Sporting Kansas City 1-1 Austin FC: A Wee Scouting Report

Sure, use your disgusting hands...

Since I had time, and seeing that Sporting Kansas City is the Portland Timbers next opponent after the…international break, I watched SKC’s 1-1 home draw against Austin FC. I understand Austin doesn’t serve up an apples-to-apples comparison to Portland - also, have I mentioned how much it wads my undies when people talk about each game as if the home team plays the same team every week (because they don't)? - but I still wanted to see what I could see about how SKC approached the game, which players looked good, etc. Nothing deep, just some notes…

Sporting dominated the game, had most the possession, disrupted the hell out of Austin’s flow (except when they didn’t; wait for it), and so on, but Austin didn’t get a ton of great looks at Austin’s goal - and, when they did, the found Brad Stuver in the way (for example). He made nine saves (box score), some quite good, and I guess that’s my first note for Portland - or, more specifically, whoever starts in goal for them next Saturday: the 'keeper will have work to do. Whatever I thought of the approach (more later) and the general quality, SKC fired 32 shots, 11 of them on goal. They also showed a stress-inducing knack for holding the ball in the area once they got it in there (see note on Daniel Salloi below). That meant time in the area, and shots, but Austin cluttered the area pretty reliably. That’s what the note above on “great looks” points to: they defended with 7+ in the area and, from ~ the 40th minute on, Austin set the line of confrontation about 10 yards inside their own half.

With all that in front of them, SKC still forced home a goal - a smart put-back by Salloi, in fact - so they got something out of all that strum, drang, und running. Related thereto, Kansas City has given up the first goal in five of their nine games this season; they managed only the draw today, but, in four of those cases, they came back to win the game. That’s to say, don’t get cocky if/when The Former Wiz goes down a goal. Which brings me to a relevant digression…

I don’t think Portland will defend anywhere near as deep as Austin did - especially, not at home. I also don’t expect them to cede as much possession (they'll certainly hunt the ball more, or should), but I do expect the Timbers to take more chances in the attack: that’s all to say, I don’t expect Portland v SKC to either look or play-out like SKC v Austin. The latter plays a different style - Josh Wolff follows the Gregggg Berhalter dogma of playing out the back and likes to possess the ball, while I’d call Portland more opportunistic and creative. Which brings up the next point…

Austin’s goal is worth watching because SKC gave them two, three more looks nearly as good. That’s to say, when Kansas City’s defense crumbled when it broke. Credit to Austin, they move the ball well - even if SKC broke up most of ‘em - they set up good patterns and go vertical quickly. Again, I think Portland has more ways to surprise/hurt a team - and that has me feeling good about their odds of getting good shots. To pick up a thought, SKC pressed a lot today - something that could’ve resulted from Austin’s fixation with playing out of the back - and that’s how and where they defend best, i.e, when they make it hard for teams to play through them. Their odds get worse fast when they do, so that's another take-away.

I could have shortened all of the above by pointing to the current standings and SKC’s goals for (16) and against (11), i.e., a high-scoring team that gives up goals. The Timbers playing the best-current version of themselves, basically. The question is, how close will Portland be to the best-current version of itself come next Saturday? Smart, connected people probably know the answer to that, but it hardly matters: Portland will field the best team it has on the day and things will go where they do, allowing for mood, weather and referees, from there.

One final, broad note on SKC - and this picks up on the question of their approach to goal. They played/settled for the cross a lot, 32 times in all. It was pretty damn obvious too; they’d play the ball forward up the channel, for example, often breaking a line or three, at which point they’d touch it out wide and the guy out there would either cross it or play the ball to the 20 or thereabouts. That put pressure on the defense more than it created chances, so all it took was a good afternoon from Stuver to hold the draw. Call it a road map for Portland, if one they're not likely to follow.

To close with some details:

- Most important note: apparently, SKC has played Ilie Sanchez as a centerback for most of the season, a place that gives him and his skillset ample time to hit long diagonals behind fullbacks who tend to leave that space open. Of which Portland has two…

- SKC played out of the back very smoothly against Austin. I expect they’ll do the same against Portland. I also expect too much of that to play to an advanced fullback on the touch-line, or up a channel to a winger making a post-up run, who will then play it wide. I’ll be interesting to see how the Timbers defend. If they clog the middle, I’m seeing SKC doing a lot of crossing. So long as Portland can cover those diagonals over the top...

- That said, neither Alan Pulido nor Gadi Kinda played today (both international duty related). Pulido does a lot of good things for SKC - both as fulcrum and finisher (this could have forced them to crosses for all I know) - so, again, call this an oranges-to-grapefruits preview at best. If Pulido’s still out (and, given COVID protocols, he might be), the comparison should be closer. Going the other way, if Kinda’s healthy, I’d expect a little more forward drive from SKC in midfield.

- Salloi looks sharp. His ability to sell defenses on a back-pass and turn in the box kept SKC attacks alive at least half a dozen times, he’s running his ass off and doing smart things/getting good shots on goal. Assuming Van Rankin starts, Salloi will play on that side.

- Meanwhile, Johnny Russell. He’s not yet back from wherever he went - e.g., uptight on the ball, his dribbles aren’t coming off nearly as often, his shooting isn’t as precise and inspired as once was, etc. - so it’ll be interesting to see who starts in the attack for Sporting.

Based on what I saw tonight, next Saturday’s game will turn on the extent to which Portland is their own worst enemy. An open game - e.g., what I’m expecting - will be a crapshoot. SKC’s press will probably benefit from Providence Park’s field size, but I still like Portland’s chances for getting two goals. The real question is how many goals they give up.

At any rate, we’ll see what happens. Till next weekend.