CHESTER, Pa. — Facing the end of an absolutely grueling stretch of matches, Sporting Kansas City head coach Peter Vermes knew his team would have an uphill battle on Saturday against the Philadelphia Union.
What he didn’t expect is for his exhausted club to go down to nine men — a turn of events in a disappointing 2-0 setback at Talen Energy Stadium that extended Sporting's MLS road winless streak to 12 games.
“For me, tonight’s game was decided by the referee,” a heated Vermes said in his postgame press conference. “It’s pretty simple.”
Vermes was upset with a what he deemed a “horrible missed call,” when Union striker Fabian Herbers raised his leg to win a ball against left back Jimmy Medranda, which led to Medranda chasing back and getting called for the first of his two yellow cards in the 20th minute.