KANSAS CITY, Mo. – When he lost his starting job in goal for Sporting Kansas City, Eric Kronberg promised to stay ready in case the club needed him.
He didn't have to wait long.
Kronberg's stint as Andy Gruenebaum's backup lasted just one game before Gruenebaum went down with his second injury of the year, and Kronberg once more holds the No. 1 spot in the as the regular season nears its end and the playoffs loom.
“Sometimes you wait eight years, and sometimes you wait a game,” Kronberg told MLSsoccer.com on Monday. “That's goalkeeping for you. You've always got to be ready, and I've always prided myself on being ready and doing what I can to train like I'm the starter, even if I'm not.”
That perseverance paid off before this season, when Kronberg – Sporting's longest-tenured player – was named the No. 1 after eight seasons of backing up first Kevin Hartman, then Jimmy Nielsen. He had seven clean sheets in the first half of the season, then broke a bone in his left hand in early July when he hit a wheel on a portable goal in training.
Kronberg didn't see league action again until Sept. 26, when he conceded three times in a 3-2 home loss to New England. Gruenebaum stepped back in and recorded two clean sheets in as many matches, only to sustain a quad strain in training last week. Re-enter Kronberg, who did give up two goals in last weekend's 2-1 loss at Philadelphia but also had four saves – including two on breakaway situations – and looked sharper than he did against the Revs.
“Obviously, it's unfortunate to have the loss and two goals against,” he said, “but I definitely felt more comfortable than I did against New England. My timing is better. My positioning was better, too. I feel like the goals were two mistakes that we can fix and hopefully move on and get some results at the end.”
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Sporting close out CONCACAF Champions League group play on Thursday at Costa Rican side Deportivo Saprissa (10 pm ET; Fox Soccer Plus) and will advance to the knockout round even with a one-goal loss. Then they return home to end the regular season against New York on Sunday (8:30 pm ET; ESPN2), needing a win to solidify a third seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
“I'm trying to get the team back on rhythm, and I'm trying to get back on rhythm myself,” Kronberg said. “We've got to clean up these mistakes. We don't have much time, so we've got to work hard this week to get sharp and get a result at Saprissa and then get a win against New York. This is kind of do-or-die time.”
Steve Brisendine covers Sporting Kansas City for MLSsoccer.com.
