Gerso’s Hat Trick Lifts Sporting Kansas City Past Seattle
By Eric Harris
The GERSHOW rolled in to Kansas City as his goals were the difference over Seattle Sounders FC.
15 Minutes. That’s all it took for the match to go from a draw to a blowout. In the 56th minute Gerso Fernandes got his first goal…
Two minutes later he had a brace…
The hat trick was finished off in the 69th minute.
Surprisingly, the hat trick was the first from a Sporting Kansas City player since 2010, and if you say you guessed it came from Birahim Diop you’re a liar. Gerso now has done something that Dom Dwyer, Graham Zusi, and Benny Feilhaber haven’t been able to do in Sporting Blue.
Tim Melia Stands Tall (Again)
Although SKC had the majority of passes and controlling play, Seattle had two great chances to take the lead in the first half. If not for Melia, the second half could have taken a completely different complexion.
Melia extended his league lead in shutouts with seven. In each of his last two seasons as the starter, Melia finished with eight shutouts. He’s on pace to match that in half of the matches this season.
With the normal top keepers Luis Robles and Nick Rimando throwing up some duds this year, Melia is looking more and more like the top keeper in the league at this point.
A Vintage Sporting Kansas City Performance
The stats from this game look more like a Sporting KC game from 2014 than 2017. The high pressing 4-3-3 led to turnovers and for SKC to dominate possession. Sporting had the ball for over 61% of the match. They also completed 651 passes to Seattle’s 407.
That pressure eventually wore down a, admittedly depleted, Seattle side. Without Osvaldo Alonso in the lineup, Sporting was able to rule the midfield. Especially Benny Feilhaber who was all over the field completing passes.
Deja Vu For Seattle?
Last season’s trip to Kansas City was also a nightmare for Seattle, it is also seen as the low point and the turn around for their title winning season. The Sounders are now at three losses in a row, and dropping in the standings quick.
Could this match also be the turning point for the Sounders to turn things around again? There won’t be a coaching change like last year, and another Nicolas Lodiero type signing seems unlikely again, so it will be interesting to see if this season mirrors 2016, or is something entirely different.