A rookie star striker for Sporting Kansas maintained the club's home game dominance and knocked off the Sounders further down in the Western standings. Sporting Kansas City striker Gerso Fernandes fired home a hat-trick past the visiting Sounders in a span of only thirteen minutes, as the hosts came solid with a 3-0 spanking thanks to a Gerso Fernandes superb performance.
Fernandes was unstoppable
Gerso Fernandez got the opener in the fifty-sixth minute, converting at close range with a deflected shot off Sounders defender Cristian Roldan. Fernandes doubled the lead in the fifty-eighth minute by gathering his own deflection and clinically tapped in the ball into the back of the net.
Later in the sixty-ninth minute, Fernandes converted another smart lay-off from playmaker Graham Zusi to extend the tally to 3-0. Fernandes hat-trick is the seventh in Sporting Kansas City history as a club and the first since Birahim Diop in the 2010 season.
Unlike previous meeting between the both clubs last year, the first-half play was an even contest. Seattle Sounders managed only four shots on target despite conceding 3-0 in the sixty-ninth minute. But in last year's meeting, Sporting Kansas City held Seattle Sounders to just one shot on goal, but eventually won the match by 1-0.
Sounders almost came close
The Seattle Sounders made several clear chances towards the end of the first-half with five shots on target compared to SKC's zero attempt.
Two Seattle Sounders goal attempts; one from Jordan Morris and Nicolas Lodeiro were whistled offside in each half, but the visitors persistently forced Sporting Kansas goalie Tim Melia into making several critical saves. The Seattle Sounders continue to “reel” in the Western Conference. The defeat makes it four matches without a victory as the Seattle team have not won a league game since last month (April 23), which was a 3-0 road victory over LA Galaxy.
Sporting now tops the Western Conference
Gerso Fernandes hat-trick and Sporting eventual victory over Sounders scaled the club to the summit of the Western Conference standings, but most clubs trailing behind them have one and two outstanding games to play, while the Seattle Sounders drops further in the table, and now lies on the 10th spot.
The road seem easier for Seattle Sounders as they return home to take on fellow struggler Real Salt Lake next weekend, while Sporting Kansas City hits the road to face Vancouver Whitecaps at the BC Place in Canada.
Obviously, Gerso Fernandes was the hero of the encounter, as he single-handedly sank Seattle Sounders with his Hat Trick. I just hope Fernandes builds on this strong momentum as they face a daunting task next weekend when they travel to Canada to face Vancouver Whitecaps.
