In this edition of Oppo Research, Hudson River Blue spoke with Jough Donakowski of KC Soccer Journal to learn more about Sporting Kansas City, New York City's third straight away match in a four-game roadtrip. Here is your NYCFC vs Sporting Kansas City preview.
• League Form: L-W-D-W-L
• Record: 6W-5D-11L | 23 points, 12th place
• Scoring Leader: Dejan Joveljić, 13 goals
• Assist Leader: Manu García, 6 assists
1. Sporting improves after firing longtime coach Peter Vermes
Hudson River Blue: Sporting Kansas City fired former technical director and 15-year head coach Peter Vermes – Major League Soccer’s longest-tenured head coach – in March after a poor start to the season. Assistant coach Kerry Zavagnin was then named interim head coach, but Sporting still remains out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference. Do you consider this season a failure? Or could Sporting still make the playoffs and shock some people?
Jough Donakowski: It's hard to grade until the end, but at this moment in time, I think NO, this season has NOT yet been a failure. Peter Vermes is a legend, deservedly so. The decision to move on from him, some will argue, was long overdue, but he had earned his tenure. The decision to part ways was a tough call, but the right one, and now SKC has had a chance to start a new chapter out from under his shadow.
Results have been coming, perhaps not in dominating fashion, but we're no longer getting trounced in embarrassing ways. I think SKC would be long odds to really make the postseason, but I no longer think it's impossible, and that's already a rosier picture than when the season started.
Hudson River Blue Staff
2. Dejan Joveljić scores goals, as expected
HRB: This past winter, Sporting signed Dejan Joveljić, who scored 21 goals last season and won MLS Cup with LA Galaxy. The 25-year-old Serbian striker has a team-high 13 goals this season and scored in his last three starts. How impressed are you with Joveljić as Sporting’s primary scoring threat?
JD: Fairly impressed! He really does have a great instinct for poaching goals and being in the right place at the right time. I do wonder if Vermes was deploying him wrong, he just found his stride as of late, or some other thing, but he's been incredibly dangerous and is outperforming his xG on the season by a lot (if you put any stock in the xG stat; I'm not always sure that I do). He's someone that other teams will really need to manage, which just gives the rest of the attack a little more room to play in.
Dejan Joveljić scores on a set piece | Courtesy Sporting KC and Apple TV
3. John Pulskamp is no Tim Melia, but he's saving tons of shots
HRB: Veteran goalkeeper Tim Melia, who played for Sporting for nine years, left the club at the end of 2024 and has since retired. Former backup goalkeeper John Pulskamp is the new starter, and he’s having a good season despite conceding 41 goals. He’s recorded a league-high 78 saves and totaled 17 saves in his last three games. How important has he been to a struggling Sporting backline?
JD: SKC has been really blessed with top-notch goalkeeping (we're not going to talk about Luis Marin). I think his presence has been important, but I do wonder if this is Pulskamp at his peak, or if there's still room for growth. All that said, you pointed to the 41 goals, and an unfortunate truth is that if the buck has to stop with a player on the field, that's probably Pulskamp's responsibility. Saves are one thing, organizing and communicating with the back line is another. It'll be great to have a well-organized save machine again someday.
Michael Battista
4. The X-Factor: The weather in Kansas City
HRB: What's the X-factor that could decide this game?
JD: I think it may just be the weather! Peter Vermes always hammered the mantra of "Sporting Fit," and that didn't leave when he did. It's going to be in the 90s and humid. There are going to be a lot of tired legs towards the end, and for whatever reason, Sporting has been a second-half team this season.
5. Predicted score, Starting XI
HRB: Prediction time: Starting XI? Final score?
JD: My prediction? A 2-1 SKC win, maybe with more late-game heroics. I'm hanging my hat on NYCFC being awful on the road, and the weather turning this game a little chippy and sloppy as it progresses. But who knows — half the fun of SKC games these days is you never really know what you're going to get.
