Sporting Kansas City interim head coach Kerry Zavagnin
Thoughts on the match…
I wouldn't want anything else other than the result. I think the game can be cruel sometimes and, as I tell the players, it's very difficult to control the result. You can control the performance and your attitude and your thoughts and how you go about your business. I thought from that perspective, the result didn't match the performance. I think we deserved more in the game. San Diego is a good team. They've had a really good year. They have a really distinct style on how they like to play. I thought we turned them over in good areas of the field.
On San Diego’s Designated Players making the difference…
I think you put your investment in the attacking players because the good ones can turn the game in a moment's notice. In an otherwise equal game at that point, a turnover on our end led to a really good goal by (Hirving) Lozano. John (Pulskamp) has come up so big for us this year and in that moment he wasn't able to come up big. But it's not his fault. It's not any single person's fault. It's just sometimes that's the way the game goes. And (Anders) Dreyer's goal in the second half put us in a really difficult position. But, like this team has always done, we didn't give up. We created a lot more chances. Even after 2-0, you get one in the 85th minute and maybe you get the second one. We've seen it done before within the group. But tonight wasn't our night in terms of finishing. We had a lot of chances, probably more than I can remember over the course of these last few months. We created so many chances but tonight was not our night on the goal
On the physicality…
Outstanding. There's not one thing I would ask more from my team tonight. We competed, we fought, we played, we took advantage of situations, we created opportunities in the box and we stood up for ourselves and our teammates. That's a really good sign for the group moving forward, despite the fact that we didn't get the result tonight. I know the business that we're in. But the performance was outstanding and, like I said, I can't ask any more of the players.
On Alan Montes’ debut…
It was good to get him on the field. He's just joined us. So to integrate him at this part of the season and to get him a few minutes was I think really good for him and really good for us to at least see an introduction of what's possible with him. Being down 2-0 in the game and now playing with a 3-4-3 with (Stephen) Afrifa on the right and (Daniel) Salloi on the left was a very attack-oriented way to approach the game. But at that point you have nothing to lose. We've changed a lot of different things this year, sometimes in the course of the game. Tonight we started in a 4-4-2 and we're going to continue to try to find different ways to be on the front foot in games and to see the advantages that the opponent can give us. But ultimately we want to create an identity for us that we don't always adapt to the opponent. That's going to take a little bit of time. But I'm really confident in the club, the organization, and what we're doing moving forward
On his status as the team’s interim head coach…
That's not my decision. That's somebody else's question. In terms of what I need to do, I think about the next day and the upcoming next game because my job and my responsibility is to get the best out of the players that we have in the locker room right now and to make sure they're playing together and they put in good performances. Tonight, as I said, I'm really happy with the performance.
On falling behind in matches…
At halftime tonight, we walked into the locker room and other than a great goal from Lozano, which was a turnover, the game plan and what we wanted to do going into the game was working perfectly. So we didn't come in wanting more other than goals. On the defensive side, we made the game very compact. That was a strategy that we wanted to do. We limited them to very few opportunities on goal. That was also a strategy. And on the attacking side, we created a few really good opportunities. So I don't get too caught up in the halftime score. As much as we talk about the first half, it's a 90-minute game. A lot of times we've come back from that. We've tried different things. We've explored. The guys have been creative. They've been resilient and I think that's something that we can build on.
On the team’s formation…
I think you take an awful (big) risk with a team that likes to put a lot of numbers through the midfield that doesn't have a true No. 9 and likes to play with a false 9 and overload the middle of the field. I think we did a great job in two aspects tonight. I think the two center forwards, starting off, did a really good job of not exposing themselves and waiting for the opportunity to press. But you can't do that without the engine of (Zorhan) Bassong and (Jake) Davis in the midfield. They covered an incredible amount of ground. We wanted to keep the game compact. Credit to Daniel and Shapi (Suleymanov) to now stay through the central part of the field. And we turned them over and in the first half we turned them over in pretty good areas and got into their half of the field. We weren't necessarily clean in the final moments. That could have been a little bit better. But in terms of that strategy an that defensive structure, I think we handled it really well. When we went to their place the first time, we played something a little bit different. And we're going to continue to look at ways that we can use the best out of our players. That'll sometimes be a structural change. But the defensive numbers are really what we're talking about in terms of the structure of a 4-4-2 because with the ball I wouldn't classify that as a 4-4-2.
On Jacob Bartlett…
Bartlett coming in as a double pivot, it's not something he's overly used to and the characteristics that he has is really as a single pivot. But when he went in there, his work rate, his ability to cover ground, his ability to connect passes and win second balls that popped out, I think he did a really good job.
Sporting Kansas City’s midfielder Jake Davis
On the team’s performance…
San Diego is a really good team. They're very good at playing out. They are confident. Today, instead of us just sitting back and letting them try to do their thing, we challenged them. I think that was the important thing. I think we almost struck fear into them in the first half by pressing them and not just letting them play the ball around us. I think that's what made the difference for us in the game. That allowed us to have the ball more against a team like that. When you have the ball more, you're going to have a lot of chances. We are a good team when we have the ball. What was it? Twenty-two shots to what? Six. So that goes to show, today they were more clinical but I think overall I don't want to sing the same story again. We had a good performance. It's hard to say, because we say this a lot, but truly we did the right things today. We put ourselves in position to win the game. They took their chances.
On getting into rhythm with Zorhan Bassong…
I think that's the first time Zo and I have played together. What was it for 50 minutes until Logan got hurt? That was the first time we played together the whole season like that. Yeah, it was nice. I think we did a good job. We complement each other a lot. He is very much a destroyer and I think I'm the same way. I think we both add a lot of energy to the game and quality and so I'm happy to have played the game with him today. Even when he went back to left back, he helped us out a lot. He's a very important player. I think we are making the right steps. We're not going to be heroes every time, but I think today shows people that we have intensity and we can compete. I think we just have to take our chances and I think we'll be a very competitive team. One step at a time.
On getting back into the starting lineup…
It's been a while. I haven't played 90 minutes in a while and I felt great. At the end, and with extra time, I was just cramping a little bit. That's it. I think that just comes without playing 90 minutes after a while. So I'm happy for my opportunity. I think Zorhan and I did a good job and all I'm looking forward to is the next game and being ready for my opportunity.
