KANSAS CITY, Mo. – It's time for Sporting Kansas City to start spending their games in hand.
Despite leading MLS at 1.82 points per game, Sporting sit third in the Western Conference going into Wednesday night's home match against San Jose (8:30 pm ET, MLS LIVE). They have played at least one fewer match than every other team in the conference, with four games in hand over leaders LA and three over second-place Vancouver.
That margin will begin to shrink on Wednesday, though, with Sporting and San Jose the only West teams in action.
“If you don't win those games and get points out of those games that you have in hand, then they don't mean anything,” center back Kevin Ellis told MLSsoccer.com on Monday. “You can't just say, 'Oh, we have games in hand and we'll get the next one. You have to take care of business at hand now and make sure those games in hand mean something by the end of the year.”
Manager Peter Vermes, though, said Wednesday's match would be important no matter the circumstances.
“We're just trying to gain points,” Vermes told MLSsoccer.com on Monday. “That's all it is. Whether we do or don't have games in hand, it's all the same equation: We're trying to make sure that we accumulate points game after game. That's a part of this stretch, and another part of the stretch was trying to get to the final of the US Open Cup. We've done that first part, and now we have these games in front of us where we've got to try to keep accumulating points.”
The “stretch” is a string of five matches in 15 days, culminating in an away date on Saturday with Columbus Crew SC – not that Sporting are complaining about that, Ellis said.
“We're all the same,” he said. “We'd rather be playing games than practicing anyway, so we're enjoying times like this.”
Sporting won the first three, including last Wednesday's 3-1 comeback victory over Real Salt Lake in the Open Cup semifinal – and looking at the standings and their home record, Kansas City would seem to be the clear favorites in Wednesday's clash.
The Earthquakes are eighth in the West, two spots below the playoff line, and Sporting are 12-0-4 at home across all competitions after Saturday's wild 4-3 comeback victory over the Whitecaps.
Sporting had to expend a lot of energy against both RSL and Vancouver, though – especially down the stretch on Saturday, when they scored three goals to erase the Whitecaps' 3-1 lead after 80 minutes – and winger Graham Zusi is still questionable after missing three straight matches across all competitions with a calf strain.
“It's a fine balance,” Vermes said. “You've got to keep your hunger, and playing so many games in a row it's never easy. But no game is. The bottom line is, it comes down to mentality and it also comes down to being smart in the game as well, on top of your work ethic. Those are the things that we're going to have to have even more focus on going into this next game.”
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And while Sporting Park has been a fortress this season, Sporting won't play there again after Wednesday until they host FC Dallas on Sept. 18.
“Obviously, we've been undefeated so far, and this next home game is a big one because it's the last home game for about a month,” midfielder Benny Feilhaber said. “So we'll have that in mind, and it's another Western Conference rival that's trying to fight its way back up to the playoff position.
“So everything matters. Everything's going to be under the microscope. Every game is. I don't think it's about the pressure. We just want to get things done and put ourselves in the right position come playoff time or come October, when we're hopefully fighting for those top spots and possibly Supporters Shield.”
And while Sporting are coming off a pair of emotional victories, Feilhaber doesn't expect a letdown on Wednesday.
“As much as a high as that game was, I think the one before it was just as much of a high,” he said. “It's just about going into each and every game level-headed and trying to do the job. I don't think anybody's going to be thinking about the Vancouver game once we start the San Jose game.”
Steve Brisendine covers Sporting Kansas City for MLSsoccer.com.
