Sporting Kansas City Manager Peter Vermes
On New York's goal...
I think we were a little over aggressive in the middle and they had a good run. It was a good ball by (Thierry) Henry. That's what you pay 6+ million dollars for a player for, that's what he can do.
Thoughts on his team's performance...
In the first 30-35 (minutes), we were good. The last nine minutes in the half -- it was like 36 minutes, right at the 36 minute mark -- and we gave possession away every time we got the ball. We probably strung two passes together, we gave it away, two passes, gave it away. And then the second half, after they scored, they still had a little bit of momentum. And then it changed and I thought we started going at them again and started to have some opportunities. We are getting the most out of what we can right now. And with the different people we have in the game and trying to deal with a lot of injuries in regards to the middle of the park, it's never easy.
On New York disrupting the team's possession...
For nine minutes in the first half, we were just giving it away and you can't do that because you start to lose energy and then you don't have the energy to go on the attack. So it wasn't good. It was good that we got ahead before halftime. The play where they scored, he runs right up the middle and we are a little aggressive. The next thing you know, they play a ball through. We talked about Phillips and the way he can get behind the defense. Stuff happens but I don't think it was because of bad possession, if you will.
On the play of Igor Juliao...
He's a good addition to the team and he's going to grow from game to game. Each time he goes out there he plays better and better and his confidence is increasing. The other thing I would say about him is that he's adapted and adjusted to our team very quickly, especially with the way that they play where he's from at Fluminese. He's adapted and adjusted very well.
On his fitness to this point in the season...
Number one, it's what we expect from him in the position. But more importantly, in a short period of time he's learned that he has to really increase his gas tank and I think he's had it. It's just they don't play maybe the same way, so he's kind of been let loose. Like I said, he's really adapted well.
On Igor Juliao's combination with Antonio Dovale...
It's because they're both good soccer players. They're very intelligent. Really, they're intelligent soccer players. Sometimes you get guys that are good athletes and you're trying to push them toward the good soccer player side. These guys are good soccer players, and that's the reason why they've adapted so well.
On the play of Antonio Dovale...
He's very good with the ball. It's not easy to get the ball off him. He can give a final pass and as you saw tonight he can score. He almost scored a second one in the second half. He's just got a very high aptitude for the game, and I think it's because he's smarter than most of the players he's playing against.
On the team's depth...
I have confidence in all the guys on our roster. If I didn't, they wouldn't be on the roster. What's happened is some guys have just been accelerated into having to play on a regular basis, and maybe more so than we would've thought based on some injuries, based on some call-ups. All of that has, like I said, accelerated their entrance into the team. My feeling is, in the long term, it's going to benefit us.
Sporting KC defender Seth Sinovic
On Sporting KC's 1-1 draw vs. New York...
I don't feel that good about the result. It's another game where we let some points slip away. That's how it goes sometimes, so we have to keep pushing, keep working hard in training and learn from this tough period. We'll get better from this.
On defending against Bradley Wright-Phillips and Thierry Henry...
Their movement is good, they're great passers and they always seem to be in the right spots. That's what good forwards do. If we make defensive mistakes and give them opportunities, they are going to punish us, and they obviously did in the second half.
On Sporting KC's forthcoming road games against D.C. United and Houston Dynamo...
We've got to be a tougher team to play against going forward. We have to impose our style and get points from those games. We have two tough opponents coming up. Like I said, we're dropping too many points right now and we've got to be better than what we have been the last few games. It's been a collective concentration (struggle). We always talk about being prepared when we lose the ball, and we keep making mistakes and we're getting punished for them. That's what good teams will do against you, and that's happened for the last few games now.
Sporting KC midfielder Benny Feilhaber
On Sporting KC's 1-1 draw vs. New York...
It was probably a fair result, but going up 1-0 you want to try and get all three points. It's definitely not easy under the circumstances, and I think we did a pretty good job (defending) some pretty dangerous players up there. We could have maybe had a couple other goals ourselves. We had some good chances we'll live with 1-1 and move on.
On missing a handful of goal scoring chances in the first half...
Obviously going up 2-0 would have been a big difference. After they tied it, we pushed the final 35 minutes to get one more. We were a bit unlucky but it wasn't to be. We've got D.C. United on Saturday, and we have to get ready for that.
On New York's defensive performance...
After we scored, I thought New York did a pretty good job playing with a higher press and not allowing us to play too much. They had good control of the game until they tied it, and then I thought we gained control back after that. Sometimes with our patience it takes a while to get good quality chances, but it could have just as easily finished 2-1. New York did a better job defensively as the game went on.
On New York's improvement in the second half...
New York came out pretty well after halftime. Their goal originated from Henry. When he's got the ball and he's driving at you, it's tough to know when to step and when not to step. We got caught a little bit behind, and Bradley Wright-Phillips is on a tear so he's going to put that away. They're a good team going forward, especially with those two guys. Other than that, I thought in the second half we played pretty well, especially after they tied it. I thought we were a little unlucky not to (win) 2-1, but having said that, 1-1 is probably a fair result.
New York Red Bulls head coach Mike Petke
Thoughts on the performance...
It's always a battle when you come here. I thought it was perhaps our worst start of the season, the first 10, 12, maybe even 15 minutes and we're a team that is notorious this year for having bad starts. To say it was our worst start of the year, we could've been down 3-0. We fought through it. We didn't play great in the first half, but at least we fought through that and got out, and the response in the second half from my team, I'm proud of them. They showed some character. But again, we have to figure out why we start the way we do.
On overcoming the slow start...
Not only have I been saying it all year, I think my favorite quote is if I could figure it out I'd be a rich man because I'd be able to solve it and maybe Barcelona would come calling or something because I could figure those things out. I have no clue. First thing said after the game from some of our starters is we have to figure out why we start like this. It seems like we want to be down before we wake up.
On the second-half goal...
As far as the goal goes, that's why you have a Thierry Henry on your team. That's why he makes the money he does. That's why he's been at the level he's at, for that one moment to make that pass. Credit to Bradley, he finished and then a couple of minutes later had almost the exact same thing to put us ahead. But we'll take a draw.
New York Red Bulls defender Chris Duvall
Thoughts on the performance...
We used halftime to try to work out the things we needed to work out and get a system and get together as a team. It worked out pretty well in the second half. We came out and worked hard together. It worked out for us.
On playing at Sporting Park...
It was an incredible atmosphere. Coming out of college and being my second game, I haven't seen an away atmosphere like that. It's fun. Those are the types of games we all want to play in. We all live to play in the big pressure, loud stadium moments.
On Bradley Wright-Phillips...
He's unbelievably hard to defend. He works hard and he's a great teammate. If you give him a bad pass, he works with it and does the best he can with it. That's why he's been so successful. He works hard and he's an incredible player.
On the road result...
Of course we're always looking for the win; we want to win. But coming out of a place like this after playing a game a couple days ago, I think a tie is okay. We'll look forward to the next game and try to get our points there.
New York Red Bulls forward Bradley Wright-Phillips
On the team's second half adjustments...
As a team, we figured out their dangers. We had a plan and it worked. We pressed higher up and in the end they didn't have so much possession.
On the early pressure they absorbed...
I've watched them a few times and I knew they passed it a lot, but I think we gave them a bit too much respect. They could have had three goals. Luck was on our side and we got back into the game. I thought we did well in the second half.
On his game-tying goal...
Playing with Thierry (Henry), you know you're going to get a chance. That's a good thing for a striker. If you know you're going to get a chance in a game, you just have to concentrate on putting it away. I think I should have had another one but that's how it goes.
On the winless stretch...
It's been a tough time for us. We haven't won in three. To come here and get a good point, we could have won it. You can take confidence from that and move on to the next game.
On the Golden Boot race...
I didn't want to think about it. It's quite early in the season. There are some great strikers in this league. I'm sure Defoe will be up there. There will be a lot of players up there. Now is a bit of early, but still fun. I was having a little chat with him, he's a good player.
