What does Matt Besler like on his Goodcents sub sandwich?
Turkey, pepperoni, lettuce, tomato, oil and vinegar, salt and pepper.
The Sporting Kansas City captain's latest appearance on Sports Radio 810 WHB with Border Patrol hosts Nate Bukaty, Steven St. John and Jake Gutierrez began with a focus on food, and make no mistake: turkey and pepperoni is an enticing combination that just might land Besler his very own sandwich one day.
Inevitably, though, the conversation quickly shifted to Sporting's task at hand. That task, of course, is dispatching the Colorado Rapids at 7 p.m. CT Friday in the MLS is Back Tournament at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Walt Disney World.
Besler and Sporting took a 1-0 lead into second-half stoppage time in their Group D opener against Minnesota United FC last Sunday, but were left to play with 10 men after goalkeeper Tim Melia received a 74th-minute red card. The Loons then struck in the 92nd and 97th minutes to steal an unlikely win and deliver Sporting its first-ever regular season loss when leading at the 90-minute mark.
"I think we controlled the game," Besler said of Sporting's performance last weekend. "We controlled possession, corner kicks, shots, we controlled a lot of that. But we didn't put away our chances when we had them and it came back to bite us. Sometimes that happens; soccer is a crazy game."
Despite the setback versus Minnesota, Besler remains confident that Sporting can conjure a quick bounce-back against a Colorado side that also lost its first Group D match to Real Salt Lake by a 2-0 scoreline. Given the fact that both teams will be looking to get off the mark and jump back into contention in the group, the captain knows Friday's clash will be awfully competitive.
"We've put in a lot of good work over the past couple of months, and we all feel really good about where our team is at. Part of that showed in the way we played against Minnesota. We've got to stay the course, and we can't lose confidence just because of the last 10 minutes that happened on Sunday.
"We can play better, we can play quicker. We have to play with more urgency, be more aggressive and make the right plays."
Fans can catch Friday's action live on ESPN, ESPN Deportes, the ESPN app, Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM.
