In what is becoming one of the fiercer rivalries in MLS, Sporting Kansas City will travel 250 miles east to square off with St. Louis City SC Wednesday night.

After starting the season 0-5-1, Sporting Kansas City (3-8-1, 10 points) has split its last six matches. The improvement started with a 2-0 victory over St. Louis in Kansas City, Kan., on April 5. Now they hope to prove it was no fluke.

“(These) games are always motivating games,” interim SKC head coach Kerry Zavagnin said of the rivalry between the two clubs. “These are games that everyone needs to try to be at their best for, and really get excited for, especially playing at their place.

“We defended so well (in the first match against St. Louis). If we defend like that for the rest of the season, the results are going to come.”

In its most recent match, Sporting were defeated, 1-0, at Portland on Saturday night. The Timbers’ Santiago Moreno put Portland ahead in the 10th minute. Receiving a cross with his back to the goal, Moreno produced a bicycle kick that found the corner of the net.

St. Louis (2-6-4, 10 points) has lost six of its last eight matches (with two draws). They fell to San Diego FC 2-1 on Saturday at home. San Diego broke a scoreless tie with a goal in the 79th minute and another goal just before second-half stoppage time. St. Louis’ Kyle Hiebert got one back in the first minute of stoppage time.

“It’s tough to concede that first goal,” head coach Olof Mellberg said after the match. “We defended well and had quite a few chances. We should have scored on at least one of them. I thought we were the better team for 78 minutes, but it wasn’t enough.”

The losing stretch has left the team frustrated.

“We’re paid to go out there and get results, and we haven’t been doing that,” Hiebert said. “We have to find the balance between frustration and not getting too down or too frustrated and let that bleed into the next game.”

–Field Level Media