The tight race for the Eastern Conference crown is coming down to the wire and Sporting Kansas City is right in the middle of it. With the pressure of finishing 1st and being out of a playoff spot is separated by a few points, no game is a gimme and every game is a must win. Sporting KC came off of a loss to the Chicago Fire for a little action south of the border in Honduras where Sporting faced off against CD Olimpia in the CONCACAF Champions League Group Stage. The game may not have impacted the MLS standings but it was still a must win for the team and the fans. Just like in CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying, it’s tough for a team to win on the road. Away matches in other countries are always tough and the fans there are intense.
Quite honestly, it very much looked like a Sporting home game than anything. Soony Saad calmly put a goal in and notched a 2nd off a penalty kick and Sporting took home a rather easy 2-0 win to have 1st place in the group as they have their final two games at home. As what will also be mentioned later, Sporting will play Real Esteli at Sporting Park this Tuesday at 8:00 eastern on Fox Soccer Plus.
After that MLS break, Sporting came back home for a homestand starting with facing the Colorado Rapids. Despite the 2-1 comeback win by Sporting, fans didn’t know it at the time that it would be the final Sporting appearance for Kei Kamara. The former Norwich City loanee transferred over to mid table Championship side Middlesbrough for an estimated amount of $2,000,000. Understandably, many fans didn’t like the move because they are losing a fan favorite and a player who genuinely loves Kansas City and loves the fans. I have to look at this both as a fan and a professional. It does hurt as a fan that Kei won’t be at Sporting Park anymore. He always was a delight to watch and his loose and playful personality among players and fans. At the same time, looking at it from Peter Vermes’ or Robb Heineman’s point of view, the move makes sense. The move was tough emotionally, but it made sense.
First, Kamara just turned 29 years old and Sporting has admitted on multiple occasions that they prefer to be a younger team. Once Kamara turns 30, as a forward, his value as a player in the transfer market plummets. With Kamara already having a recent presence in English soccer at Norwich, Sporting is smart to strike while the iron is hot and they got top value for Kei. And it’ll also take $300,000 per year off the cap. Second, ever since Kamara came back to the team after the Norwich loan, there seemed to be a conflict between Kamara and Claudio Bieler on the pitch as to who would be taking the majority of the shots. Both felt like the attacking should go through them and it caused a disconnect among how the team was playing. I never got a good feeling when they both were playing at the same time but the team seemed to play well when one or the other was out there. Third, Kamara wanted to go try his hand at England. After seeing his opportunity cut short at Norwich, it’s been stated that Kei wanted to try again in England. People will argue whether playing in 2nd Division English soccer or MLS will be better for Kamara but it would be selfish of Sporting to not do everything they can to fulfill Kei’s wishes and have him play in England. Fourth, Sporting has the depth at forward that transferring Kamara out won’t diminish their MLS Cup and Supporters Shield chances. Sporting has many options on the wing with Graham Zusi, Soony Saad, CJ Sapong and Jacob Peterson. While he obviously isn’t on Kei’s level, Saad looks like he can potentially be the future of the team. At 20 years old, he has already cemented himself as a capable starter and a playmaker at times. He still has a lot to learn and I’d like to see Soony be a bit more physical in his play but he’s only going to get better with experience so Sporting is going to be just fine. It’s a win-win situation for both Sporting Kansas City and Kei Kamara and I wish Kei the best in Europe.
After the tumultuous transfer deadline day, Sporting had to regroup and face the Columbus Crew at home. Sporting got off on the right foot due to getting a penalty in the 7th minute. Bieler ended his 10 match scoreless streak, where he ironically scored against Columbus, with the penalty kick. After that first goal, it seemed that Columbus lost almost all motivation to play. The 2nd goal by Saad before the end of the first half compounded that even more and by the time the third goal was scored in the 55th minute by Sapong, the game was all but over. Sporting really could’ve opened it up and scored more. I noticed after the third goal that Columbus was getting really tired and/or lazy defending set pieces and throw in’s. A lot of that was because they played a game a few days before but it was certainly an opportunity for Sporting to score more. Even so, I doubt they’ll complain about a 3-0 win.
Sporting Kansas City gets to have a rest and take in the Flatlands Country Music Festival during the International Break. Their next game will be against Real Esteli in the CONCACAF Champions League Tuesday the 17th at 8:00 eastern on Fox Soccer Plus. Sporting has won the previous two Champions League games and have a stranglehold in the group. They are winning their group by three points and their final two games are at home. A win Tuesday will almost assure them a spot in the Knockout Stage next year but because the seeds are grouped by point total and goal differential, Sporting will not ease up on the throttle in order to theoretically have a higher seed and an easier road through the Champions League.
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