"It’s embarrassing, coming in here obviously the effort wasn’t good enough. 4-0 is a slap in the face and we
obviously can’t dwell on it and move on tomorrow.”
That was Sporting fullback Chance Myers after KC got bullied into a 4-0 loss at Philly.
It started almost immediately after the referee blew the whistle. The Union’s Lionard Pajoy beat the KC defense to a ball heading over the end line just as his onrushing team mate, Jack McInerney rushed in to finish the point
blank roofer.
“I thought my first goal was good, it was my first goal of the season," said McInerney. "I thought it was good for the team because we have been struggling to score goals. To get one in the second minute was a good feeling.”
McInerney picked up a second goal near the end of the first half cleaning up garbage from an in-swinging set piece that ricocheted in a crowd, then found his foot. It was an easy finish for the Union man and Philly was feeling confident going into the locker room.
The beginning of the second half saw KC assert itself more, winning possession handily and keeping the home side on the back foot. But unfortunately all of that didn’t materialize into much more than a bunch of crosses.
And then in the 80th minute Aurelien Collin went all Aurelien Collin and dragged down the Union’s Antoine Hoppenot after the striker got a step on him.
I don’t understand why Collin persists with this, now his third or fourth such incident this season. I’d rather take my chances with Jimmy Nielsen and an inevitably poor shooting angle and have Collin try and cut down the angle as much as he can.
And just to really rub it in, the Union tallied again in the 87th minute when KC’s defense was beaten straight up the middle. Jimmy Nielsen made a mess of the 1 v 1 chip that flew just past his left ear and saw Philly stretch its lead to 4-0.
But no one really wanted to talk about Collin’s irresponsible foul or that play after the game. Or much about the game at all for that matter. No, the KC locker room was ready to move on and look forward to their very busy upcoming schedule.
“There are no excuses," Myers reiterated. "I know they have played games in short periods too. Obviously wherever we fly, it doesn’t matter, a game is a game and it’s just embarrassing.”
Next up is the quarterfinals of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup against the Dayton Duthch Lions on Tuesday night at LIVESTRONG.
And Dayton’s no slouch, believe that.
Let’s hope KC solves its problems quickly (calling Matt Besler) because there’s no break anytime soon for Sporting as they play 4 more games between now and July 7th. The Union gave them their most complete beating of the season thus far.
"The best thing to do is get out and play," said Michael Thomas, who got his second start in a row.
Well, that’s the first step anyway.
I agree we need Besler back bad
But the sky is not falling just yet. We’re still just a point back of East co-leaders DC and NY and both those teams have played more games than KC.
lack of goal scoring options hurting SKC
Can anyone (besides Kai on occasion) beat a man one-on-one? If Sporting has to strictly rely on set pieces and crosses to score, they are going to fall pretty quickly. There has been virtually no scoring coming from the middle of the pitch this year, and teams are figuring it out. DC and New York put on a show last night. They definitely have better playmakers than Sporting does right now. They are going to pull ahead if Sporting doesn
Teal
Has the allure of Teal Bunbury finally worn off? And if not, when?
He strikes me as more of a hothead at this point than a team leader. He has some flair for goal scoring, but his touch ain’t that great and he seems to lose his cool pretty quick.
While we’re on this topic, it’s becoming clear that the risk-reward on Collin is veering more toward the risk side.
Sporting will probably be fine. The Eastern Conference is a strange mix of teams this year. It’s better than it was last year and teams like Chicago are scaling their way up the list while New York and D.C. continue to play inspired football. But it’s hard to see who will supplant Sporting from a top three finish in the conference. But they do look like a ripe early exit contender.
COULD SOMEONE ON THIS SITE PLEASE INVEST IN A SPELLCHECKER? Goddamn.
Here is the problem
This team is NOT deep at ALL…losing or resting a starter means big trouble. Aside from that, Zusi and especially Bunburry do not seem capable of maintaining their best form and the club never bothered to replace Bravo. If the ownership is serious about winning a title, they will invest in a DP when the window opens this week. My guess is that they will cross their fingers that the starters remain healthy and hope the team is playing better more like they did in April when the playoffs roll around.