Sporting Kansas City, enduring a tough season, finds its only bright spot from an early win over the Los Angeles Galaxy. With a record of 1-8-2 and just 5 points, the club aims to turn things around when it hosts the Galaxy (4-4-4, 16 points) on Wednesday in Kansas City, Kan.
The lone victory for Kansas City came on March 14, a 2-1 result against Los Angeles in Carson, Calif. Since then, the team has struggled, most recently suffering a 6-0 defeat at Portland on Saturday. After that match, coach Raphael Wicky emphasized the need for greater energy and “more courage” from his squad.
“I’d rather make mistakes when I have the courage than when I’m a little bit scared,” Wicky said. “That’s something I just told the team as well, and I think that’s something we hopefully can see on Wednesday.”
Defender Zorhan Bassong, back from a hamstring injury, played 30 minutes against Portland. Wicky praised his impact, noting, “I knew from the beginning that Zorhan is a player who is really important for us either in the center mid or as a fullback. He brings personality. He brings energy. He brings physicality… but I need him to be healthy and healthy over the whole season.”
The Galaxy will look for revenge, driven by playmaker Gabriel Pec, who scored twice in a 2-1 comeback win at Atlanta United last Saturday. Pec notched goals in the 74th and 79th minutes, lifting his season totals to three goals and four assists.
Galaxy coach Greg Vanney noted Pec’s limited practice time leading up to the Atlanta match and emphasized getting him into dangerous positions. “We want to find Gabe on the move and ideally moving toward the goal… getting Gabe running behind the back line and getting him at speed,” Vanney said.
Los Angeles has gone 2-0-1 in its last three matches, while Kansas City has managed only one goal in its previous four games.
