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If you had told me that Sporting Kansas City would go on a road trip with back to back games against Minnesota United and Orlando City and only had a point to show for it, I wouldn’t have been surprised. I would have, however, expected the results to have been flipped...
That said, hey, look, two goals from Latif Blessing! One could argue that they were lucky rebounds/garbage goals, but one could also argue that Blessing’s positioning and awareness of the build up was what made them happen. Chris Wondolowski has basically made a career of knowing how to be in the right place at the right time. And so it goes.
On the flip side, this marks the second time in a week that Sporting have conceded twice. Not normally a horrific thing, especially considering they were away games (and Orlando yet failed to win at home), but something to at least note.
A question I have now is, with Dwyer coming back from suspension, how does Vermes see the top three shaking out? Gerso-Dwyer-Blessing seems like it could be awfully good, but having the depth and being able to rotate in and out guys like Saad and Medranda could also help keep folks healthy and rested throughout the season. Vermes doesn’t like to switch things up much so I think the next few games will be very interesting.
So how do Blessing’s two goals stack up against (very good) performances from the likes of Cyle Larin and Kaka? Let’s go to the numbers.
Sporting Kansas City vs Orlando City - Player Ratings
| Orlando City | Rating |
|---|---|
| Orlando City | Rating |
| Joe Bendik | 5.5 |
| Jonathan Spector | 5.0 |
| Donny Toia | 5.5 |
| Scott Sutter | 5.5 |
| Jose Aja | 4.5 |
| Carlos Rivas | 6.5 |
| Will Johnson | 5.0 |
| Christian Higuita | 4.5 |
| Antonion Nocerino | 4.5 |
| Kaka | 6.0 |
| Luis Gil | 4.5 |
| Cyle Larin | 7.0 |
| Giles Barnes | 4.5 |
| Team Average | 5.3 |
| Sporting Kansas City | Rating |
| Tim Melia | 4.5 |
| Matt Besler | 7.5 |
| Seth Sinovic | 4.5 |
| Ike Opara | 5.5 |
| Saad Abdul-Salaam | 4.5 |
| Graham Zusi | 5.0 |
| Ilie Sanchez | 5.5 |
| Benny Feilhaber | 4.5 |
| Roger Espinoza | 5.5 |
| Gerso Fernandes | 5.0 |
| Soni Mustivar | 5.0 |
| Soony Saad | 4.5 |
| Latif Blessing | 8.5 |
| Jimmy Medranda | 4.0 |
| Team Average | 5.3 |
All in all, pretty average numbers across the board, save for Blessing’s brace and Besler, who gets credited with an assist on the first.
Overall I think Sporting will be happy to have earned a road point in Orlando, enough to at least put the Minnesota match behind them. A quick turn now has Sporting facing a struggling Seattle Sounders side who will be looking to get their season back on track.