KC Confidential

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 that 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…

First of all, we need to remember that the US was playing GUADALOUPE.  Do you even know where that is?  And on our home soil no less.  Don’t get me wrong, they have a respectable team.  And by respectable I mean that the US should have put up 5 or 6 goals.

But instead, Guadaloupe nearly took the lead in the opening few minutes of the game.  The lead!  In the first couple minutes, a misplayed corner bounced through the US box and deflected right to the foot of one of their players who beat US keeper Tim Howard but couldn’t beat the crossbar.

OK, credit where credit’s due.

Jozy Altidore responded and lashed a wicked 30 yard near post blast to give the stars and stripes its only goal of the night a few minutes later.  On the assist was Michael Bradley, son of Bob, who seemed to touch the ball about a million times over the course of the night.  His work rate and ability to create space for himself and others was the most impressive feature of the night.    

But for the rest of the game, despite dominating possession the whole game and recording 21 shots to Guadaloupe’s 4 or 5, the US simply could not buy a goal.

And it seemed everyone was in on the act, as Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, and Chris Wondolowski all missed fairly routine – even point blank – goal scoring opportunities.  Most egregious of them all was Dempsey’s non-effort in the second half.

As US players streaked into the opposing penalty area, the ball was played across the goal line, catching Guadaloupe’s keeper out of position.  Dempsey found himself alone with the ball at his feet, mere inches from the goal line.  But instead of burying the ball in the net with one touch, Dempsey took a touch to collect it and casually tried to dribble the ball across the goal line.  By that time a hustling defender swooped in to clear the ball away and American fans were left scratching their heads.

Why did Dempsey try to get cute?  The all-important second goal would have sealed the deal, advancing the US to the next round for sure, and letting off a little pressure after so many other near misses. 

No idea. 

But if I were Bob Bradley I would’ve ripped Dempsey off the field then and there. Six inches from the goal line is no place to get cute.    

Maybe they were a little tight after falling to Panama last week, which made this game a must win (or at least a must tie).  Or maybe it was just the luck of the draw.

Is Bradley concerned about the atrocious play in front of net?  Not really.

"Sometimes that’s the way the game works," commented Bradley after the game.  "There may be a little bit of frustration that you didn’t finish the game and finish some of those chances. But it’s still a shutout and there’s positives to go forward."

I guess all’s well that ends well, but these boys better put forth a better effort this Sunday when they take on a motivated Jamaican squad that is undefeated so far in the Gold Cup. 

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.

Despite using another odd lineup due to injuries (Bravo, Smith), national team call-ups (Auvrey, Rocastle, Espinoza), and suspensions (Nielsen, Harrington), SKC played one of their most complete games of the season against the second place team in the Western Conference, who entered the match with a 10 game unbeaten streak.

Sporting struck first in the 28th minute when Zusi created a bit of space for himself and uncorked a low drive that beat former KC keeper Kevin Hartman and found the side netting. 

But Dallas evened the score a few minutes later when promising youngster Brek Shea made the Sporting defense look silly by dribbling through three players before sending Chance Myers the wrong way and sliding the ball past replacement keeper Eric Kronberg.  

That was the only shot on goal that Dallas would record all night. 

Again, the defense stepped up big time and denied Dallas from putting together much possession in SKC’s end.  Over and over, Collin and Matt Besler anticipated through balls and cut them out before they could penetrate the back line. 

In the first few moments of the second half Zusi played a long corner to the far side of the 6 which CJ Sapong redirected perfectly back across the goal to find a slashing Collin who pushed the point blank shot into the net. 

Then Zusi struck again. 

After being awarded a free kick near midfield he caught Hartman out of position with a driving, knuckling ball that whizzed into the upper corner of the net.  The goal was certainly part keeper error, but make no mistake, the ball that Zusi hit was just about perfect. 

And for the nail in the coffin, little used sub Luke Sassano arched a high looper over an oncoming Hartman who was caught in no-man’s-land. 

"I’m very happy," commented Sassano.  "My first job is to help the team defensively, when I can help them score a goal that is even better. I hope I score a lot more and I’m very happy."

Is Sporting KC hitting their stride?  That’s four games in a row without a loss now.  And even though the lineup had a lot of new faces, the team was fluid and focused. 

Manager Peter Vermes certainly seemed pleased after the game.

"Were undefeated since our New England game which is four straight games now and we have been right there," said Vermes.  "There is not a lot that has gone our way this season but credit to the guys because they have been committed. They have not got off the beaten path. They’ve stayed focused and committed on what we are trying to do and believe in each other and that’s a great thing."

The next match for Sporting is this Friday night at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park against San Jose.  The game starts at 7:30. 

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, 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…

The first half saw Sporting dominate possession and create a few good scoring chances, though none that connected. 

"We were all over them," said manager Peter Vermes of the first half.  "Credit to them, they absorbed the pressure. We had a couple chances early and even in the last couple minutes of the first half with the Omar (Bravo) header. But we had a lot of good chances in the first half."

As has been the case so far this season, the offense simply lacks a certain touch of creativity when it gets into the final third.  Sporting lacks a player who can deliver that final, penetrating ball in behind the defense, as well as that player who is consistently dangerous from 25 yards out. 

That’s a combo makes it tough to score goals.  

In the 15th minute, though, SKC had a decent chance when Kei Kamara beat his man down the right flank and delivered a nice, low cross in front of the net.  A streaking Omar Bravo looked like he attempted to play the ball, but simply missed it.  Graham Zusi was there on the other side to clean it up and fired an easy shot into the back of the net for what looked like the first ever goal in LSP. 

The huge HD board flashed briefly with the GOAL!! celebration, before it was realized that the linesman had his flag up.  Bravo was offside and the goal was disallowed. 

I’m not quite sure how Bravo managed to miss that ball, either.  He had a couple other curious plays throughout the night.  For example, toward the end of the first half when he got into the penalty area behind his man on a long through ball/cross in the air.  Instead of getting his head on the ball he attempted to chest it into the goal.  The resulting effort was weak and went straight into the Chicago keeper’s hands. 

Zusi played a solid game throughout the night, and almost scored that coveted first-ever goal again in the 28th minute, when he took nice lash at a ball from about 25 yards out that barely missed the top corner. 

I like Zusi in the lineup and hope he continues to get playing time.  He works hard, combines nicely with the attacking players, and is really one of the only players who has a dangerous long shot. 

As the first half ended Sporting seemed in firm control of the game, but with little to show for it.  I was hoping that Vermes would inset a few subs straight away to inject some different element into the match. 

For example, Kei Kamara looked exhausted, as he has often times this season.  Maybe it’s the travel back and forth to play with his Sierra Leon national team, but he has seemed a step slow for a while now.  I don’t understand why he got the start, especially with the energetic CJ Sapong available, who entered in the second half and made an immediate impact winning a few headers and holding up the ball up front.

The second half saw more open play than the first, with both teams getting a few good chances.  Perhaps this was due in part to fatigue, which looked like it had set in for SKC as well as some of the Chicago players. 

In the 67th minute, Sporting keeper Jimmy Nielsen received a red card after committing a tactical hand ball that, honestly, he had no choice on.  Chicago played a deft through ball that fell a few yards outside the penalty area, perfectly to the feet of an oncoming attacker who had broken through the center of Sporting’s defense.  In order to deny the goal, Jimmy was forced to punch the ball away, and he received the mandatory red card.

"He had to make a decision after he committed himself to come out and he did what a goalkeeper does," said Vermes of Nielsen’s red card offense.  "He put his hands up to try to make a save and unfortunately he was outside of the box. It was a good call by the official and the linesman was in a good position to make the decision."

Down to 10 men, Sporting played admirably the rest of the way to salvage another point. That’s three games in a row now – and another shutout – their second of the season.  Though it was dicey for a moment there. 

With Nielsen out for the red, backup Eric Kronberg came in and endured a scary moment when he mishandled a long, looping shot that deflected back to an oncoming Chicago player who blasted the ball off the woodwork. 

That would have been an utterly depressing way to lose the game.

"I thought Orr (Barouch) took it well," said Fire manager Frank Klopas of the missed opportunity.  "I don’t think he’s a guy that was thinking about it too much. He came and instinctively took the shot. The ball hit the post and went out. We are a team that has created goals and I think we just have got to start finishing or get lucky and have the ball hit the post and go in."

Sporting should have had their own chance as well, though. 

Toward the end of regulation, Omar Bravo was taken down in the box, but the referee didn’t bat an eye.  Bottles of beer started raining down from the Cauldron in protest of the referee’s inaction, and Bravo laid on the turf for several minutes.  Replays show that Bravo clearly was fouled. 

But that’s the way it goes sometimes, and at least Sporting hung on to get that one point for the draw.  After the game, even Bravo was making no excuses.

"I don’t want to get into it that much because that is part of sport," said Bravo of the non-call.  "This is soccer. It happens, and everyone makes mistakes. All I know is that my back hurts a lot."

SKC next plays Sunday night at Dallas.  Let’s hope the defense can keep posting shutouts long enough for this team to regain its scoring touch.