This game is really what I think of when I hear a game called a "six-pointer". VAN has the same number of games played as us, but four fewer points. They are sitting 3rd in the West on points but only 6th on PPG. These are the kinds of games we really need to win if we want to stay up on top in the West. Can't go two weeks in a row without a win at home. Kei's got a groin injury so he probably won't play. Sure hope Gutierrez gets better quick from his.
Besler should tie Zavagnin with the most league starts in team history Friday. In the 54th minute he should become the all time leader in league minutes played for the club as well.
It probably will be over here on Eurosport, though the clubs will be listed as Rockies and Supersonics and the game time in the listing will be wrong. Upside, the announcer has already lauded this one as a topspiele and is looking forward to seeing Salloi again. Downside, they'll forget the audi track, so we'll listen to the rather loud f-bombs being dropped by whoever is standing closest to the field mic, interupted only by the thunk of foot hitting ball.
Kevin Stott will be the man in the middle, for his first game of 2018. Not sure what to think about that. SKC's record with him is pretty good (22 W - 8 D - 12 L) but I've never been very impressed by his game management.
What channel is the SKC game on? I see espn+ I still don't know what that means. I see some strange Alternative channel as well that never carries games . Interesting
Johnny Russell with two goals and still a new guy on team, runs 30 yards to go get in the face of the biggest player in MLS and keeps his sh** together while Vancouver earn two RCs. If Johnny isn't a great addition to any team, water is no longer wet. It's almost like we have two Espinozas now, Johnny just so happens to score goals too.
Final whistle blows. @MLS, We have a message we'd like to share...Here's Johnny!!!!!!!!!!!#SKCvVAN 6-0 #ForGloryForCity https://t.co/yiyXvuyKG4— Sporting Kansas City (@SportingKC) April 21, 2018
Feast on this: TWO SKC players are tied for the league Golden Boot. This ain’t your daddy’s SKC team!
That early save by Melia was fantastic. It looked to be a perfectly timed pass. I know it was his bobblehead night, but to me, that was moment of the match.
Well....not much to criticize in a game where SKC blows out the 2nd place team in the west by a 6-0 score line. Needless to say, I think that Russell has found his comfort level in the MLS. Vancouver in the first 8 minutes were really very good and dangerous on the counter attack...that is until Melia made that unbelievable save and Russell took all of the air out of their sails. But, just a couple of things besides Russell’s fantastic performance: 1. Shelton played a very solid game,,,but,,you know.... 2. Yohan finally got his goal. He is getting better, but still has a way to go. 3. Jimmy did a much better job on the defensive end than last week,,,and how about that goal! 4. Amor got his first start and showed fairly well, although he didn’t get the challenge of a full 11 v 11 game. We still have to wait to see how he finishes out a game with both teams at full strength. 5. Vancouver deserved to get at least 1 guy sent off, but when 2 were sent off it spoiled the game for me. Yes I guess they deserved it, but I really wanted to see an 11 v 11 game to the final whistle. The biggest thrill the crowd got in the second half was when Melia finally got to touch the ball....sigh..
Yeah, if Shelton can’t get off the schneid in a game like this, he may never score again. In fact, I don’t recall him having any effect on the game at all. It was all Johnny and the midfield. Croizet had a really good game. Great touches and movement. He showed some flair on the assist to Lobato. And he was getting himself in some really good positions to take a lot of shots. If we didn’t have Gutierrez, he might just blossom into a good a-mid. The narrative from this game is going to be all about the 11v9, but SKC was in the driver’s seat and up 3-0 before the red cards. Medranda’s goal was breathtaking. Melia’s save was otherworldly. Save of the Week and Goal of the Week in the same game IMO. And how about that inch perfect pass from Ilie to Croizet for the sixth? Just wonderful.
Yep the Melia save early on was absolutely huge, fantastic save. Shelton didn't show up on the score sheet, but early on he was attracting a lot of Waston's attention which created more space for Russell to work with. Not a lot you can take from after the red cards as at 3-0 and down to 9 the game was pretty much over. The 1 disappointment of the night was that we didn't give Lindsey a run out, I don't see why PV didn't try to get him some time with the scoreline how it was.
Yeah, but I can’t really argue with the players that did come on. Lobato got a goal which will help his confidence. Rubio needs minutes to see if he’s going to be able to stick with us or not. And Gutierrez needed minutes to start coming back from injury. Lindsey will get his shot.
Also, Espinoza is now 2nd in the league with 5 assists (his career high already), and Salloi moved into a tie for 3rd in the league with 4 assists.
First, wow. That was almost too dominant. I'm not sure the game would have been much different if it had stayed 11 v 11. After Merdranda's absolute stunna (now that's a golazo) the whitecaps were falling apart. Great points made so far, so just a bit to add from looking at the Audi numbers (don't tell the whole yadda yadda): SKC put up a team score of 9164. IIRC, the previously most dominant team score of the season, in MLS, had been a bit under 6000. Croizet was a monster, leading the team and putting up 1559 points. Remember, an average performance in MLS tends to be around 280. But statistically, Croizet did almost everything right. He lost one aerial challenge and put two balls out of touch. Crikey, he was statistically better than Hat-Trick Johnny (who was also quite impressive, at 1373). Also, Zusi was also over 1,000, which is deserved and crazy. We had 7 starters at or above 800. Scores of 800 are quite often MOTM performances. Obviously, playing a full half plus up two made this very much shooting fish in a barrel, and it was clear there was no water in the barrel. Melia was underscored because that save, holy crap, but he finished around the league average. Amor was league average, cleared quite a few of his few touches out of bounds and wasn't nailing the long passes. Still, that was really encouraging from him. We do miss the idea of another local player making a huge impact, but he really makes up for the loss of EPB on the field. Very assured, I thought. Ilie was fantastic. The MLS team of the week tends to follow the Audi numbers. I would expect Croizet, Russell and Zusi to make it, but maybe they won't because it was too overwhelming. Melia for save of the week will be hard to beat, and Medranda for goal is in the running. Heck of a fun night, and while it would have been better to run that rampant 11v11, the goal differential does not hurt. Beyond that, the Vancouver players knew they'd messed up. Hands to face is a FIFA point of emphasis. Everyone knows that.
Really encouraging from Croizet. I mean, yeah, it's easy to look good in a game like that, but more importantly, he looks like he's got the feel for the physicality of the league. That's been his struggle so far, but he was winning 50/50s everywhere. It's hard to gauge the formation, but did it look like to anyone else that Roger and Zusi switched positions for most of the game?
Johnny Freaking Russell is going to take the whole lot on by himself and probably going to have fun doing it. Seriously though, watch the highlight that shows just before the scrum. Waston is standing over Roger yelling at him. Other players on both teams are just kind of milling around, not getting involved. Johnny says, nope. I’m not having it. He SPRINTS in from the side of the screen and gets in Waston’s face and shoves him away from Roger - you’re not going to do that to my mate! And sets off the scrum that leads to two reds. That is the kind of thing that makes a freaking legend. That is the kind of thing that says what kind of a person and teammate you are. Three goals, one drawn penalty, two incited red cards. Statement.