Sounders 1 - 0 Sporting Kansas City
Final
  for this game

Seattle, SKC tussle at Sporting Park

May 7, 2013 - 10:23 PM Kansas City, KS (Sports Network) - Sporting Kansas City and Seattle Sounders FC will continue their dense fixture list on Wednesday when the two sides meet at Sporting Park.

Both clubs are in the middle of a stretch of three games over eight days, but Sporting has gotten off to a much better start to that spell.

Kansas City ran out to a resounding 4-0 defeat of Chivas USA on Sunday, a contest that snapped a two-game slide.

"I guess I'll start off by saying I think we dominated the game from start to finish," Sporting head coach Peter Vermes said after the match. "It was very evident, as you saw when the second half started. I think we just got stronger as the game went on, and I think that they had a tough time dealing with the tempo that we set."

Claudio Bieler bagged a brace in the emphatic victory but it was Graham Zusi who stole the show, grabbing a goal and an assist for the fifth time in his career.

"It was a great way to bounce back," Zusi said after the match. "We definitely wanted to come out and make a statement and get back into that mentality that we bring to games. It's been lacking the past couple but today was a great one from start to finish.

"Four goals is a great way to make a statement. Hopefully we can build on this and come in Wednesday and play our game and dominate from start to finish."

Sporting will come up against a Sounders team that has struggled out of the gate this season. Normally one of the premier sides in MLS, Seattle has managed just one win from its first seven matches to remain at the foot of the Western Conference table.

But there is cause for optimism as Eddie Johnson and Mauro Rosales appear to have rekindled their rich veins of form on the offensive end for the Sounders. In Seattle's 2-2 draw with the Philadelphia Union at the weekend, Rosales set Johnson up for the opening goal before netting the equalizer.

"It's something we wanted, that combination," Rosales told the club's official website. "We're getting confidence with each other. We expect more games like that."

Seattle has managed just three goals in its seven matches this season, but Johnson hopes that his goal against the Union proves to be the impetus to go on and get more.

"It is good for confidence," said Johnson. "I missed three games, and at the end of the day the good goal scorers, they have rhythm just playing game after game after game.

"That's how you get your sharpness and confidence. I have been battling a hamstring injury the last couple weeks but now it's right and I'm looking forward to getting my rhythm back."






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