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For the sixth straight match, Sporting Kansas City were unable to put forward an attack that was enough to earn a win — this case being one with a lack of an attack in general — and lost to the Houston Dynamo 2-0 on Saturday night.
The loss was especially hurtful for Sporting KC as they had an optimal lineup for the first time in a long while, as Soni Mustivar returned to the starting lineup and Seth Sinovic maintained his spot at left back.
The first 25 minutes or so looked like Sporting Kansas City might have turned it around. They dominated possession, at points to the tune of 70-30, but were unable to put in a serious effort on goal. This would come back to bite them.
In the 30th minute, Giles Barnes was able to enter the box with the ball and shot a rocket to the far post that Tim Melia missed by inches, giving the Dynamo a 1-0 lead. Barnes paid tribute in his celebration to Dynamo superfan Leo Ponce, who passed away earlier this year.
This is when the tone of the match started to change as the Dynamo took over and starting blasting the Sporting KC goal with shot after shot. They were rewarded for this effort in stoppage time of the first half when Andrew Wenger approached Melia from the same side as Barnes and put his shot top shelf to double the Dynamo lead. They would carry this score into the half.
The second half was not any better for Sporting KC as they were still unable to form much of an attack. The response from the Dynamo did simmer in the second half and it became a match of the Dynamo looking to preserve their lead.
Sporting KC did get a bit of a boost when Jimmy Medranda came on as a sub for Chance Myers, which moved Graham Zusi to the back line and gave Sporting KC a speed boost that they desperately needed. However, Sporting was still unable to test Tyler Deric and went into the end of the match with a 2-0 defeat.
This was the sixth straight match in which Sporting KC did not record a win. They have a quick turnaround with Colorado on Wednesday.