Sporting Kansas City Manager Peter Vermes
Impressions of the game tonight?
The game was congested because of the environment. It was a battle. It’s never easy at the end of a season like this when teams are trying to get points and chasing it. Credit to both teams, I think both of us tried to pull something out. Our goalkeeper was good and he had a couple of really good saves. And then we were unlucky on a couple of chances; ball squirted here and there a couple of times. At the end of the day it was a good point on the road for us.
Any tactical changes at half?
We wanted to get in behind them and I thought we did a couple of times. Dom [Dwyer] got in behind them a few times and I thought that started to work really well for us. A few times we were maybe too overzealous with the ball. And then set piece-wise, both defensively and offensively, I think we created some good things and I thought we would have an opportunity to do that.
Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen
What did you see tonight? How did the game progress?
They came out very strong. We gave up a few chances a little bit too easy. I think as the game progressed we got better and better. We got better organized. With a little bit of luck we could’ve got a PK. But after the game I think we should be happy with the one point. I think we got better and better into the game. We got better organized. We were struggling a little bit to keep possession in the first half, but I think in the second half we were a lot better from our side.
Sporting Kansas City defender Chance Myers
Is a physical game typical between these two teams?
It was a physical match. Especially down here in Houston. The dimensions of the field make it a little bit more of a chess match. We know exactly what each other is going to do. Just follow the game plan was what I was told to do today.
What were your tactics?
Win the first ball, and the second ball will be huge this game. Just making sure we are in good positions to cover the initial header or whatever it may be. At halftime we made some adjustments to make sure we were covering their guys running out of the midfield and make sure we were stepping up higher up the field to gain some possession.
Who had the biggest impact for Houston?
Ricardo Clark did a good job running out of the midfield and created havoc for us in the first half. We made some adjustments and took care of that. As a whole they are a physical bunch and they do a good job of throwing numbers forward. We just had to be prepared for that.
How would you feel meeting them in the playoffs?
It’s a rivalry. That’s what it’s turned out to be. We’ll take it one game at a time and see what happens.
Houston Dynamo forward Will Bruin
Thoughts on your chances?
Nielsen played out of his mind. He got them a point in my mind and I give credit to him for making big saves and when he needed to, he kept them in the game.
How did the overall performance of the team rate?
I think we played a great, full 90 minutes. We were solid defensively and whenever you keep zero on the board on the defensive end then that shows successes. I think our defense did a good job organizing, we played well defensively as a team and we created a lot of chances. It could have easily been 4-0 but that’s just the way soccer goes sometimes. We’re going to look at the positives from this because we still have a few games to make some moves.
Houston Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear
Thoughts on the match?
Could we have walked out of here with a win? I think we could have, we had enough chances to do so. It was a tough physical match for both teams, there wasn’t a lot going on out there, both teams closed down space and the field made it a little bit choppier as the game went on. We did create some chances and defended well, I am not completely thrilled with the point but I am really happy with how they competed tonight.
How was it for Andrew Driver to come back and play 90 minutes after such a long absence?
It was great, I stuck with the guys for so long because it was a perfect night, the level of intensity and effort never dropped or stopped. It was good to see them get through this, we know this next week is going to lead up to something really big for us which are important games against New York, in Panama and D.C United so it’s good to have some healthy guys knowing they can go long periods of time because it is a great bonus for us.
It seemed to be an unlucky night for Will Bruin, what do you think?
He makes great runs, the field really did make a difference, it was so choppy but if you look back at it you can see how great the run was, it was a great ball by Rico. He makes great runs and a lot people, the media have been questioning him but he makes great runs. He’s making 3 or 4 chances every game all because it comes down to his work rate and his alertness to the game.
Houston Dynamo defender Eric Brunner
Thoughts on the match?
Its going to be a hard battle especially this time of the year, everyone is fighting for points to get those playoffs spots and we have a good streak going. I think the team gave it a good effort and I think you get a good effort if you leave it all on the field and that’s what we did tonight.
Houston Dynamo midfielder Brad Davis
Thoughts on the match?
We wish we had 3 points, we felt like we deserved 3 points. I think Jimmy Nielsen had a really good night for them. We had some chances to score but it’s still a clean sheet. I think we’re playing well and we were all over them in the first half along with some opportunities in the second half. I thought it was a good game all around for us, we kept another clean sheet against another good team which is always difficult; so you look at the positives. Do we want to win this game? Absolutely. But we still played a good game and sometimes the game doesn’t work out the way you want it to, sometimes you can play a great game and lose and you can play bad games and win. So this was one of those nights where I think we played a good game; I think everyone feels like that but we’re unfortunate to not get 3 points. It is what it is we’re going to look at the positives and just keep going.
