Peter Vermes admits Kansas City missed 'big opportunity' against LA Galaxy

Sporting Kansas City threw away three points Saturday night despite holding a 2-0 lead at halftime, with head coach Peter Vermes disappointed with how his team managed the final 10 minutes of the contest.

The hosts found themselves in desirable position at the interval thanks to strikes from Nemanja Radoja and William Agada and were on top with the clean sheet still intact with just under 20 minutes to play. That's when it all fell apart for SKC, as Eriq Zavaleta's 72nd minute goal spurred the Galaxy on to tying the game up just three minutes later in the form of Dejan Joveljic.

The final 10 minutes proved to be costly for SKC, as their 2-0 lead vanished into thin air with Marco Delgado's 80th minute strike that was enough to seal the victory for the visitors. A win would've kept Vermes' side near the top of the Western Conference standings, but their late collapse saw them sink to ninth in the division with six points from five games played.

"The whole idea is to win. You have got to manage situations. You can't just chalk it up to just 10 minutes. You have to realize also that in those 10 minutes, you also could have done something different," Vermes said postgame. "Even after the second goal, you could have done something. You lock something down. Our sport is a little different. It's not like I call a time out to regroup everybody and take the steam out. The game is going."

Even with a formation change due to injuries and the international break, the hosts dominated the box score with 26 shots (nine on target) creating an xG worth 2.58. Vermes noted that the end result wasn't necessarily the end of the world but one that leaves a sour taste in their mouths.

"What's interesting is that, normally speaking in a situation like this if normally we're in our 4-3-3 and we're playing with a holding midfielder, I'd probably move to two late in the game just to kind of clog the middle. And we were already in that, so there really wasn't much of a change there. You have got to give credit to them as well. They played some good stuff. The sky is not falling, but we gave away a really big opportunity today," he said.

The Galaxy boast some of the best attackers in all of MLS, with Riqui Puig leading from the midfield while Joseph Paintsil and Gabriel Pec wreak havoc in the wider areas of the field. Vermes believes that his team contained them quite well for the most part, but the small moments when his team switched off is when LA's stars hurt them the most.

"I think, for the most part, the team played very well. I think it was that 10-minute span that I think [Riqui] Puig really got free, if you will. I said, even talking last week that he's one guy that you're trying to deny the ball from. He pushes their offense, he pushes them. He's a very positive, aggressive player. He's going to take chances and you have to be aware and alert to that. I think, for the most part, we really were," said Vermes.

"We just fell asleep on a couple of situations. I'm not going to say it was fatigue because I think you also look at the weather. The weather is the weather. We had a lot of the ball. We had a lot of chances. So we're putting them under pressure for most of the game. They're in the same world we are. I thought Tim (Leibold) did a good job against Paintsil. I really did. I think he's a handful. And for the most part, again, we did a good job. It's just that 10 minutes."

Kansas City hope to get back on track when they travel up north of the border to take on Toronto FC next Saturday at BMO Field.

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