time penalty kick by Omar Bravo to even the score. LA’s David Beckham showed why he is still among the best passers in the game. And Landon Donovan came on as a substitute in the second half, looking speedy and somewhat agitated as he proceeded to get in the face of several KC players.
But despite another gritty performance by the boys in blue, after the game everyone wanted to talk about a couple of things that ideally should have been non-issues: the refereeing (surprise!) and the condition of the field.
Before we get to that, though, let’s talk about the exciting game played in front of the biggest crowd yet at our new stadium…
Donnelly: Why Won’t Vermes Stay Aggressive Late? SKC Crushed (Again) in Last Second
Well, it happened again…
Despite dominating 3/4ths of the game and leading FC Dallas 2-0 late in the second half, Sporting Kansas City found a way to give up last second goals and hand over three crucial points that were already penciled in under the win column.
And damn it was an exciting game, back and forth action all night.
Dallas scored twice in the final few moments to win 3-2. At the final whistle, a large contingent of the 20,000 plus in attendance at LIVESTRONG rained boos down on the home team. For the previous 90 minutes, though, the atmosphere was the best of the year inside the best stadium in MLS.
However KC has a serious problem this season with their lack of ability to close out games. Remember the Seattle game, Sporting’s first loss at LIVESTRONG, where stoppage time goals ripped away the game?
A similar thing happened in Portland, though that game ended 3-3.
After the game, Sporting midfielder Roger Espinoza offered little to explain the letdown…
Donnelly: KC’s Best Pro Team Wins Again, Does It Vermes’ Way
Remember when Sporting Kansas City head coach Peter Vermes was considered a dead man walking?
It seems so distant, but in reality it was about two and a half months ago. Sporting was mired in a horrific road trip and struggled to earn any points. Players worked hard, but confessed that always being “the enemy” was starting to sap their energy.
After a particularly lackluster showing, club president Robb Heineman called in unannounced to 810 Sports and admitted live and on the air that the team was underperforming. He stopped just short of calling SKC’s performance embarrassing, but he did mention that anything short of the playoffs could/would result in heads rolling.
That was then…
Donnelly: Scary moment After Idiot Hits Sporting Goalie in the Head With Projectile
After dominating the game early, Sporting KC finally found joy in the 25th minute. 
The LIVESTRONG crowd erupted in celebration of a spectacular goal by breakout midfielder Graham Zusi that KC coach Peter Vermes called “a bomb,” putting Sporting up 1-0 over the visiting Portland Timbers.
The big screen flashed with images of “Brisket Bob” slicing his way through some juicy KC barbecue, poking fun at the Timbers’ practice of firing up a chainsaw to cut through a massive log each time they score a home goal.
At the other end of the pitch, Sporting goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen laid motionless just to the side of the net…
Donnelly: Sporting Shattered By Heartbreaking Loss At LIVESTRONG
What an atmosphere Saturday night at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park.
The 17,000-plus in attendance was the most energetic crowd of the season thus far. A packed Cauldron kept the place loud with chants taunting Seattle Sounders’ keeper Kasey Keller all game long.
Sporting’s play was gutty and inspired, especially so when they went down to 10 men after Omar Bravo was shown a red card early in the second half.
Before the red card, SKC dominated possession and created multiple dangerous chances mostly off crosses. Winger Kei Kamara played an inspired 80 minutes, and put KC on top in the 20th minute with a nice header off Matt Besler’s long throw-in (which is becoming quite a weapon).
For 90 minutes of regulation KC battled and scrapped, putting together what I thought was one of their best performances of the season, holding onto that one goal lead all game.
Then with mere moments left in the game, and a scrappy victory seemingly in hand, everything went to shit…
Donnelly: Late Game Heroics (Again) Salvages Tie For SKC Despite MLS Refs
Peter Vermes threw his hands up in disgust.
This would end up being a theme of the night.
The New England Revolution had just broken through on a longball that found a questionably offside Rajko Lekic who proceeded to bury an outside-of-the-foot shot past a hung out to dry Jimmy Nielsen.
Vermes was irate. And he had a right to be, Lekic certainly looked to be a good 4 yards off.
These officials were struggling to find any balance…
Donnelly: That’s More Like It! Sporting Man-Handles Toronto, Matches Longest Unbeaten Streak
Remember the last Sporting KC game, the one I called a ‘snoozefest’?
Well, Saturday night’s game was certainly a welcome contrast to last week’s friendly against English Premier League club Newcastle United.
First of all, there were goals scored. Six of them!
Some fans I spoke with after the game described it as the most entertaining of the season so far.
I’m guessing Kei Kamara‘s bicycle kick goal to open the scoring had something to do with it…
Donnelly: New Players, Stadium, Saves Sporting-Newcastle Snoozefest
Some blamed the heat. Others, the fact that it was just a friendly match. 
But damn. That was one of the dullest, least entertaining games I’ve witnessed in quite some time.
Over the course of 90 minutes, Sporting Kansas City and Newcastle United of the English Premier League managed to tally 25 combined shots – but only three of those were on target. And there wasn’t a single shot on target in the first half by either team. The game ended in a 0-0 tie.
Ouch.
After the game, the players and coaches acknowledged the lackluster showing, with most blaming the sweltering heat and humidity for the result.
Donnelly: Stoppage Time Goal Saves Sporting Again, Plus Brazilian Midfielder Signed
Sporting Kansas City refused to lose on Saturday night in Houston. 
No, they didn’t win either.
But they did extend their unbeaten streak to 11 games, the second best streak in all of MLS this season.
And they did it again with late game heroics – this time from central defender Aurelien Collin – snatching a point on the road after trailing for the entire game…
Donnelly: LIVESTRONG Crowd Lifts Sporting To Last-Second Tie
With only 10 minutes left in the game, the sold out crowd at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park decided enough was enough. 
Despite dominating possession for the first 80 minutes, Sporting KC had eeked its way through the match against Chivas USA, looking uninterested and un-energetic. Not to mention a lack of offensive creativity, which was blatantly obvious after Chivas scored a goal and decided to pack men in front of its goal.
"I thought that we were pretty unorganized in the first half," said SKC coach Peter Vermes after the game. "During halftime, I said to the guys that in the last 11 games that we’ve played, it is probably the worst half of soccer that I’ve seen us play."
Donnelly: The Streak Stays Alive, Sporting Still unbeaten At LIVESTRONG
A game that should’ve ended with Sporting Kansas City collecting the full three points, ended instead with the home squad keeping their unbeaten streak alive and gaining just one point for a draw with the Colorado Rapids.
A couple questions, right off the bat.
Why did Teal Bunbury and Michael Harrington get the start?
Why hasn’t Roger Espinoza gotten time at midfielder before now?
Is this team for real? With the potential to make a deep playoff run?…
Donnelly: Sporting KC’s Confidence Growing With Huge Win At Portland
With a huge win on the road over the weekend at the Portland Timbers, Sporting Kansas City increased their unbeaten streak to 10 games.
Yes, 10 games!
Things are quite different right now for the squad that saw themselves in the cellar of the Eastern Conference every week early on this season, while enduring that horrendous road trip.
Donnelly: Sporting Sizzling, Even with Captain Coming Off the Bench
It was rough at times, and Sporting Kansas City had to scrap their way back from a 1-0 deficit.
But after besting the Vancouver Whitecaps in front of a sell-out crowd, that’s seven games in a row now that Peter Vermes’ boys came away with points at the end of the game. Which is currently the second longest unbeaten streak in MLS.
Yes, home field matters. It matters a helluva lot in MLS.
And although Sporting did concede the first goal of the game, it is still their defense that’s stepping up and providing consistent enough play to keep them in every game…
Donnelly: Sporting KC Tally First Goal, Win In LIVESTRONG Sporting Park
Sporting Kansas City opened their new stadium last week in front of a sell-out crowd, but were unable to score any goals. The game ended 0-0, begging the question, "Who is going to score the first MLS goal in LIVESTRONG Sporting Park?"
That question was answered in the 31st minute on Friday night by rookie striker CJ Sapong, who finished off a Graham Zusi set piece by flying horizontally through the air and getting his left boot to the ball, knifing it past San Jose keeper, Jon Busch.
"It was something we’ve been working on for quite some time," said KC coach Peter Vermes of the goal. "We have guys that we feel like if they get to the right places, they can stick the balls in the back of the net. That goal that CJ scored, I only saw it once but I would say that was an incredibly athletic goal to be able to basically be parallel in the air to the ground."
Donnelly: Goalscorers Struggle to Finish, US Slips Past Overmatched Guadaloupe
Based on the results, Tuesday night was an overwhelming success.
LIVESTRONG Sporting Park was sold out for Team USA‘s 1-0 victory over Guadaloupe.
Many players, coaches and media observers that were getting their first taste of Sporting KC’s new home were thoroughly impressed with the stadium and atmosphere it provided for this crucial Gold Cup game.
"It was fantastic," said Landon Donovan when asked about the new stadium. "I think everybody involved should be commended. The crowd was great, they were energetic. The stadium, the locker room and facilities are beautiful. I definitely hope we come back here."
"It’s a great stadium," said head coach Bob Bradley. "I think all of the players were really excited about every part of it. The stadium is really well done. It is first class in every way. The atmosphere inside of the stadium, it is great to play in front of a crowd that is there for us, a U.S. crowd.”
And, hey, the US will now advance to the next round where a very respectable Jamaican squad will try their luck at knocking off the Yanks. So it’s all good right?
Not really…
Donnelly: That’s More Like It! Sporting Regains Touch in Thrashing Of Dallas
Did I call it or what? 
Mere days after I praised Graham Zusi as the only Sporting KC player with a dangerous long shot, he puts in one for the ages from about 50 yards out, and another on a strike from about 20.
Yes, Zusi made me look good this time.
But Zusi wasn’t the only player to find the net – Aurelien Collin and Luke Sassano tallied one each – as Sporting regained their scoring touch in a 4-1 beatdown of FC Dallas in Frisco, Texas.
Donnelly: Sporting KC’s Defense Holds Up, But Offense Continues Slide
Did you all know that LIVESTRONG Sporting Park opened this past Thursday to host Sporting Kansas City’s first home game of the season?
Okay, I’m going to get this out of the way so we can talk some soccer: the stadium is awesome, the pitch looks great, and for me, it’s a dream to not have to watch the team toil away in a minor league baseball stadium or cavernous Arrowhead Stadium, both of which preclude having a proper sized playing surface. The grand opening featured a sellout crowd of 19,925, a streaker in a cow costume (who scored the only goal of the night), an appearance by Lance Armstrong, Chad Ochocinco, a stealth bomber flyover, and a slot on ESPN2’s Primetime Match of the Week.
Now, let’s talk about Sporting’s 0-0 draw with the Chicago Fire…
