First game I'll have been able to watch live in a while. Usually Vancouver on the schedule makes me so happy because they've been our whipping boys of late... but really they've started to show up in the league. This might be a pretty tight scrap! EDIT: Was looking at the standings. With a solid end to the season from Minnesota, RSL, and Vancouver, it could be entirely possible to see both states of Texas and California miss the playoffs entirely. Hugely improbable on the whole but what a sight to behold, if it happens!
A win against Vancouver puts us in a position where it's pretty much certain that we will top the 57 pts that won us an SS in 2000 (way to MLS Cup) and 58 that just about did in, crap, i forget, oh, right 2013 when we also won MLS Cup. But it also would leave us with a decent shot to surpass the 62 pts of 2018 and even the 63 of 2012, for our club record. The numbers say that if we produce in the last six what we have in the first 28 games, 1.86 ppg, we will end up beating 63, though not quite reaching 64, so not sure how that works out. Even with a total collapse, this will be one of the five best sides in our history, almost certainly top 3 and the odds suggest there's a decent shot at top one. It's been a really nice year. I think it's been hard to appreciate just how good we have been because f'ing NE is insane and Seattle is annoyingly Seattle-y, while Colorado is shockingly good, as well. but, heading into 2021, if we'd been told we'd end up with this many points, I think we'd have all been quite pleased, and wondering how, with that backline.
Hats off to Vancouver, they finished their chances and then were able to get numbers behind the ball, but 64% possession for the game and you can't get a single shot on goal in the 2nd half with all that possession? The offense was listless tonight.
this was the most miserable game of soccer I've seen in a long time. Towards the end I found myself cheering for Vancouver to string a couple passes together so that at least we'll see some goal chances on the other side and some excitement, but not even that happened. xG on this game musta been sthg like .1 to .1. None of the 25 people on the pitch deserved to get paid for this bs of a game. Ref called every body contact on either side to make this game even more unwatchable.
.47 to .38 and that feels generous, I think that high late opportunity for KC, was that cross that skimmed Martins' head that they some how counted as a shot. g+ GameFlow: MLS Regular Season @WhitecapsFC v @SportingKC on October 17, 2021. #VWFC #VamosVancouver #SportingKC #VamosKC #VANvSKC pic.twitter.com/6II6h9nqXJ— GameFlow (@GameFlowxPG) October 18, 2021
No, flew out day before: ⚽️ Sporting KC (@SportingKC) #SportingKC🆚 Vancouver Whitecaps FC #VWFC #VANvSKC✈️ N713SY | SCX8724 | B737🛫 MCI - 2:16 pm CT🛬 YVR - 3:53 pm PT📡 Tracking: https://t.co/pJ6boU8zpb pic.twitter.com/qS1fMscFxX— Sports + Aviation (@SportsAviation) October 16, 2021 Didn't fly back out immediately either: ⚽️ Sporting KC (@SportingKC) #SportingKC🆚 L 2-1 @ Vancouver Whitecaps FC #VWFC #VANvSKC✈️ N813SY | SCX8724 | B738🛫 YVR - 10:06 am PT🛬 MCI - 3:18 pm CT📡 Tracking: https://t.co/g1naIzg2TF pic.twitter.com/nMS3KTkzwe— Sports + Aviation (@SportsAviation) October 18, 2021
I’ve continued to say that SKC is too vulnerable when it comes to depth at striker. Pulido is not in form and when he is hurt it is even worse. Other teams know that Shelton will not take a shot unless he is wide open in the box...and even then, he will probably mess it up. So, they double and triple the wingers because that is where the goals usually come from. Vancouver had SKC well scouted and their plan worked. And, as mentioned before by others on this forum, with the leaky defense, SKC does not advance in the playoffs.
FWIW, KC is 6th in the league in goals against this season. 7 more than 1st place Seattle. Yes our defense isn't as good as it has been in years past. But the leaky defense is a misnomer that the league's talking heads have used all year. Now if you want to talk about our penchant for allowing the 1st goal, I won't argue that one.
Maybe the trend isn't quite in place anymore, but I kind of thought it was our consistency that made our goals against notable. Mainly, that we rarely allowed multiple but we almost always do allow one.