Manager Peter Vermes – Sporting Kansas City
On how the match ended…
Well, I think the game was very even throughout. I think both teams played hard and I think there was a couple chances here and there for both teams, but nothing special. Obviously we gave them a great opportunity on the goal that they scored.
On how the momentum was shifting throughout the game…
I just think it was back and forth. I don’t think anybody was really taking the game one way or another. I just think it was a hard-fought match. It’s unfortunate the way it turned out with us giving a bad ball away and the guy finishes off really well.
Forward Jacob Peterson – Sporting Kansas City
On whether or not he expected it to be a dog fight tonight…
It was a tough game, there weren’t a lot of chances. I’ve got to watch it back but I think a lot of games that are played that way come out 0-0, so we’re disappointed to give up a late goal. And we were pushing up forward giving them a couple counterattacks, but overall I don’t think we necessarily deserved to lose.
On whether he could feel the momentum shifting in their favor at certain times…
Yes, I think we were able to start the second half right, and you know when you’re playing at altitude, your legs are going get heavy and your lungs are going to go and I think around the 70-minute mark, it kind of hit us and we lost our way a bit. But for the first sixty or seventy minutes, we didn’t give away a lot of chances.
On being afraid of getting tired and giving up a late goal…
I wouldn’t say we were afraid, we were cognizant of it. We know that that’s an advantage that they have here. But we still thought that mentally we’d be strong enough to fight through it and get out of there with a clean sheet.
Midfielder Benny Feilhaber – Sporting Kansas City
On fitness playing a role in the match tonight…
Not too much. Obviously at the end of the game, people are tired, but we were able to play to the game plan pretty well. You know, that was definitely not one of the reasons why we ended up losing.
On the team’s mentality going back home after two losses on the road…
We’re always excited to play at home. It was frustrating road trip in more ways than one, but having said that, you can’t think too much about any games in this league because they come in quick succession, so we have to get our minds right and start getting points at home.
Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni – Colorado Rapids
On being back in the win column…
Yeah, I think this league’s a tricky league. The parity makes every game very difficult. I think this particular performance is one of the gutsiest performances from our group. They came in to make the game very combative, very dynamic and we couldn’t find a way to get the ball on the ground a lot in this game. But when we did, I thought we were fantastic. The execution from the guys again was fantastic. From Timmy, the backline, Axel and the crew, guys in the midfield and the guys at the top just did a fantastic job of grinding through.
On the performance from the Rapids’ defense this season…
I think it’s fantastic. We were just talking about it. Sam [Cronin] and Micheal [Azira] are workhorses in the and cover so much ground and do it dynamically and win so many balls, and when they can’t cover it, the guys in the back have been outstanding this year. You talk about defenses, and a lot of people focus on the back line or the goalkeeper – defense for me starts at the top. In games like this where they’re throwing balls in the box and off the cuff, you’ve got to have guys that are committed. I think Timmy back there really solidified that backline and organized them real well; made a couple big plays and the guys in front just did a fantastic job today.
On how the Rapids have improved from last season…
I think this is how coaching works: you have a philosophy, you try to apply it and you try to live it. When you get results people start believing it. This year, so much has changed, I think early on, we were stingy, which gave us the opportunities on set pieces. Goals that we couldn’t score last year, which put a lot of pressure on our defense. So this year, because we’ve been good defensively as a team, it gives us a bit of respite in the attack. And I think we got to be patient with our chances, but they’ll come, and they’ll continue to come.
On Marlon Hairston’s progress this season, and game-winning goal…
This league’s not the same kind of league that I came into back in 1998. The quality of play and the quality of players, it was just a different standard at that time and it took me a long time to get my train of thought to switch over from that college mentality to the professional mentality. Now, it’s probably twice as hard as it was then and the amount of fitness work that goes into it, and thinking about tactics and technique and then applying it on a day to day basis, it takes a lot of time. Marlon is a guy who has unbelievable raw speed, but you couple that with technique and a very good understanding of the game. I think that he’s trending in a very positive way and he’s putting himself in a position to be a very good player in this league for many years to come.
Defender Axel Sjoberg – Colorado Rapids
On how his wrist is feeling after this match…
It feels pretty good. Still aching when I’m out there, but I ice it afterwards and then we’re good to go again. They have high-tech braces now that are pretty incredible so it’s fine. It’s a little bit different, I can’t use my hand as much and that lower arm area to run, but I’ve been training with it for two days and you get used to it pretty quickly.
On what’s been working for the back for line so far this season…
You know just working really hard for each other, and we’re comfortable in our positions. Being in the right spots before anything even happens. We shut down a lot of things before they get into really dangerous areas.
On agreeing with Pablo on how the defense has progressed from last season…
Definitely. You can tell because a lot of different guys have stepped into a lot of different positions and done a very, very good job. It’s a philosophy and everyone’s bought into it.
On what the key has been to shutting down Sporting KC…
We’ve worked really hard, but I don’t think there’s any particular key to why we’ve done so well against Sporting. They’re a very hard-working team, and I think if anything, we match their intensity. They were really hard to break down today so we almost had to take risks that we normally didn’t want to take. They’re very good at smothering their opponent in their press. I think the guys for us when we play them is we just match their intensity. And if you can win those second balls in the midfield, you can capitalize on those.
Defender Jared Watts – Colorado Rapids
On communication in the backline…
You go through phases during the game where they’re pressuring us and we don’t have the ball as much as we’d like. The communication is key for us because we know that we defend as a back six, we are pretty hard to break down. They’re a team with dynamic players going forward and we had to be aware of that, starting with Tim [Howard] in the back putting us in great positions.
On what changed in the second half…
I thought we did pretty well coming out after halftime. We tried to get on the ball a lot, especially at home with the altitude. You have to give credit to Sporting KC, they made an adjustment as well and met that high pressure. We had much of our success when we were winning the ball higher up the field.
On finding that next gear late in the second half…
We just try to fill out the game, especially early in the game. Both teams are feeling each other out and maybe not wanting to take the risk. We always make it a precedent to come in at half either up a goal or at least tied. We set that as our goal and we know with the crowd behind us and at altitude, we put our foot on the pedal and we use it to our advantage.
