Kerry Zavagnin was full of praise for the spirit and dedication of his party after their 'magical' victory over St. Louis City SC last weekend, while they are preparing to accept an in-form Portland Timbers in MLS.
After the departure of old head coach Peter Vermes-Die since 2009 in the club in the club sporting KC a club record with 13-match Winless Streak with a 2-0 win over St. Louis, who delighted a home audience in Children's Mercy Park with their first victory in 199 days.
The victory raised the side of Zavagnin to 14th place in the classification of the Western Conference, only two points above Basement Club La Galaxy.
Dejan Joveljic scored a late second half, with goals in the 71st and 88th minute, which led Sporting KC their first victory of the season.
“The spirit of the boys – they would not admit. It is the first time in a while I heard during the break, the dressing room and say that we will not lose tonight,” said Zavagnin.
“And credit all boys with their dedication to get ahead and their dedication to get into the box and not just in the box, but to end the opportunities.”
Reflecting on a whirlwind week after he had set the role at the end of March, Zavagnin said it was emotionally burdened.
“I think that all week – for all of us, not only me, for all of us – has been an emotional one.
“I had to compartmentalize many of my emotions and feelings because I knew what to do and what we had to do to get the result tonight.
“To be able to do this against a rival; coaching in my first time; with the dedication that the players gave; and the confetti on the field that we miss for a while. It's a magical night.”
In the meantime, Portland is in fifth place in the classification of the Western Conference, accompanied by FC Dallas and Colorado Rapids on 11 points.
After a tempered start of the season, the wood bursts in a good form of shape with two impressive victories in March: 3-0 away to Colorado and 3-1 at home at the Houston Dynamo.
But their run was stuck as a hard -fought affair against the fourth -placed Austin FC ended in a scoreless draw last Saturday.
It nevertheless marks the second best start from Timbers to a season in club history with 11 points through their first seven games, as well as their second clean magazine of the campaign.
Trust + faith + momentum #sportingkc pic.twitter.com/tf1pu9pjwg
– Sporting Kansas City (@Sportingkc) April 11, 2025
Players to watch
Sporting KC – Manu Garcia
Sporting KC on average an MLS-high 186.7 fits in the attacking third per match this season, where Manu Garcia plays a crucial role in midfield.
The Spaniard leads MLS with 31.8 fits in the last third per 90 minutes (among players who have played at least 350 minutes). He registered his second help of the season on Saturday and will try to stay with the timbers under lock and key.
Portland Timbers – James Pantemis
Against Austin, the Portland defense allocated only one shot on goal, which comfortably saved James Pantemis. To a large extent because of the impressive versions of Pantemis, the wood held clean sheets in each of their last two road races: a 3-0 win in Colorado and their scoreless draw at Austin.
Portland immediately held three clean sheets only since he came to MLS in 2011 and did this between August and September 2021.
Match forecast – Portland Win
In what will certainly be a tight competition, the visitors come to the fore as small favorites. They are unbeaten in four straight matches (W2 D2), including their stalemate against Austin.
The Timbers scored four goals in their seasonal defeat for the Whitecaps of Vancouver, but have since only given four goals in the six games.
Sporting KC, however, has reason to be optimistic. They have only lost one of their last 10 home games against Portland in all competitions (W4 D5), including unbeaten in the last five (W2 D3).
The hosts have also scored 11 goals in their last three home games against Timbers, which suggests that Sunday's collision should still have enough for both parties.
Kick with the crew in Kansas City pic.twitter.com/nvvjso3qhn
– Portland Timbers (@timbersfc) April 12, 2025
Opta wins probability
Sporting KC – 32.1%
Portland Timbers – 42.5%
Drawing – 25.4%
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