Sporting Kansas City interim head coach Kerry Zavagnin
On what was said during halftime…
We made two adjustments at halftime. We saw something towards the end of the first half, and dropping Jacob Bartlett into the back line, coming out with three, and we felt like we were getting a little bit more in a vertical game after a slow start. To be honest with you, it was really tentative, passive, and we just didn't come out of the gates in a strong way. So we made that adjustment. Then we went a little bit tighter in the second half in a more man-oriented way, and that turned the ball over further up the field. Those two instructions were really what was said at halftime. I think, more than anything else, I asked of them what they've been giving me every day, every week, every game, and that is, don't ever give up, persevere through the adversity which you know you're going to have. And it looked like for a little while that it was going to be one of those summer days. I'm not surprised that they came back at the end, because this is a special group that just doesn't give up.
On the team's comeback…
We made a few changes, and we started putting on more attacking players. Credit to John Pulskamp, it goes relatively unnoticed because of the two great goals at the end, but he really kept us in the game. We really exposed ourselves in the back. Like all the games, we don't stop and we go to the end, and if we're behind, we're going to put as many attacking players as we can on the field. The continuity of that, we sacrificed, the organization sacrificed, but in terms of the determination, the intention, and the drive to persevere through won the day for us.
On Santiago Munoz…
Each and every game what everyone gets to see on the weekend we see during the course of the week. These aren't special performances. This is his norm. He's clever with the ball, clever in tight spaces, can create his own shot, and certainly when we brought him on to the game, wanted him to operate closer to Dejan Jovelijic and Manu Garcia, and when you put those three together, you know, good things happen. For a while now I've been thinking in different ways about bringing them all into the game from the beginning, and time will tell if we're able to do that.
On Manu Garcia…
I think typically we would find over the course of the 90 minutes that the best combinations or the best creations come from Manu closer to Joveljic, completely flipping the script tonight, bringing Bartlett into the back line, and now breaking up their two forwards with Manu spaced through the middle. That was the solution. That was the solution for the game that we thought would give us the best opportunity to be more vertical in the game. So we did that. He created from those positions. What's special about Manu, he gets hit an awful lot. He's not a well-protected player in our League, despite the fact that he's a special number 10. He fights through it. He got hit in the face tonight again, and so I think that speaks a lot to his mentality and his courage for fighting through getting hit time and time again. To play make from that position also shows his versatility.
On positional changes in the lineup...
It was a combination of a few things. Managing the guys over the course of 90 minutes, using our full capabilities within the substitutions. We thought the sequencing would be best there. We also knew Erik's (Thommy) been playing extremely well, so is Shapi Suleymanov, and so is Daniel Salloi. I wanted to get attacking players on the field. We're at home, and we wanted to drive the game. I don't think from the beginning we were able to be vertical enough for them to have significant impacts, so made a few changes brought Manu (Garcia) a little bit further back, and then we started getting more of the game.
On the team’s maturity…
For being young players, they have an awful lot of maturity, and they're gaining it by the game. The amount of minutes that these guys have played is going to benefit us for the course of the year, but also for the course of many years. That's a very good sign in terms of how they've handled themselves mentally in those moments facing adversity, and you can see it on their faces that they have the determination to win and be successful. That's a special core group of players.
On deciding who to substitute and when…
I think when you have a lot of players that are performing well in training, and they're earning their right to play. It gives you a lot of confidence to look down the bench and feel good that these guys are getting their opportunities. It's a two-way street, right? You can make these tactical changes. You think that you can outsmart the other team, but the players have to go out there and perform. I'm fortunate enough to have guys that are really hungry to be out on the field, and the attacking players. Mason Toye is a great example of someone that for a number of weeks wasn't in the 20 man roster and kept punching his way over the course of trainings. He was always behind Joveljic, Munoz, and kind of the odd man out, he's kept fighting, he's kept pushing. He's been scoring goals in training, and so like the effort of the players, I'm not surprised Mason scored tonight, and all the credit goes to him and all the other subs that have made an impact over the course of not just this game, but multiple games. They're ready to go and they're ready to contribute.
On when Santiago Munoz may start…
I think everyone can see that we don't have a drop off when he comes in the game. The competition to be on the first XI is very, very high. The speed in which he's integrated himself to the League, and especially our team, has been very, very quick, and so he's knocking on the door, and so I would expect him to play a massive role in the second part of this season.
On moving Erik Thommy and Jake Davis…
Well, Jake has played the position a number of times, despite the fact that that's not his natural position. (Khiry) Shelton was out with yellow cards. (Andrew) Brody was battling a little bit of a knock that he had in training kept him on the bench just in case of an emergency situation. I thought Jake did a really admirable job, especially against a very good opponent in Zaha, so we wanted him in the beginning of the game, to play more through the midfield, coming out with three, maybe dropping bar in the line and have him come through the midfield. In the second half, when we started going in a very high-press man-oriented way, you could see Jake's spirit and attitude in closing the ball down, getting forward, getting a lot of crosses in. I think he had an outstanding game.
On Jacob Bartlett being physical…
I don't need to work with Bartlett on intensity, commitment, or determination. In fact, if there's anything, it's about pulling him just slightly back, but that comes with the maturity of the player, and understanding how and when and where to make the confrontations. He sticks up for his team, his teammates, and for the club, and for a player of that age that not long ago was just playing at the University of Notre Dame. He's come a long way.
On the goal conceded...
There's certain positional things, but I don't need to tell a guy when he's giving the ball away, and they've scored a goal. Certainly, you don't have to show the video where it cements the point. Those are the simple ones that players understand. It's more about the understanding of where his positioning is. Some of his decision-making within the course of the game. You also have to let players make mistakes, and a 19-year-old that makes mistakes gives the ball away. He's hard enough on himself for me to add to that.
On how this comeback will impact morale…
I've been talking with the group about staying in the moment, right? Giving your best each and every day. We're going to measure progress based on performance. We know what business we're in. We need to win games. You need to realize some of the fruits of your labor over the course of games, and certainly the homestand. These guys have proven, whether we go home or away, that we're not afraid of the environment. It does help over the course of these next two games to bring the momentum into the weekend, because it's a very quick turnaround. I'm most happy for the fans, the stadium, our club, our owners, and our players. That's what really brings even a heightened level of energy which is unique, which is what you need.
On Dejan Joveljic not making the All-Star Game…
Dejan is an all-star center forward. He gave an all-star performance and gave us a goal in an all-star moment, and so there's nothing about him that I would say, is anything but fully deserving. The way he's come into our team, after a great year winning an MLS Cup. Some players would have the tendency to kind of live off of last year, and he's done the exact opposite. He's been a tremendous impact within our team, fully deserving of an all-star selection, and we saw it again tonight.
On Ian James…
Well, I think it was such a reaction for him, and an instinctive moment that he didn't have time to think about what was happening, and so he used his natural instincts of being incredibly athletic. His duel on the side of going through the ball in which a lot of players might pull out in that moment shows a lot of potential in a very young kid in a tough moment in which Charlotte is coming down, and he accounted himself extremely well. And he's another one of those young players that we're incredibly high on.
On what could have been done differently in the game...
Maybe I would have had a different enthusiasm to my pregame talk because we showed up awfully flat. That's something you reflect on. But in terms of the message overall to the group, not just tonight, but over the course of many, many days came to fruition tonight. We don't look into the past now. Now we look to the future, and so we're awfully happy with the result.
Sporting KC forward Mason Toye
On sparking the comeback...
Obviously, I'm really grateful for the opportunity. I've been working really hard in training and just trying to earn some minutes. I was able to get the opportunity tonight and I was able to put one away. I am just super happy and super grateful. Manu (Garcia) gets on the ball. Whenever Manu gets on the ball, I just know I need to run forward. That's one of the strongest parts of my game. I ran forward, he played a great ball and the defender missed it. I just tried to take my time and slot it home.
On finding space behind the backline...
That's one of the strongest parts of my game. That's definitely one of the reasons why I came in. I just tried to utilize my speed and play to my strengths. I was able to help us get back in the game.
On the rally providing momentum for the team...
It's massive, obviously. Before the break, we had a tough loss. All we were trying to do here tonight was get the energy going and get a result at home. This is a place that we feel should be our fortress and a place that we know we can come here and get points and when teams come here, they know it's going to be a tough match. We're still working on that. We have got another one on Saturday, so we're just going to try to get some rest and get prepared for that.
On fighting until the end...
This is nothing new for us, to be fair. We've done it before. We've came back from three goals down. I think that was the Minnesota game. So we know we can rely on the subs. And we know that the game is never over until the final whistle. I know it's going to come in handy for us moving forward. Later in the season, you're going to get down in games but it's about being resilient and that's one of the strongest parts of our team.
On the team's knack for comebacks...
We've come back in quite a few games. Some of them we haven't won, but we've always made it difficult late in games. I don't think any team is ever comfortable with a win, even if they're up two goals. I think they always know that we're on the hunt. I don't think I've been on a team that's been like this before.
