On the one hand, there was Sporting Kansas City's stirring comeback from a 3-1 deficit to salvage a road point as well as becoming the first team to score more than one goal against the Houston Dynamo this season. On the other, there was the realization they only had one point to show for their four-goal effort – something that hadn't happened in 36 previous matches against MLS competition.
Sporting Kansas City manager Peter Vermes was glad for the one, but not happy at all about the other after his side's wild 4-4 draw at BBVA Compass Stadium on Saturday.
“In a lot of respects, we didn't deserve to get anything coming out of here,” Vermes told reporters in a conference call after Benny Feilhaber's second goal of the night and the season – a laser from outside the area in the fifth of six second-half stoppage-time minutes – salvaged a result and kept Sporting from taking back-to-back losses for the first time this season. “The only thing I'll say is that at that moment, during the course of the game, we were very good and we didn't give up.”
Then again, according to Vermes, Sporting shouldn't have needed Feilhaber's late strike in the first place – especially after the midfielder's 80th-minute penalty pulled Sporting even at 3-3 against a Houston team that went down a man after Jermaine Taylor was sent off for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity in the box.
Instead, the shorthanded Dynamo took a 4-3 lead in the 83rd minute when Raul Rodriguez headed home a Brad Davis free kick – the second set-piece goal conceded by Kansas City on the night.
“When we went to 3-3 and they kicked off, we should have went after them,” Vermes said. “We should have really went after them, and we did not. That's why all of a sudden, they started controlling the game, but we were up a man and we should have went after them right on the kickoff.
“We did not, and that caused the fourth goal, and so here we are and here we sit. It was a great way to get back in the game and get a point, but in the end it's not good enough.”
Vermes also wasn't happy that Sporting conceded three straight goals after taking a 1-0 lead just three minutes in on Krisztian Nemeth's third goal of the season.
“When you play like that, you're always going to get beat,” he said. “That part of the equation was not good enough on our side. We have to be much better. Much better.”
Sporting have conceded three times off set pieces in their last two matches, and Vermes said Saturday's struggles had two simple causes.
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“One is that we were giving up way too many [set pieces],” he said, “and there were some guys who lost their men, for sure.”
Even Feilhaber, who laced Graham Zusi's headed layoff from 20 yards for the equalizer, wasn't exempt from criticism.
“That was great, but it was his man that scored the fourth goal, as well,” Vermes said. “That part's not good. It's like I said: There were good things in the game, and there were very poor things, and they had to do with all of our players.
"And right now, it's about putting together a 90-minute performance, and doing all the things you need to do over the course of that 90 minutes. And we've still got to work towards that.”
Steve Brisendine covers Sporting Kansas City for MLSsoccer.com.
