Sporting KC hoping to snap out of midseason swoon against Dynamo
A fierce MLS rivalry will renew for the third time in six weeks when the Houston Dynamo square off against Sporting Kansas City on Saturday at BBVA Compass Stadium in downtown Houston for a pivotal Western Conference clash.
Houston (7-8-6, 27 points) heads home after a grueling 2-1 loss at Portland on July 29. The match was the Dynamo's fifth in 15 days and Houston dropped to 1-6-4 on the road in 2018.
Forward Romell Quioto netted his fourth goal of the season -- the 11th of his Dynamo career -- and forward Alberth Elis notched his eighth assist of the year in addition to a game-high three shots to key the Houston attack.
Goalkeeper Joe Willis recorded four saves, including a pair of brilliant stops in a matter of seconds in the first half.
Houston used its 21st different starting lineup this season. Coach Wilmer Cabrera has now used 53 different lineup combinations in 55 games as the Dynamo head coach since the start of the 2017 season.
"We played very well in the first half and had the opportunity to pressure and attack and get some things done," Cabrera said after the loss to Portland. "In the second half, some players got tired -- but that's normal with the number of games we've played in the short period of time. We tried to keep (the ball) but we couldn't, and Portland was able to take advantage and punish us. We needed to do better.
"We have to go home and rest and try to think how we can get back to playing our best against Sporting Kansas City. It's been tough, and it's been complicated, but we have to work through this."
Sporting Kansas City (9-6-6, 33 points) suffered a 3-2 defeat to FC Dallas on July 29 at Children's Mercy Park, ending the club's 10-game home unbeaten run in all competitions. FCD snapped its 10-game winless skid in Kansas City and avenged a 3-2 defeat to Sporting KC in the U.S. Open Cup on June 16.
After FC Dallas scored in the 23rd minute, Sporting's Gerso Fernandes equalized five minutes into the second half, scoring the 1,000th regular-season goal in franchise history. Forward Daniel Salloi managed a last-gasp consolation goal for the hosts, who are now winless in five straight MLS matches.
Sporting KC has fallen from first to fifth in the Western Conference standings during this swoon and is now nine points behind first-place FC Dallas in the conference race.
"Every player who has played in this league has been through this type of thing," Sporting Kansas City manager Peter Vermes said. "Almost every season, you have it. Almost every team has it in every season.
"The biggest thing is that you have to realize that it only changes because you work to make it change. It doesn't change just because someone says it's going to. Our guys know that. You have to keep working towards it. You have to face it head on."
Sporting KC has 13 matches left (seven away, six at home) with six games against current playoff teams and only one midweek match mixed in the weekend-dominated schedule.
