Sporting Kansas City interim head coach Kerry Zavagnin
On the 3-1 loss to Orlando…
I think we played a wonderful first half. We had a few personnel changes within the group with Mason (Toye) and Dejan (Joveljic) up top with (Santi) Munoz coming underneath. It felt like things were happening for us as we went into halftime. We created some really good opportunities. As we came into the second half, we started losing possession of the ball in important areas. It made it really difficult for us to get out. In our 4-4-2, Orlando was really pushing us back and we were disorganized in our low block. We wanted to get pressure to the outside backs as they came up the field. They brought (Alex) Freeman on, who plays even a bit further up the field, and so we couldn’t get adequate pressure out there. We couldn’t get pressure out to the ball, and it compounded when we did win possession because we couldn’t advance up the field. That cyclical sequence of the first 15 minutes of the second half put us in a position where we had to make some changes. Quite frankly, some of our guys were losing their energy and steam. That was a little bit of a collective, but Mason (Toye) hasn’t played a lot in a long time. Some of the decisions in taking Mason off in the 58th minute and (Santi) Munoz in the 68th minute started to unravel the group a bit. So we went back to three central midfielders to see if we could get a little more pressure out wide and drop Bartlett into the backline. We thought that would help things and at the end of the day, it didn’t. As good as our first half was, the second half really had us struggling and we suffered a lot. Ultimately that was the result and the reason for the game.
On lessons learned from the match…
It’s a clear example that the game is 90 minutes. Over the course of the season, when we’ve been the ones to come out slow in the first half only to recover the result in the second half, I think the idea is that we need to start quicker. Although we gave up a goal in the opening two minutes of the game, I think we composed ourselves in the first half. As we came into halftime, I think it’s a really good learning lesson that the game is 90 minutes. As much as we’ve come back in the second half this year to turn a result, this time around we just didn’t have it in us. It’s a great learning lesson for all of us that the game is 90-plus minutes and when you play against a good team like Orlando, if you’re not locked in for that duration, you won’t get the result you’re looking for.
On the three-hour weather delay…
Orlando went through the same delay. The game did shock us a little bit in the first few minutes with their goal. Maybe we were a little slow out of the gates, but the energy in the locker room during the delay was good. The guys were wanting to play and ready to play. We were just a little slow out of the gate. That can happen in any game, whether it starts on time or after three hours. I don’t want to attribute that to why we started out slow. I think over the course of the 90 minutes, we had moments where we were really good, especially in the first. Unfortunately over the course of 90 minutes, and with some of the guys who came on in the second half, we were unable to push to a new level to recover the game.
On Sporting’s last eight games of the season…
This is a heck of a process and a really big transition time for the club. We’re trying to get the best version out of this team, allowing them to believe in themselves and trust each other and put in good performances. As we suffer from this result and get back to the field on Tuesday, we are going to try to do the same thing in preparing ourselves to get ready for a difficult Seattle team. I usually don’t get caught up in how many points we need to get to reach the playoff line. I truly am concentrating on making sure I can get the best out of every player and the best out of this group. I’m looking forward to getting back on the field Tuesday and we’re going to go after it. One thing I will say about the group is that we always show up. We always give our best effort. We’re finding out a lot about the group in terms of which players will be prepared to go to the next level and be a part of the next phase of the club as we try to progress this project.
Sporting Kansas City midfielder Zorhan Bassong
On the 3-1 loss to Orlando…
There were a lot of things that went wrong (in the second half). If you take away the first two minutes of the game, the first half was really good. We were really compact and moving the ball really well. Everybody was really committed to defend. The attacking and transitions were amazing. That was a really strong performance from the team in the first half. I think we should have scored more goals. The first 10 minutes of the second half were okay, but then I don’t know. I’m not going to say we started being lazy, but we were not as compact and we maybe had a lack of concentration. We were a bit more open and made a lot of little mistakes. There were some moments where they had the ball and they were dangerous, but I didn’t feel like they were creating it—it was mostly our mistakes. We’ve got to step up our game if we want to make it to the playoffs. Those aren’t things that can happen. Every single one of us has got to step up. Those mistakes cannot happen because we deserve better. We deserve better than that.
On captaining the team for the first time…
It’s an honor. I was really proud. I was surprised when Kerry (Zavagnin) told me at the pre-match meal today. Honestly I was really surprised, but it only gives me more motivation. I see that the coach is trusting me. If I was able to have that armband today, it’s because of the team as well. They are helping me and they trust me as well. They are amazing teammates and this wouldn’t have been possible without them. It just gives me motivation. I want to push more and do more for the team, and I want to fight for this club. This is only the beginning hopefully. I just want to do more now and keep pushing forward.
On playing with Jake Davis in the central midfield…
I really love playing with Jake. I think he’s a bit like me—a guy who can bring a lot of energy in the midfield. Both of us can cover a lot of ground, we’re able to take an extra step to win balls, we play forward fast and we’re able to play with the ball. I think we bring a lot of stability and we’re good in transition from the back moving forward. I love playing with him. I got switched to left back in the second half when (Jacob) Bartlett and Nemanja (Radoja) came in. Bartlett has a lot of potential and Radoja has a lot of experience. Maybe that changed the dynamic of the game, but I think these guys did a good job when they came in. It was little mistakes for us. It wasn’t certain players, it’s the whole team. Our energy was a little down and we have to be better in those moments. When we concede a goal, we have to keep our head up and keep pushing forward. We cannot keep our heads down and let everything happen to us like that. Again, I’m really happy about my collab with Jake in the middle. I think we complement each other well and I love playing with him.
On the three-hour weather delay…
It breaks the rhythm, but I cannot say that’s an excuse. Both teams waited three hours. Of course we’re ready to get warmed up, but then we’ve got to stay in the locker room for a long time. Again, this was for both teams so it’s not an excuse. We can talk however we want about that, but the first half didn’t look like we were delayed. Everybody was really committed. I don’t think we can pull that card to talk about the bad result tonight.
