Crew 1 - 2 Sporting Kansas City
Final
  for this game

Columbus, Sporting KC battle for first in East

Sep 27, 2011 - 10:04 PM Kansas City, KS (Sports Network) - Columbus Crew midfielder Robbie Rogers said after Saturday's last-second loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy it is time to make "our own luck."

Columbus visits Sporting Kansas City on Wednesday night in Major League Soccer with first place in the Eastern Conference on the line and in crisis mode with four losses during a five-game winless skid.

The Crew (11-11-8) lost their latest match on a 93rd-minute goal against L.A., when Chad Barrett scored off a rebound to give the Galaxy a 1-0 victory.

With just four points separating the top six teams in the East, a loss will be devastating at Livestrong Sporting Park, as a full weekend schedule follows.

Instead of surging to the top of the East, ahead of the Houston Dynamo, a loss could end up dropping Columbus - or Sporting - to sixth with another poor game this weekend when Columbus hosts FC Dallas and K.C. visits San Jose.

But Columbus enters the midweek game with more to prove, as it last won over a month ago. In addition, the Crew have lost their last three road games.

Rogers said after the recent setback he thinks Columbus has not played too bad but it just has not been able to get results.

"It seems like we're just unlucky," Rogers said. "We need to keep working and create our own luck."

With only the top-three teams from the East guaranteed to make the postseason, bad luck could find the Crew against Kansas City in the form of another loss.

Kansas City (10-9-11) tied the Philadelphia Union on Friday, 1-1, as it played another huge Eastern tilt, and also enters the match with some concerns.

Sporting has just one win in its last five, with two defeats and two draws in that stretch. But with a 7-2-6 mark at its new $200 million stadium, K.C. will take a big step toward the playoffs with a home win.

"It's a big one. Just gotta take care of the body and just be ready for it," Sporting's Kei Kamara said after the Philadelphia match.

"This is it right here. Win against Columbus definitely puts us top."

But just like Columbus, a loss could be devastating for Kansas City - as both sides will have just three more games left in the regular season to recover.






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