Sporting KC's Peter Vermes 'pissed off' after historic loss

FILE – Sporting Kansas City coach Peter Vermes talks to players during the second half of an MLS soccer match against Real Salt Lake on Nov. 28, 2021, in Kansas City, Kan. Sporting KC signed Vermes to a five-year contract extension Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023, that will keep its longtime manager with the club through the 2028 season. Vermes is the fourth-winningest coach in MLS history. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

by: PJ Green

Posted: Mar 26, 2023 / 09:53 PM CDT

Updated: Mar 26, 2023 / 09:53 PM CDT

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KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Sporting Kansas City is in a rough spot to start the season.

After finishing second to last in the MLS Western Conference last season with an 11-16-7 record, Sporting KC has stayed the course and started 2023 with a 0-3-2 record.

SKC also suffered a historic loss to the Seattle Sounders on Saturday; Sounders striker Jordan Morris broke a club record for goals in a match by scoring all four.

After the match, SKC manager Peter Vermes voiced his frustration.

“I’m more pissed off than anything else. I’m pissed.”

“Very naive mistakes. I think our backline was poor tonight. And that’s the part that really pisses me off. So I’ll have to deal with that, and I’m also I’m very interested in getting all the other guys back because some people need to see the game from a different place.”

The backline for the match was veterans Ben Sweat and Graham Zusi on the wings and Andreu Fontàs and Robert Voloder in the center.

Sporting has several key players injured, including defender Kortne Ford (Achilles surgery), defender Logan Ndenbe (hamstring injury), defender Kayden Pierre (hamstring injury) midfielder Gadi Kinda (knee injury) and defender Tim Leibold (hamstring injury).

The double blue are also tied for the least goals scored in the league with two.

Vermes said he’s more concerned about how the team responds to the changes when players return from injury and push for starting spots.

“It’s gotta be different than the mentality of making a mistake, making a mistake, making a mistake and the same people making it. Unfortunately what’s happened is, is that now we’re in a place where we couldn’t have made subs just where it was. But now we’re in a situation where we’ll change some things because we have to, and maybe, maybe that’s for the best.”

Sporting hopes to get their first win of the season against 2022 MLS Cup finalist Philadelphia Union on the road on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.