KANSAS CITY, Kan. ā Sporting Kansas City donāt have any time to spare fretting over the points that got away, not with their first true must-win match of the season looming.
Sporting have a midweek home date with Minnesota United in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, a competition they most recently won in 2015, and theyāre anxious to get to it.
āI think just the fact that we have a game gets us focused right away,ā left back Seth Sinovic told MLSsoccer.com on Saturday, after a late giveaway let the Montreal Impact pull out a 1-1 draw at Childrenās Mercy Park. āWe donāt have that whole week of preparation, so we know weāve got to be prepared from the start of the week and get ready for Wednesday.ā
The one-and-done aspect of Wednesdayās competition matters less, Sinovic said, than Sportingās desire to win at home, where theyāve lost only one match across all competitions since last May.
āI think we go into every game looking to win it,ā he said. āYou kind of have to, whether itās Open Cup or MLS play.ā
Sporting are 1-1 against the Loons in league competition this year, most recently handing them a 3-0 setback on June 3, also at Childrenās Mercy Park. They have met twice in Open Cup play when the Loons were in the North American Soccer League, winning both of those encounters.
With the usual roster shuffles that go on between MLS and Open Cup play, though, Sporting arenāt expecting a quick repeat of the most recent result ā or thinking about who the Loons might suit up for Wednesdayās fourth-round match.
āWe need to focus on ourselves,ā defender Ike Opara said. āIf we worry about ourselves, I like our chances.ā
Manager Peter Vermes isnāt saying who might take the pitch for his side, especially with four players ā fullbacks Graham Zusi and Tyler Pasher, center back Matt Besler and forward Soony Saad ā coming off international duty on a short turnaround.
āWeāll wait to see what happens after [Sunday],ā he said, āand weāll go from there.ā
No matter who starts and is in the 18, Sporting will have to be more careful with the ball than they were on Saturday, when Soni Mustivarās bad back pass led to the equalizer and several other giveaways led to counterattacking opportunities for the Impact.
āWeāve been playing really well this year,ā Opara said. āWe know at times itās not always going to be perfect. That being said, I would like to think that this is a one-off, that this is not a trend. So weāll correct it this coming week, and hopefully get back to what we were doing.ā