There is nothing less fair than losing a title via a PK shootout (or as one pedant in the comments section will surely point out, "kicks from the spot.") It is heartbreaking in a way that soccer rarely is, because almost every goal scored in our game happens following a cascade of breakdowns rather than one simple, individual failure to execute. Soccer is the ultimate team game, and ultimately, the entire team shares responsibility for goals conceded or moments lost.
The shootout is a different animal. Everyone knows it was Andrew Wenger's poorly taken PK that left the door open for Sporting KC, and everybody knows that Jordi Quintilla got the job done to give the visitors a 7-6 shootout win over the Union following a 1-1 (AET) draw in Chester. Let's just hope he doesn't search his name on Twitter tonight.
Sporting, of course, also won the 2013 MLS Cup and 2012 US Open Cup via PK shootout. It's become their speciality.
As for the game itself...
Everybody Loves A Sweeper-Keeper
Sebastien Le Toux got his 1-billionth US Open Cup goal to open the scoring, and it's a carbon copy of many, many goals Sporting have given up this season. One fullback or the other pushes up, a winger slips in behind, and thus goals are scored:
LeToux good of a finish. The pass from Nogueira wasn't half bad either. 1-0 @PhilaUnion#USOC2015https://t.co/14c50ewz2B
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 30, 2015A couple of important things to note, though. First is the work Fabinho (who was excellent all game long) did on the sideline keeping the play alive, and second is the Beckham-esque ball from Vincent Nogueira.
Third, though, is the hesitation of Sporting 'keeper Tim Melia, who is in his first full year as a starter and has earned plaudits for being "mistake free" as opposed to "daring," which was the hallmark of Luis Marin -- the guy he replaced.
Seth Sinovic should have been better positioned to deal with Nogueira's pass, but regardless, Melia has to work on his instincts when coming off his line, especially since KC's fullbacks are so aggressive. I think Nick Rimando, David Bingham and a few other MLS 'keepers get to that ball. And I know that having that space in behind protected would give Sporting's defense to push higher and harder.
Melia's been good and has the tools to get better. Tonight's goal is an example of something he can work on in the offseason.
The Weight Of Gravity
Michael Lahoud was robust and effective for Philly, and did a good job of keeping Benny Feilhaber -- who has a well-earned reputation as a big-game player -- in check for most of the night. Feilhaber got almost none of the ball in Zone 14 and was never given a clean look to play runners through. His best moments came from set pieces, an early cross, and a backheel at the edge of the box.
That came at a price for Philly, though. Specifically on Sporting's lone goal, when Lahoud started higher and stuck tighter to Feilhaber than you normally see from a deep-lying destroyer in that situation:
.@KNemeth_Nemo with pinpoint perfection on this placement. @SportingKC equalizes in the #USOC2015. https://t.co/WcmWphwVQm
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 1, 2015This is a classic "It's not any one person's fault!" goal against. C.J. Sapong had gone toward the left touchline to help out Cristian Maidana (out of gas at this point) defensively, which left room for Kevin Ellis to drive forward; Tranquillo Barnetta doesn't quite close out Chance Myers hard enough, allowing the cross; Vincent Nogueira completely loses track of Graham Zusi's diagonal run to the spot.
None of those three mistakes is fatal in and of themselves, but when they happen one after another after another, they put you in a bad spot defensively. One where you need your No. 6 to read the play before it happens and snuff out the danger.
Lahoud was two steps late doing that, because his first priority all night was to keep the ball off of Feilhaber's foot. This is called "attacking gravity," and the more dangerous a player is, the more gravity he has. It's why just having a good player out there -- even when they're not super-involved -- can make a team better.
In this instance, Feilhaber's presence 30 yards from goal gave Graham Zusi the extra second of space he needed to make a play, and then Krizstian Nemeth drove the first nail into the coffin.
What's it mean for Philly?
Please don't fire Jim Curtin. Please don't blow up this roster. Please don't sign anymore goalkeepers. Please just give this group one gorram offseason of continuity, because the first 60 minutes of this one produced really high-quality, entertaining stuff.
They do need, though, to figure out how to use the ball in possession and defensively. Maidana is a genius chance creator but he's so far been unwilling to do the dirty work of circulating the ball and taking the occasional beating (think of how Lee Nguyen drops back into the midfield when the Revs need to create more time and space) in order to control, or even just change the tempo. That means the Union are usually only dangerous in transition, which is not the way to consistently win.
I'm not advocating for a Maidana replacement, but a bigtime No. 6 who can free up Nogueira and Barnetta should be something they try to identify and sign.
What's it mean for Sporting?
Their third title in four years, enshrinement as a mini-dynasty, and another checked box for Peter Vermes's resume. Vermes is a trendy name to mention in the "who should be the next USMNT coach?" discussion because of his ability to build and maintain a winner, and I'm on board with that. Few do a better job of developing young players, and the way he's mixed-and-matched his defense this season has been masterful:
- New goalkeeper (Melia replaced Marin, who replaced last year's starter, Eric Kronberg)
- Two new fullbacks (Myers and Sinovic are only just back after long layoffs, with rookies Amadou Dia and Saad Abdul-Salaam both getting significant minutes)
- A new central defender (Kevin Ellis has played huge minutes in place of the injured Ike Opara, who himself was replacing mainstay Aurelien Collin)
- A new d-mid (Soni Mustivar, who came off injured late in this one, appears to be the long-term answer at that spot)
- Let's mention Roger Espinoza's injury and absence for good measure
Only one of this season's back six -- Matt Besler, who had a very good game -- was a regular before March of this year, and the fact that Sporting just won a title and are above the red line in the brutal West is pretty remarkable. Vermes has to get a lot of credit for that, and the fact that he's done it with mostly a different group of guys than the one that won the Open Cup in 2012 and MLS Cup in 2013 says something about his ability to adapt and adjust. That kind of flexibility applied within a coherent and defined system is something that should translate up to international play.
The win puts the KC franchise into pretty damn good company:
It also puts Sporting into the CONCACAF Champions League next summer, which points to a desperate need: Depth. Dom Dwyer's the only center forward on the team, and while he's a warrior he can only play so many minutes. Feilhaber has his understudy in Jordi Quintilla, but it's unclear who's got Mustivar's back, and central defense is threadbare (pending Erik Palmer-Brown's explosion into greatness, right?). Even in winning the title tonight Sporting looked only about 80% as energetic as they did two months ago, and next year's team will have to feature more of a rotation.
This year's, though, can celebreate. Sporting KC are the champions yet again.
That feeling. #USOC2015pic.twitter.com/Bp9GSfVIIx
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 1, 2015
