Sporting KC at Seattle: Five Talking Points

Talking points

1) A makeshift lineup did not do too bad

On the road, in the rain with half of the first team defense (Myers, Sinovic) and two thirds of the midfield (Uri, Nagamura) missing and a keeper with a handful of league starts, a draw would have been great and a loss not shocking at all.  But the cobbled together lineup held pretty well.

"It goes to show with this group, obviously we preach the mantra of it being a team, that no individual is more important than the team and you saw today that it's very possible to interchange players with our 30 man roster and put in a performance that looks very similar to what we would consider out best eleven," explained assistant coach Kerry Zavagnin after the match.

The only thing shocking was when the goal was scored, but then again it was in Seattle. So that goal in stoppage time was really not all that surprising either. Could Ellis and especially Gardner have played better? Yes, but they did not set up the eventual winner for Seattle and through the run of play they held their own fairly well for most of the game.

2) Eric Kronberg did alright

Was he the best keeper in the league Saturday night? No, but he did do well. Yes he gave up a goal in stoppage time in Seattle. Kroney is certainly not the first keeper to do that, heck he isn't the first Kansas City keeper to do it. He's in pretty good company when Jimmy Nielsen has also been the victim a few times. One thing Kronberg did that was amazing, that nobidy else has done. He single handedly took out the best center back pair in the league at one shot, not an easy feat. Too bad it was his own defense.

3) The Roadron

The amazing thing is not that the Roadron (the traveling Cauldron) was 400 strong in Seattle. The amazing thing is it has become the new norm for Sporting KC fans. Hundreds travel to Chicago, Dallas, Seattle, Colorado and elsewhere to support their beloved Sporting KC on a regular basis now. There is almost not a game without some contingent of fans showing up and making noise in support of SKC.  From the moment the schedule comes out, people are booking flights, arranging buses, working out tailgates. It's the new norm. Just think how many would show up if St Louis ever got its act together and got a team. Easy driving distance and they would be swarming with Sporting Blue clad fans looking for a non-Budweiser to drink.

4) Did SKC fans need more reasons to hate Seattle?

What, the rave green wasn't enough? The somewhat arrogant "we invented soccer" fans weren't enough? The condescending Sigi the Hut wasn't enough? It looks like the previous times that Seattle scored in the 90th plus minute against Kansas City wasn't enough. That's okay, Sporting Kansas City won when it counted.

5) There are more important games than Seattle right now

Champions League! Cruz Azul! It's an international match at Sporting Park that is not some friendly and not some semi-easy team from the middle of nowhere. The best team in Mexico versus the local boys, the defending MSL Cup Champs. Seems like an entertaining match. While I do not think Sporting KC's players were overlooking Seattle, it was clear that there were players be rested in hope of them being ready for Cruz Azul.

"It's not a situation where we win or lose the MLS Championship or Supporters Shield in one game but when you look at the game on Wednesday just being a two game series it is obviously a more urgent situation," Zavagnin acknowledged immediately after the loss.