Sporting Kansas City Manager Peter Vermes
On the comeback…
I didn't like the goal we gave up, but we had a very good response. We lost too many balls in that first 10 minutes when they scored. But after we scored, all of a sudden, the game changed. We had a good mentality from that point of view. I think that we've had good preparation all through the week and we've been building up pretty well. As the game went on, we got better and better with the ball, and we created a lot of really good opportunities going forward. It was just that first 10 minutes. We gave up the ball way too much.
On the game-winning goal…
It was a beautiful goal. It's the kind of thing that you work on tirelessly and then when you see it happen like that, you're pretty pleased. When I turned around, the entire staff was like, “Now we're talking.” It was a great goal. It was as if at those moments, through that sequence, they were chasing shadows, just because we were moving off the ball. Our timing was very good. The weight of the passes were great. Johnny (Russell) plays a good ball in and Alan (Pulido) always has a really good sense of finding that space for that kind of ball. It’s a great finish by him.
On Johnny Russell’s status…
I don't know yet, but he came out so I have to assume it's at least a first degree (hamstring strain). We will see.
On Remi Walter’s performance…
I was trying to stretch the game as long as I could with Memo (Rodriguez), but Memo was a little bit tight. I made a decision that I wasn't going to take the chance, because he was playing. I didn’t take him out for anything other than that. I didn’t want to take a chance and have him now hurt something. That was just more me making that decision when I found out that he was a little bit tight in one of his muscles. If there's one thing you're always going to get from Remi, it's that you're going to get everything he has when he steps inside the field. He's a great team guy. He can play so many different positions there in the midfield and other places, too. He's got a great soccer mind for the game and a great IQ. He went in and helped us immensely when he came in.
On taking momentum into next weekend at home…
It is always really nice to play at home. It is really great to play in front of the home fans and try to take advantage of those points. I would say that we have had some really good results on the road as well. I mean we’ve played those first three games, all three teams were in the conference finals last year. Now, these guys were in the playoffs as well. So we've played a pretty good schedule up until now in regards to teams that have done well in the past year. We're going to come up against a team that has made a lot of changes with some really high-flying players for sure in LA. But we'll work and make sure that we're much better at starting the game than we were today.
On the performance of Dany Rosero…
Dany is a very powerful guy, inside the box especially. So him getting on the end of set pieces is something that we want to have happen and for him to get the goal tonight, he showed his power on that one for sure. The other thing is you have to remember Robert Voloder came in for (Andreu) Fontas, and I just told him ‘listen, you have got to help him along in whatever moments happened in the game.’ And I thought he was good in that regard with him. And then I also think that Robert, other than the play at the start of the second half where he thought he could just let it go back to Tim (Melia), other than that he played a really good game positionally. He was good and his concentration was good. The backline did a good job.
On the performance of Jake Davis…
I would probably comment on both outside backs. He and Tim (Leibold) were actually very good. Tim had a really big job today with (Cristian) Espinoza. Espinoza is one of the better wingers in the league. He's just a very, very good player. He’s always dangerous with great service of the ball. He puts you under a lot of pressure when you play. And then on Jake's side, Jake had a different player that he had to deal with. Somebody who was a little bit more slippery; 6’3 as a winger, it's not normal. He did a good job as well and his timing on some situations where he read passes and stole them and put us onto the attack was good. I think both of those guys did a very good job.
On the insertion of Stephen Afrifa…
I think both him and Alenis (Vargas) were going to come into this game no matter what just because I knew how this game was going to go. I think for Stephen, each time he gets a chance to get inside the white lines, it's good experience for him because he's one of these players that needs to kind of get a little bit of a routine in the game. The other is that he needs to get up to speed with the game fitness of what it takes at this level. Sometimes it takes a little while. He was only with us for about six months last year, but now he's getting playing time and now he's starting to see what it's like in the pace of the game. He's getting there. Alenis is a little different. He's Honduran. Like Roger, he's got a little bit of that street smarts in the game. He's a really tough kid and you'll see a lot more from him because he's got something special, that kid.
Sporting KC defender Robert Voloder
On getting the start…
I felt pretty good. I was pretty comfortable. I was ready for the opportunity that I got. I was prepared. The coaching staff also prepared me. All in all, I think I did a pretty good job. Of course, here and there, one or two small mistakes, but I can work on that.
On the message from Peter…
We didn't particularly talk with me one on one, but like I said, I was getting ready no matter what. I definitely was able to play if I had to step up, and that's what I did.
On San Jose’s attack…
It's always tough against tough, so you always try to do your best outside of the field. Our coaching staff prepares us for the game very well. I think even though Espinoza and all the other guys have a good reputation in the league, the back four did a pretty good job of holding them back.
On the leadership of Erik Thommy…
Erik Thommy is a good leader. So is Tim Leibold and everyone else. So, yeah, I'm in good hands.
On San Jose playing with two strikers…
I wouldn't say it threw anything off. I know me and (Dany) Rosero didn't play a lot of games together, but I think we managed to adapt pretty quickly to that. We communicated it right from the beginning, so we knew what we had to do in the game. We did a pretty good job of defending.
Sporting Kansas City forward Alan Pulido
Thoughts on the match…
I think we played good. The team knows how San Jose is playing the last couple matches. We were ready. We were very focused in this match. It is the second game at home and we won. This is the most important. Three points for us is amazing.
On his goal…
I think my goal is for the whole team. They made very good movements with the ball and without the ball. And for this, I was alone. I said to Dany Rosero a couple of minutes ago, I scored because all the team was moving and all the team was in the box and Daniel (Salloi) running to the first post. For this I try to go back for a score and I think it was an amazing pass and amazing plays for all the team. It’s a fantastic goal. I was in a very good position for a score. But I'm more happy for the team and everybody’s movements in the field.
On coming back…
We know that we are at home and this is why everybody looked to another player and said, ‘we need to go faster, we need to go stronger’ because I feel like another team pushed a little more than us. This is the team. After this, I think all the players played better. All the players wanted the ball and this is very important for us because we are a good team when we have the ball and we create a lot of chance from the movements. We scored two goals in the first half and for this the team won.
