Dynamo and SKC ready to write rivalry’s next chapter
(image via Houston Dynamo FC)
The great 2023 season for the Houston Dynamo continues Sunday night at Shell Energy Stadium. No matter the result, this will be the last game in Houston for the Dynamo this season. Peter Vermes and Sporting Kansas City, who knocked out the number 1 seed in the Western Conference in St. Louis CITY SC, will be the visiting team on Sunday. Kansas City is a familiar foe for the Dynamo. So many of games between the two teams have provided intense and entertaining match ups. While some, if not all, of the players for both teams that used to heat up the rivalry are gone, the history of the head to head remains.
Since the arrival of the Dynamo into the league, Houston and Kansas City have battled it out in each season. Houston was be crowned champions in 2006 but in 2007, the teams played each other for the first time in the playoffs. Houston defeated the then Kansas City Wizards by a 2-0 scoreline in the Conference Finals, en route to winning back-to-back MLS Cups. Years later, Houston would made the MLS Cup Final in consecutive years, both ending in losses against LA Galaxy in 2011 and 2012. However, in both of those seasons, Houston beat Kansas City in the playoffs on their way to the finals.
Peter Vermes took over as the head coach of Sporting Kansas City in 2010, after taking over as the interim coach in late August 2009. Vermes mentioned in an interview with Glenn Davis this past week that playing Houston those years helped them get ready for 2013, were they would be crowned champions after beating Real Salt Lake in penalties in that year’s MLS Cup Final. “I think if you go back, you go to 11, 12, 13, our biggest hurdle, I could relate it this way, like we were, take it with all due respect, like the Chicago Bulls trying to get over the Detroit Pistons, right? Like they couldn’t do it, you know? And we had that same issue. And then we finally did it and that was kind of like, all right, now let’s go” mentioned Vermes. “So, I think those (Houston) teams helped mature us. I think those teams made us ready to eventually win, because of the toughness of the games that we went through” added Vermes.
Again, most of the players and coaches, especially for the Houston Dynamo might not necessarily understand the meaning of what the rivalry is, because they missed out on the intensity of the mathes in knockout stages of the playoffs. For instance, Houston and Kansas City have played 7 games in the playoffs. The Dynamo have won 4 games, SKC has won 2 and drawn 1. Houston made 3 MLS Cups and Kansas City made 1 MLS Cup after winning the series between each other. In the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup tournament, the teams have played 7 games in their history. The Dynamo have won 3 of those meetings and Kansas City took the remaining 4 games. What is more impressive is that Kansas City went on to win the US Open Cup Final twice and the Dynamo once after they faced off against each other. Below is a table of every regular season, playoff and US Open Cup result between the clubs.
On Sunday, the rivalry will add yet another tally to its count. The match should be poised to be an attractive fight and the Dynamo need everyone behind them. What do you think the scoreline will be?
