And then there were two. Sporting Kansas City and Los Angeles FC are into the U.S. Open Cup final – and they got there in vastly different manners. For SKC, it was a dominant showing from the first kick against the USL Championship’s chippy but outmanned Indy Eleven. LAFC, meanwhile, took time to grow into the game against the Seattle Sounders but came away deserved winners.
How’d each game play out?
Sporting Kansas City top lone USL representative
Result: Sporting Kansas City 2, Indy Eleven 0
Teams that pull off a Cup-set usually do so by sticking to what works.
Indy Eleven, the only remaining non-MLS team that stayed alive heading into the semifinals, want to play direct, counterpress hard, and pin their opponents back. They did so to perfection to beat Atlanta United in the Open Cup quarterfinals. Their passivity against Sporting Kansas City, however, was their downfall.
Take nothing away from SKC. Playing at home, they used a mostly first-choice lineup befitting of the occasion, and it allowed them to weather a long rain delay to immediately jump all over their USL guests.
John Morrissey
The Eleven came out in a very deep 5-4-1 shape, applying little pressure to Sporting Kansas City. It was too simple for the hosts (who completed 223 passes in the Indy half during the first 45’ alone) to enter the final third. Peter Vermes gave fullbacks Khiry Shelton and Logan Ndenbe free reign to push upfield, a sign of his team’s confidence in possession. Shelton was particularly influential, often combining with Johnny Russell and a wide-sweeping Jake Davis out of the pivot to overload Indy.
