Sporting Kansas City have gone within two points of leaders Seattle Sounders after the latest victory over Vancouver Whitecaps.
The victory is the fourth three-pointer in the last five matches, thus marking the club as the inform team across North America. Only FC Dallas have a superior form over a three-game period and this trend has delighted manager Peter Vermes. The recent win over Vancouver was achieved despite the manager starting the game with inexperienced fullbacks. One of those defenders was making the first start in his MLS career and it spoke volumes about the injury situation at the club.
Despite this,Vermes is glad to see his squad cope up with a lot of challenges. A major reason behind the victory has been the form of goalkeeper Tim Melia. He has made nine starts in the MLS after being called in as the replacement for Luis Marin. He has recorded an astonishing six clean sheets during this period. Goalkeepers alone are not responsible for a good defensive record andVermes has identified this aspect with his statements about the entire defence. The recent victory has also enabled Sporting to open a five point advantage over San Jose Earthquakes, who sit just outside the play-off places.
“It says a lot about those guys. They have an ability to not only play, but also play in big games, and they’ve matured very quickly. You can’t say enough about a couple of saves that Tim made – huge, huge saves to keep us in the game and keep the shutout. Those were big, big points because of the team we played against. That’s a very, very good team in this league right now, and I have a tremendous amount of respect for them,” Vermes said. The team’s next match is against Montréal Impact.