by Brian Turrel
Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper Tim Melia returned to the starting lineup in time to help his team post its first shutout of the 2021 season, a 3-0 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps. Melia had been out of action with a chest injury since the start of the season.
Kansas City’s prolific offense and stingy defense made Melia’s task lighter, holding the ball for 67% of the match and allowing only 2 shots on frame, both handled deftly by the goalkeeper.
Daniel Salloi opened the scoring for Kansas City in the 28th minute. Alan Pulido lost the ball in a challenge near the Vancouver goal, but the ball rolled to Salloi on the left side. Salloi played the ball back across goal and inside the far post for the score.
Salloi and Pulido combined in a different way for Kansas City’s second goal just four minutes later. Salloi was brought down in the penalty area by midfielder Ryan Raposo to earn a penalty kick, which Pulido converted for Kansas City’s 2-0 halftime margin.
Sporting’s offensive pressure continued after the break, and Pulido notched his second goal in the 58th minute. From the left sideline Gadi Kinda fed the ball to Pulido near the 18-yard stripe. Pulido cut quickly to his right to earn some space, and then fired a shot that beat Vancouver’s lunging goalkeeper to the near post.
The defensive lineup featured Ilie Sanchez continuing at center back, away from his usual midfield position, while Gianluca Busio slotted in as the holding midfielder. After the match, head coach Peter Vermes praised his defense’s contribution to the result.
“When you look at the back four and Busio, and the way that those guys all played together, I thought it was excellent,” Vermes said.
“They allowed for the front five to get in good spots. The front five’s movement off the ball was rewarded because of the possession that we were able to keep in the back and in the way that we were building the field up.”
The victory pushes Sporting to third place in the MLS Western conference. They will play next Saturday at San Jose, and then return home for a match against the Houston Dynamo at 7:30 p.m. May 29.
