Sporting Kansas City Manager Peter Vermes
Thoughts on the game...
I think the first half, we played very well, to be honest with you. I thought we created great, great chances in transition. Easily should have been 2-0 up at halftime, but the mentality to defend – because a few guys on their team came back from injury which they inserted at different times of the game which posed some challenges through the run of play, and it was like we called timeout and made some adjustments and I thought that the players within the game were very adaptable and dealt with the game really well. I'm a little bit upset with the fact that we didn't get a shutout. We deserved a shutout. But to get three goals on the road to a team that's been playing as well as they have, they were big points for us and then obviously they're bonus points because they're out of conference, so that was huge.
On bouncing back from last week...
I think the guys feel confident in the things that they're doing and, and I think they were, easily said, they were a little bit, I guess, embarrassed. We were all embarrassed with the result last week because we should have finished that game out 2-0 or even more. We know that we missed some chances and we also took our foot off the gas pedal when they scored their goal. So it was great. As I said this before, the mentality of the group is pretty good and strong and it was a tremendous result away from home, like I said, against a team that I think has been playing very well and their coach has done a good job in turning around the team in regards to their mentality and attitude.
On Alenis Vargas’ performance…
It's the thing that we talked about in preseason and we've been talking with him – it was a shame that he had to go away with the national team and not really play because we could’ve used him here – but I think all these experiences are great for him. Today he showed what he can do against teams because if he wants to get out there and go, he can. He has a good nose for the goal as well.
On Willy Agada’s performance...
I think Willy was a handful for them. I think physically, he was a monster. He's unlucky to not get a goal. What a great little action (he had) on top of the box. I was trying to tell him this the last couple of weeks that sometimes he's a little too unselfish in those situations. I told him ‘when you're on top of the box, you got to be a little selfish.’ He took the right opportunity, he's just unlucky not to score that, cause he tattooed it. His play was a big reason why we won the game. He kept their central guys concerned about him for the majority of the game. He was a handful. That was a big asset to the success of the game for us.
On halftime adjustments…
We talked about a couple adjustments defensively and then there wasn't really much on the change on the offensive side because we were getting the chances. It was now about us just being a little bit ruthless in front of the goal. The guys got the job done and if you look at the strikes from distance, they were tremendous. Then you look at the third goal to kind of really seal it with Alenis (Vargas) it shows that there's some real danger in that kid going forward. It's great to have that speed.
Sporting Kansas City midfielder Remi Walter
On Sporting’s performance in the 3-1 win…
I think it's a good win by the team. I think it's always hard to play away, but we did a great job tonight. We were smart as a team and this is very good because last week, we had a bad result at home. We wanted to push it because we know we have the quality to be at the top. Today it was really good for us.
On Sporting’s road form with one win and two ties away from home this season…
I think we have to play our game. We have to be focused on us as always. Every game will not be easy. When you play away, it's always a hard game. But we have to be smart, we have to keep pushing together, and we have to get three points when we can.
On Sporting’s upcoming three-game homestand…
I think the win tonight is good for the confidence for the group and for the team. We have to have good performances at home. Now we have three games at home and we have to take the maximum of points. We are already focused on that and we know what we have to do.
On Sporting’s ruthlessness in attack…
For me, I just want to be aggressive when I play on offense. I know that I score a lot of goals in training and I have to take my chances in the game. I have had two chances, one tonight and one against Philadelphia, and I have two goals. So I have to keep going like this. And when I play as an eight in the midfield, I have to help the team with my left foot and score goals like this. It's always in my mind and I keep pushing for that.
Sporting Kansas City defender Jake Davis
On his first goal for Sporting, a long-range strike in the second half…
When I saw the net ripple, that's when I knew (it was going in). I didn't have any thoughts before (shooting). I just knew it knuckled and it had a chance and then just heard my teammates cheering for me and that's what I knew. I guess it doesn't go in often, so I didn't know what it felt like for it to go in before tonight.
On bouncing back after a home loss last weekend…
It's really important. Obviously last game we didn't get the result we wanted after being up with 20 minutes left. Now we've come to Toronto, hard game, bad conditions against a good team. We found a way to get through it, went up two goals, held the lead, and then we got a third. It’s a great result for us. Now we're just focused on the next game.
On Sporting’s message at halftime when the score was 0-0…
What we talked about mostly was more tactical. This was not going to be a normal game for us. We were not going to dominate in possession. We were not going to be able to do the things we usually do. So I think it was important for us to communicate that we need to stick together. We're going to have to grind throughout the game and when we get our chances, we're going to have to take them. And I think that's what we did in the second half.
On SKC scoring goals from long distance…
I think that everyone on our team has always been good at shooting. And so I think that us taking shots like that more often can lead to goals, too. It’s not always a 17-pass buildup to lead to goal. We have our central midfielders, our forwards and our back line. Everyone has a good strike on the ball. So I think it's something we know that we can all do. It’s special.
