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Sporting Kansas City Climbs to Top of the West After Beating New York

By Eric Harris

Mar 31, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto FC midfielder Raheem Edwards (44) runs with the ball beside Sporting KC midfielder Roger Espinoza (27) in the first half at BMO Field. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 31, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto FC midfielder Raheem Edwards (44) runs with the ball beside Sporting KC midfielder Roger Espinoza (27) in the first half at BMO Field. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /
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The 2-0 win puts Sporting KC in first place in the Western Conference

It was the lineup we expected from Sporting Kansas City. Peter Vermes has made his first choices very clear and has only strayed from them due to injury. The mid-week matchup didn’t change that. It certainly wasn’t the case for the New York Red Bulls who made six changes to last week’s line-up.

There was no Sacha Kljestan and no Bradley Wright-Phillips in the starting lineup and the Red Bulls had a difficult time creating chances. Even after the two subbed in the Sporting KC defense kept the two stars from making a difference.

For Sporting Kansas City, the usual suspects were at it all night. Dom Dwyer was lethal in front of goal, getting two goals with his famously weaker left foot. The first came off a poor clearance from former teammate Sal Zizzo. Due to the lineup shuffling, Zizzo found himself in the unfamiliar position of centerback and looked uncomfortable all night.

The second wasn’t a work of art from Dwyer. Benny Feilhaber was dangerous all night and set up a beautiful cross for Dom. He scuffed the shot off his plant leg but still got enough on it to send past Luis Robles.

As the tweet says, Dwyer is now up to five goals in his last five games. After a slow start to the season, Dwyer found his shooting boots and has become the player Vermes needs at the top of his 4-3-3.

Defense Shines for Sporting KC

The defense also deserves a ton of credit for the three points. The Red Bulls had a hard time creating chances without Wright-Phillips and Kljestan, and even when the two came on the defense still had everyone under control.

Sporting Kansas City kept New York from completing passes, only 50% completion in the final third. Then forced them out wide to send in hopeful crosses. New York crossed the ball 21 times but was only successful 14% of the time.

Next: MLS Player Power Rankings Week 9

Next Up for Sporting Kansas City

Sporting Kansas City makes their first trip to Minnesota as an MLS side. The two teams have played each other multiple times before the Loons were in MLS in Open Cup play. It will be interesting to see if Vermes opts to make changes in the starting lineup with the travel on a short week. He probably won’t. But just keep an eye out for it just in case.

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