KANSAS CITY WIZARDS MANAGER PETER VERMES
On the game and the comeback
“When we were 2-0 down, honestly I felt that we were going to have the ability to get back in. When we went 2-1 on them, I felt very good. When we went down 3-1, I was thinking we have a long road to go up here. We came in at halftime, and the main thing we preached, which we have been doing all season long, is we want to make sure we forget about what happened, and we move forward because there is nothing we can do about it.
On the second-half effort
“I thought that the guys came out and right away got after it. With Jack’s header, you know it didn’t go in, they cleared it off the line. Then Kei’s header, we just were punishing them, right around the goal. The great thing is they just kept plugging away, and then Josh’s header at the end was a huge impact play to secure another three points for us.”
On picking up three more points
“I look at as every game we play, there are a lot of points out there, and we have to get each one of them. At half, I said right now we have zero points a,nd at the start of the game we had one. We gave up one, we had to get back to tie. As soon as we tied it, they were going to be struggling. The guys just kept going and going and going. That’s something we’ve been preaching all season. That says the most about our mentality and our composure.”
On the team’s momentum of late
“Points are points, so that is one aspect. The way you play in your performance is another. I think tonight was really about being able to respond in a negative situation. Now that you know that you have that in your foundation, and if you get down in a game you can come back.”
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS STRIKER JOSH WOLFF
On his game-winning goal
“There were a lot of bodies in the box. When the ball went out wide, I just tried to get in front of some guys, and Mikey put a great ball in. I did well with it. Heading is not my best attribute, but it was a good one.”
On the massive celebration after his goal
“I think it was indicative of what we put into the game. We had a lousy first half, and I’m sure that the guys got chewed on a little bit at halftime, but I think we answered the call. I don’t think anyone deserved it more. We deserved to win. It was a big three points for us.”
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS MIDFIELDER DAVY ARNAUD
On the game and the season so far
“Even when we were going through the rough patch earlier in the season, we knew we were a good team. When we weren’t scoring goals, we knew we were capable of scoring goals. Tonight was a big game for us. When you get results like this, it feels like something’s meant to be for you. Credit to everybody. We dug deep.”
On the feeling after Wolff’s goal in stoppage time
“You can’t describe that feeling. That’s the reason why you play this game. That’s the reason why you work so hard. That was really, really special. For our fans, I think that’s going to be a game that people talk about for a long time. I know as players, that’s a game that we’ll remember.”
HOUSTON DYNAMO HEAD COACH DOMINIC KINNEAR
On what went right in the first half
“Individually we were playing well. The two forwards were linking well. Cam was winning a lot of balls in the air, and Dominic was running off of it; we were holding the ball well and breaking. In the second half, they just started launching the ball, and we just couldn’t apply pressure and hold the ball up when we needed to.”
On playing a team that is in the playoff hunt
“It’s a game. The first game of the season is the same as the 25th game of the season and there are points on the line. We knew they were desperate. We still had an outside chance. I know we don’t now. We also have something to play for. We knew in the second half they were going to start throwing balls in the box, and we didn’t handle it as well as we could have.”
On Wizards that impressed him
“[Ryan] Smith is a good player. He runs pretty diagonally quickly; he is a danger guy. We kept him pretty quiet in the first half. We kept everyone quiet in the first half but just could not sustain the level of play that we wanted to in the second half, and they got their quick players on the ball a little more.”
HOUSTON DYNAMO FORWARD CAM WEAVER
On the game
“We came out strong; we played well together in the first half, for most of the first half. We just got our chances and took them. We didn’t continue that in the second half, and that is disappointing because in the end, all that effort was for nothing.”
On having a good game individually in a loss
“Well it’s not one person having a good game, it’s the whole team. You can’t point out individuals I don’t think when you lose. It’s a collective effort. It’s just disappointing.
