KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Sporting may have lost Omar Bravo for the better part of two months, but the alarm bells aren’t exactly ringing in Kansas City.
Sure, manager Peter Vermes would love to have his Designated Player on the field scoring goals and creating chances like he did in the club’s first two matches. Then again, Vermes isn’t exactly putting out the leftovers when he has Kei Kamara, Teal Bunbury and CJ Sapong available to terrorize opposing back lines.
So while Vermes may not have his DP available for selection against Columbus on Saturday (7:30 pm ET, Direct Kick and MatchDay Live) or for the immediate future, he’s comfortable knowing he still has the tools at his disposal to put plenty of pressure on opposing back lines.
“It definitely helps to know that you have weapons that you can replace with another weapon,” he said.
So far, those weapons have been about as productive as anyone in Kansas City could have hoped. Bunbury is second in the league with three goals despite playing only one full game, Kamara has a goal and two assists in two contests, and Sapong has scored once and added an assist in his first three MLS games.
And even without Bravo — who scored twice in the season opener — in the mix for the next 4-6 weeks while he recovers from sports hernia surgery, Sporting’s young, physical attacking triumvirate has developed a strut in its step when it comes to finishing chances and scoring goals.
It’s the kind of attitude that develops within teams when the ball is finding the net at such a breakneck pace (2.67 goals per game to top MLS).
[inline_node:333091]“There’s no pressure, you know,” Kamara said. “CJ has played basically every game this year so far, and he’s done well. Omar missed the last game too, and the front three – me, CJ and Teal – did good work. We’re going to miss [Omar], but at the same time, everybody looks for opportunities to do well.”
Those opportunities might be a little harder to come by on Saturday against a Crew side that hasn’t allowed a goal in its last three games. Columbus will surely have seen the tapes and strategized accordingly in order to slow down Kansas City’s front line.
Of course, it’s easier to game plan for Sporting’s attacking trio than it is to actually stop them, as evidenced by their quick start.
Part of that is the raw physical ability all three possess. Kamara (6-foot-3), Bunbury (6-foot-2) and Sapong (6-foot-2) all present difficult matchups for defenders wherever they line up on the field. MLS defenders are certainly used to doing battle with players of that stature, but having three come from all angles is an altogether different story.
Add into the equation Kansas City’s pressing style, and 90 minutes suddenly feels a whole lot longer.
“You can’t do what you are expected to do because you always have to have your head on a swivel and know where each one of us is at,” Sapong said. “That’s the advantage we get before we even step on the field. People are worrying about it. As the game goes, it just gets worse because if one is having an off game, two are still coming at you. God forbid all three of us have an on day because it would be a nightmare.”
That’s one nightmare that certainly isn’t keeping Vermes up at night.
Instead, Kansas City’s manager can sleep soundly knowing he has the options to make up for the absences of Bravo and Ryan Smith until his attack gets back to full strength, which is a truly scary thought.
“We are definitely potent on offense,” Vermes said. “There is no doubt about that. We have some serious weapons. Teams have to be able to deal with them for 90 minutes. If it’s not one, it’s another.”