Sporting Kansas City Interim Head Coach Kerry Zavagnin
On Sporting KC’s 2-1 win over Colorado…
I think this is just another example of the guys giving everything they have. On the day, I believe we gave our best effort on the merits of playing the game. It’s possible that Colorado could be left wanting a little more from the game, but I’m incredibly proud of the guys and how we’ve dealt with a lot of the adversity—adversity in coming to Colorado and not having won in (11) years, getting off to a good start with the goal, absorbing a lot of pressure, suffering two penalty kicks and holding on at the end. I’m incredibly proud of the guys. There is still plenty of work to do. We gave up many chances in the game, but when you go on the road, you’re going to have to absorb pressure. We did and we were opportunistic with the two great goals that we scored. Overall it was a really satisfying result going on the road.
On Erik Thommy’s performance with one goal and one assist…
He's been in and out of the lineup over the last 15 games. He’s taken every opportunity, and in doing so, he’s improved the team. He’s improved his performances individually. It’s well deserved—not just the goal from the last game but the goal and the assist tonight. He was relentless on the flank and it wasn’t just the attacking part. He defended with incredible determination on that weak side covering for Tim (Leibold) and (Zorhan) Bassong as Colorado pushed higher up the field. For a lot of the games we’ve won on the road, he’s been the leader.
On Sporting KC’s defensive performance…
We absorbed a lot of pressure. Some of that was due to the fact that we were giving balls away unnecessarily in the first half. We had a hard time commanding the game with the balls they played into the area. They were moving in behind in a very good way. Joaquin (Fernandez) got a yellow card and we had to be conscientious of guys sitting on yellow cards, particularly on the backline. We made a preemptive sub in bringing Ian (James) into the game after his start last week, and I think he accounted for himself extremely well. He was a little bit unlucky on the penalty kick, but we had an extremely young backline again. This experience of absorbing this kind of pressure in a place that is very difficult to get results in over the last decade—it was a great moment for them and for us. I’m extremely happy for the group.
On goalkeeper John Pulskamp’s performance…
Excellent. I wouldn’t even be critical of Colorado’s expected goals. It could have felt like more, but with two penalty kicks that number is going to go up. With the cross they played in behind at the start of the second half, he made himself big and we’ve seen those kinds of actions from him—big saves in big moments that have not only kept us in games but preserved results for us. This was another example of him coming up in a big game. He’s very good in his reactions with balls headed close to him. He was outstanding tonight, and it was another great performance from a young, promising player.
On Pulskamp earning his second assist of the season on a long ball to Erik Thommy…
We’ve been talking a lot the last couple months about being quick in playing out of the back and not necessarily playing with a slow buildup. That resonates with the team all the way back to John. He’s taken opportunities, and of course he’s made some mistakes in giving the ball away like the rest of the team. But I think his range and his ability to play balls over distance has served the team well. Obviously, you need movement off the ball to go with that. You have to run before the pass is made. Credit to John and Erik (Thommy) for seeing it, and credit to them for having the desire to make it happen. Fortunately for us, that resulted in the game-winner.
On Sporting KC taking an early lead through Dejan Joveljic…
It is true that we’ve been a little slow out of the gates. I don’t think it’s any one particular reason, but we’ve talked in recent weeks and months about what we hope and expect the first 10 to 15 minutes of a game to look like. Of course, a lot of the game plan is “Let’s get off to a great start.” But tonight it was specifically, “Let’s be the aggressors and not be on the back foot in the game.” I think Dejan (Joveljic) in how he pressured the ball, not only on that goal but throughout the game, was instrumental in us getting players behind the ball and preserving the win. Obviously we gave up some chances, but he did some selfless work up there to help the team defend and win the game.
Sporting Kansas City midfielder Erik Thommy
On Sporting KC taking an early lead…
The start was really important for us. We pressed high to win the ball on the goal that (Dejan Joveljic) scored, so that was amazing. I need to say also that the next 35 minutes were weak from us. We can do better, for sure. Colorado had a lot of chances, and they could have equalized easily. We are lucky we have John (Pulskamp). In the second half, we were able to score again and defend our goal.
On the significance of the win…
It was big. We haven’t been about to get anything here over the years, so we knew it was going to be tough here in Colorado, especially with the altitude and the way they were going to play. The result is great. We needed the three points. With 14 games left, it’s not a lot of time to collect more points, and even if the expected goals were (high) for them, we’re going to take these three points and move forward. We haven’t lost in our last three games now. We are in a good way and playing at home again next week. We need to keep going because we dropped a lot of points at the beginning of the season.
On goalkeeper John Pulskamp earning his second assist of the season…
John is normally not the guy we would need to assist us, but of course we’re going to take it. Credit to him because he has kept us in games over the course of the entire season. What he does is excellent. We need him, and if he can assist us, we need to play him as the No. 10. I’m joking, but it was a great long ball to me, and I was lucky to score. We’ll take the three points and the assist from John.
On working his way into the starting lineup…
I’m always myself and try to perform in the training sessions and in the games. It’s always up to the coach, but I think he knows what he will get when he starts me. Even if I’ve scored in the last two games, I’m also going to be a guy who improves the game and helps my teammates. Like I said, it’s the coach’s decision and I’m always there when he needs me. The most important thing is getting a result. If we get a result, I’m happy as well. Our target is still the playoffs. I’m one of a lot of players in the club, and if the coach and team needs me, I’m there.
