Sporting Kansas City were aware of the acute need for a victory

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Sporting Kansas City were aware of the acute need for a victory in one of the last MLS games for the regular campaign, but they were soundly beaten 2-0 by Colorado Rapids in front of their own supporters.

Defender Kevin Ellis admitted that the team came up short despite being aware of the need for three points. Kansas City still need three points in order to be sure of a place in the MLS cup play-offs. It does not get any easier since they will be against defending champions LA Galaxy in the final match. Even though LA Galaxy have not been in the best form themselves, Sporting Kansas City are clearly short on confidence.

The team has managed just three victories since the start of September and one of those victories was on penalties. There is a danger of San Jose Earthquakes overtaking them for the final play-off spot. San Jose are only one point behind Sporting Kansas and they are in a far better run of form as well. This dangerous situation has been created because of the recent 1-0 defeat against San Jose. It was clear that Sporting Kansas City were in deep trouble when they allowed Powers to score in the 78th minute. Marcelo Sarvas doubled the advantage a few minutes later despite a red card to Cronin. Continue reading “Sporting Kansas City were aware of the acute need for a victory”

Chicago Fire grabbed a 1-0 win over table leaders Seattle Sounders

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Chicago Fire grabbed a 1-0 win over table leaders Seattle Sounders in what could be a turnaround of their campaign.

The team had suffered three straight defeats in the MLS before going on to secure a 1-1 draw against Houston Dynamo in the previous match. They have managed to build on this point in the best possible manner after getting a home win over the table leaders. This will provide them with a huge moral boost for the rest of the season. Manager Frank Yallop says that this victory will introduce a lot of confidence into the team, while he also praised the way the defence managed to keep a clean sheet.

For long periods of the game, it looked like Chicago Fire would be satisfied with a point. However, it would not have been enough for them to close the gap on teams like New York City, who are just above them in the table. The decisive move came in injury time of the game and Johnson made it stick by scoring a late winner in the 92nd minute. Seattle Sounders had been in poor form coming into the game, but they were not expected to suffer such a disappointing result. The opposition were unable to find a way past Eric Gehrig and Adailton.

“It was good to get through this defensively, it gives you confidence going into the next match. I thought we put our bodies on the line tonight and I was really proud of the way the guys fought, dug in, got the goal and then didn’t want to let it go. I thought Adi and Eric were outstanding again tonight. They fought, they battled and they didn’t want to give anything up. Forget the players that are playing, if you don’t want to fight and scrap for your teammate and yourself you’re in the wrong sport and you won’t win,” said Yallop.

Real Salt Lake have been heavily boosted by the news

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Real Salt Lake have been heavily boosted by the news that forward Joao Plata is set to make his return from a long-term injury in the next couple of matches.

Plata has missed the start of the season due to an injury suffered during the pre-season. He is one of quality players in the team and his absence has definitely been telling on the results. Real Salt Lake have been struggling for form and consistency throughout the season and they cannot wait for the return ofPlata. The team are eighth in the table after the most recent 4-1 defeat against Montréal Impact.

The absence of the star forward has seen the team score only 10 goals in the opening 11 matches of the campaign. Last season,Plata alone scored 13 goals and he also had a hand in six others directly. One can expect a repeat of such similar performances this season from the 23-year-old. The metatarsal injury is unlikely to have affected his quality. Despite this, it would be unwise to expect great things from the player in the opening few matches after his return. Meanwhile, head coach Jeff Cassar refused to say anything concrete about the return of his star striker. Continue reading “Real Salt Lake have been heavily boosted by the news”