His club might have left a couple of points on the table after missing on some early chances. But Sporting Kansas City manager Peter Vermes was still proud of the way they gutted out a road point against MLS' hottest team.
“I thought we were very good all game long, tactically,” Vermes told reporters on a conference call after Saturday night's 1-1 draw at D.C. United. “I thought it was very difficult for them to try and break us down, and I thought we were good at, many times, finding opportunities on the counter. I thought our tactical awareness in the game was very good.”
And if Jacob Peterson's shot in the 19th minute had been just a bit lower, Sporting might have come away with a victory against the Eastern Conference leaders. Instead, it hit the crossbar and the game's only scoring came in a one-two exchange late in the first half.
“I thought in the first half we had some really good chances,” Vermes said “The one off the bar was a big one, and there were some other looks in and around there that we were close but not good enough. We didn't maybe hit the target and put the goalkeeper under pressure, but the good thing was that we responded very quickly to the goal that they scored, and then we were back in the game right away. So from that point of view, it was good.”
Jairo Arrieta put United up 1-0 in the 42nd minute, against the run of play. But Dom Dwyer reached back for a left-footed response in first-half stoppage time, his third goal of the year after some early struggles, moving him back into the club's scoring lead with Krisztian Nemeth.
“I thought it was a great goal, actually,” Vermes said. “He timed it really well. It was a good ball back. It was very good.”
Dwyer had an apparent second goal waved off for offside shortly after the hour mark and was lifted for Nemeth in the 71st minute – an uncharacteristically early exit for the center forward. It wasn't a punishment, Vermes said, but an acknowledgement of how hard Dwyer had worked up to that point as a de facto one-man front line.
“He had a ton of field space to cover, especially when we went forward,” Vermes said. “And he also was trying to cut the game off for us. So he expended a lot of energy.
“Sometimes it's hard work when you're the lone guy up there. It was just giving him a break and getting some fresh legs on the field.”
Vermes also gave 18-year-old Erik Palmer-Brown the start at center back over Kevin Ellis on Saturday, Palmer-Brown's last action with Sporting before departing for the Under-20 World Cup with the United States.
The coach called the move “just a decision I made for tonight,” but said Palmer-Brown performed well on the right side of central defense.
“I thought he was very good,” Vermes said. “There's still a couple of things maybe he needs to be in tune with, but all in all I thought he had a good game.”
Sporting had two scary moments in the second half when left back Seth Sinovic and winger Graham Zusi knocked heads with opponents. Both returned to action, and Sinovic finished out the game, but Zusi – who collided with Bobby Boswell in the 70th minute – had to be taken out for rookie Amadou Dia in the 90th.
“I don't know what's going on with him,” Vermes said. “We'll have to wait until we get back.”
Steve Brisendine covers Sporting Kansas City for MLSsoccer.com.
