Two weeks ago, Sporting Kansas City had climbed out of a huge early-season hole into a temporary spot in the Western Conference playoffs. But an 0-2-1 mark over three games has dropped the squad back below the red line and in desperate need of a victory.

Sporting KC (5-10-6, 21 points) has lost two straight home matches, both by one goal, prior to hosting the Vancouver Whitecaps (6-5-7, 25 points) on Saturday night with an opportunity to pull back into contention.

Sporting manager Peter Vermes is trying to take it small step by small step.

“There’s no other choice,” Vermes said Thursday. “We did lose momentum with those two games at home. We are the ones who put ourselves here and we now are the ones who have to find a way to get out of it.

“But I don’t think it’s a game at a time. I think it’s 45 minutes at a time. You play for 45 minutes and do well for 45 minutes. Then you get your break and talk about some of the adjustments you want to make in the second half. Then you get after it for the next 45 minutes. You keep building that way.”

Sporting’s problem has been offensive, much like it was early in the season. Sporting has scored three goals in the last three games after tallying 11 in the prior four.

Vancouver is unbeaten (2-0-2) in its last four matches. That run has put the Whitecaps back into the playoff picture in a tie for the last spot in the Western Conference. They’ve been finding the back of the net frequently, scoring 11 goals in those four matches. One of the draws was a 1-1 contest against Sporting KC in Vancouver on June 3.

“That (experience) is going to help a lot,” Vancouver head coach Vanni Sartini said Thursday. “It’s not knowing Kansas City better. It’s knowing what we can do better.

“I think our first half against Kansas City was one of our poorest, offense-wise. Defensively we were OK, but offensively we weren’t good. We’ll need to do something different.”

–Field Level Media