Sporting KC manager Peter Vermes
On poorly defended set pieces against Houston...
Eventually we'll get it right. Two set pieces, especially the second and third one, were two situations that were routine plays again. On the second one Olum misses his mark, just stands there, and he gets in free. On the third one we didn't have the number of people we should have and it was just too easy. It was three soft goals from our perspective.
On if the physical first half play had an emotional effect on the players...
No. If anything, it got people fired up.
On how Sporting KC played after the rain delay...
I thought that they had one too many set pieces in that first 16 minutes. We came back in. We talked a little bit and we were actually pretty good and for quite a bit of the game we were. It's not major things that are happening in the game. They're soft goals. They were three soft goals and it's the same as it was last week. I've been in situation where this has happened away before. You cannot hide away from it. We'll review video. These guys will see it and know it and they'll have to own up to it. They'll just have to work harder. Everybody sees everything nowadays so it's very difficult to hide away.
On Sporting KC's defensive performance as a whole...
We were much better throughout the run of play from a defending perspective and if we were numbers down we could play the game really well on the counter and we didn't give up a lot of stuff there. But we gave up to many set pieces and at the same time we defended the set pieces poorly. It's not something that we don't work on. Defending is all attitude and mentality. You don't have to be a good soccer play to defend well. It takes a mentality. And right now we're not strong enough. We need to get back to who we are. I can't promise you it's going to be Wednesday. But we're going to get there for sure because we've been able to do it on a consistent basis and we're going to just fall away from it that quickly.
On if Sporting Park is losing its intimidation factor for opponents...
No. Not at all. All it takes is the guys is to go out and press a team, win a ball, go on a counter, score. The mojo comes back quickly. That part I'm not worried about. If you take Seattle, you take Portland, and other venues that sellout all the time and have great environments, it's good for both teams because as a professional you don't want to walk into an empty stadium. You don't have any motivation at that point and you're waiting on someone else to motivate you. So I don't think so at all. It's hard to intimidate someone when you're down 3-1. You just don't do it. There has always been a connection here between the fans and the players. If either one is not doing their part, you're going to lose that connection and right now the players are struggling with giving up some balls.
On how deflating Houston's first goal was to the Sporting KC side...
It was a soft goal. It was a really, really soft goal. That part was difficult to live with. But I really didn't have a doubt that we'd get a goal. I knew we'd get a goal. But I didn't expect us to give up two pieces and how soft they were. But we came out of the break and played well and I thought that we were moving the ball a lot better than we were in the first 16 minutes.
On the Feilhaber substitution and if it was injury-related...
In the first 16 minutes of the game he had turned his ankle. But at that point, I needed to change the team. I thought Graham in the middle might give us a little bit more going forward. So I thought bringing Soony on, someone who can score more goals, would be dangerous going forward in that area of the field.
On the short span between Houston's second and third goal...
It always concerns me. I'd be lying if I said no. It always concerns you when you give up goals in bunches in short spans of time. Again, it's something that we're going to deal with. There's nothing else to do except to go out and work on that stuff.
On Brad Davis' service on set pieces...
I'll be turning 48 here in a couple months. If you give me the same situation that Horst had and I'm by myself in front of the goal and the ball gets put in right to my head inside the six-yard box, I'm going to put it in the back of the net. It's when he curls one in like Benny did here versus L.A. Zusi serves those balls into the box all the time. That has nothing to do with it. On those two situations, we were just very, very poor.
On Igor Juliao sitting out tonight...
He had a bit of a hamstring strain and we just didn't want to force it because we have a big trip on the road coming up.
Sporting KC goalkeeper Jon Kempin
On Sporting KC's 3-1 loss to the Houston Dynamo...
It was another tough loss. I though we were better tonight than we were last weekend, but you still leave the field with the same bad taste in your mouth.
On Brad Davis's two set piece assists in the second half...
He's got a great delivery. We didn't do our job on either of the goals, but credit to him for punishing us. The second one was a little unlucky on our part, but that's just how our night went.
On making his third straight MLS start...
I'm just trying to get better every game. The results may not be there, but you can only go back out the next day and try to correct things and improve yourself.
On playing at New England on Wednesday and at New York on Saturday...
I'm looking forward to it. It'll be two competitive games that are very important for us. We've taken a step back, now it's time to go to training, fix things, and get some positive result on the road.
Sporting KC defender Seth Sinovic
On Sporting KC's 3-1 loss to the Houston Dynamo...
We haven't been ourselves. There's no excuse for the result tonight. We expect better of ourselves. We wanted to put a stop to it after last week but it's another big disappointment in front of our fans.
On the physicality of the match...
Like I said, we can't make excuses. A lot of things happened in the game that made it tough-the weather, the fouls. Bottom line is we didn't do enough to win.
On hitting the road for two games next week at New England and New York...
It's going to be a great challenge. We're playing two good teams who are fighting to move up the table. Any road trip is going to be hard.
On playing New England on Wednesday without Benny Feilhaber or Dom Dwyer...
We've had different guys step up all year when others have been out. This game will be more of that. But we've got to be stronger across the board.
Houston Dynamo manager Dominic Kinnear
On Houston's set piece surge in the second half...
It was much needed. When they came back into the game, obviously they were carrying a lot of momentum, so sometimes it takes a set piece to put your nose ahead and we got two of them to put on some pressure there. The way Brad [Davis] swings the ball in was obviously very important for us.
On the injuries to Tally Hall and Will Bruin...
Tally twisted his knee and Will twisted his foot. Both are being assessed.
On the energy of the team following the rain delay...
We haven't scored first on the road in a long time and it gives the team good confidence going into the locker room at halftime. I thought up until the break, we looked really good. And coming out of the break, you knew that they [Sporting KC] were going to come out with a different attitude, so you have withstand that energy and pressure that they bring at home. So I thought our goal was a byproduct of that. Going into halftime 1-0 was a good feeling.
On his confidence in Davis's set piece skills...
You're confident that the ball is going to be put in a dangerous place. It's a matter of the rest of the guys getting free and attacking the ball. The one thing about Brad you can count on is he puts the ball in dangerous spots and there's good communication between him and the players attacking. In a game like this, there isn't a whole lot given, but we managed to get free a couple times and it worked out well for us.
On the intensity of the match...
I think that's just MLS. I don't think it's any two teams in particular that are more physical or less physical. There was some stuff going on off the ball that probably wasn't necessary that fired up the crowd and got things a little bit more heated. I told the guys at halftime to keep playing, that if they get caught up into the emotional side of the game, your focus is somewhere else.
Houston Dynamo goalkeeper Tally Hall
On the team's message coming out of the rain delay...
(It was) a message of just continuing to do what was working well. We were creating good space, moving off the ball well. Kansas City wasn't happy with the first 15 minutes, so we knew they were going to come out with a little bit of fire. But when you do the right things, you create space and pass out of pressure well, it negates the other team's energy and we were able to continue that solid play.
On the rivalry...
There is just something about Houston and Kansas City. Obviously, when you factor in the playoff history that we have, back and forth, it's the game that both teams get up for. They know that it's going to be a battle and know that it's going to be a fight. We are going into this game knowing we are facing a good team. We haven't always come out on top. These teams always bring out the best in us and tonight was no different.
On returning home after a road trip...
Looking at Columbus, we were able to evaluate what really went wrong. I said before this game that we were able to pin down a couple things that would really help out if we could change it and I think we changed it tonight. It was a punch in the face against Columbus. It woke us up and we responded in the right way.
Houston Dynamo midfielder Brad Davis
On whether tonight was a must-win game...
It was a very important game. A must-win game? We say they are never that until we are mathematically out. A must-win game? No. But it's a game we very much needed to win. I think this is a perfect game for us to come on the road. We know we always match up well with Sporting. It's a good, physical match, a man's game. It's something this group really needed. We needed to be able to step up, fight, go on the road, get a victory and get some confidence when we are playing well. To come on the road in a very tough environment and get a win like this, guys have to be happy with that and I think they are. It's a great confidence booster going into the next two weeks at home. We just need to go on a run here and get some points.
On the difference between this year and past years...
I don't think we have struggled more this year than past years to be totally honest. We snuck into the playoffs the last 2-3 years. We have been, in our eyes, a little below where we want to be during the regular season. The MLS is crazy; it's always a tight race and teams are going to flip-flop like crazy during the final nine weeks of the regular season. We like to be better throughout the year but the most important thing is staying healthy, get enough points to get into the playoffs and win MLS Cup. MLS Cup is the ultimate goal. It's not to win the Supporters' Shield. That's just not the way things go in this league.
On using this win as a springboard toward a playoff run...
I think this was a game that we really needed. Coming into a tough environment, it was a good match against Sporting. We knew we were going to have to match their intensity. We knew they were going to come out and press and get after us and we knew it was going to get a bit scrappy. But I think this was a game that we truly needed. We needed guys to show that they can not only play pretty, but they can play scrappy when the time comes because not every game is going to go the way you want it to go. But when you fight and work together, you can still come out victorious and I think tonight was that moment. Now hopefully we can really build off it going into these last nine weeks.
