SKCvSJ Quotes: "The goals we concede are too easy"

Sporting Kansas City head coach Raphael Wicky

Thoughts on the game…

I think we started really well. It went to our side with a big chance from Calvin Harris. That's all going our way. I don't think it was intentional to drop so much, but you cannot press, every single action all the time. It's normal that you sometimes defend a little bit deeper. It's not that we were sitting in our box, we were sitting at the half line or there.
You need to be as a team comfortable defending there and sometimes closing passing lines and then winning your duels. It's a pity the 1v1 is just it's too easy. On our left side, the guy just dribbles through three guys. You can analyze more into the box defending, but that's just too easy. That is something we need to stop. The goals we concede are too easy. There is the second goal, which obviously, we attack, we have a good attack, but we cannot attack with eight guys. We don't need to attack with eight guys. Then you go into a counterattack at home. That's obviously again very hard for the team for the guys to come back. In general it's just too easy to score goals against us. We have to keep working on that. There is no secret. It's hard work, watching film, training, and getting better in those things because we are in these games. It's again a game where we are in obviously with 1-0 up with some chances, and with some good spells. But we need to keep ourselves in the game.

On Ian James...

I obviously see potential in them, otherwise I wouldn't start them. I don't really look at the age when I put a player on the field. I look at potential. We were very happy with Ian (James) before his injury. Now he's coming back, and now he needs to get his rhythm. I believe that he has the potential to be a good defender. Obviously, he's young, but there is a lot of work to do. There is potential. That's why I put him on the field. I've known Ian since I've been here. He had preseason with us. We see potential in him. I see potential in him. He had a good preseason. Obviously, he's 17. There is a lot of work to do still. It's exciting to be able to help a player at that age develop. I'm not going to put a player in because he's 17 or young. I will because we believe that he can help the team at that moment. There is again, like I said, potential, but a lot of work to do. A young player can only get better when he plays and then learns and wants to get better himself. I feel like that's what he has. He's a player who wants to learn, who wants to get better. It's a lot of work to do and that's part of my job to help him and to help all the players. For him, it's part of his job to want to get better every single day.

On the team…

No, I would never tell this team that they don't have effort. Since day one, I'm here, this team has effort. They commit, they work. That is not the thing. I think in certain moments we're not hard enough in the duels. We don't win our individual battles. I don't think it's effort. I would not say that there's a lack of effort at all. It's just sometimes we fall asleep. Sometimes we're not thinking ahead. It's all of that together. That is at the end of the day, in most of the games, not good enough. And we get punished.

On Jacob Bartlett…

Yeah. Bartlett's goal was a beautiful goal. A good combination. Obviously a great run from him. Jacob brings that. He has legs, he can defend, and he goes forward. I think Jacob is a young player still. I believe that he can become a box-to-box midfielder because he has the legs to defend and also to go forward. If he gets more confident, he can get into this spot. It was a beautiful goal. Happy for him.

On Capita Capemba…

It's difficult right now to give a clear picture. I have to see the game again. I think it wasn't easy for him to come in. There were many actions where we could see his pace, a few good moments with his technique, and with runs behind. I think he is really good when he can go in behind in 1v1. After the 3-1 especially, I think it was difficult for the team to find him. But I'm pretty sure that we will enjoy him a lot in the future. As a player who just arrived, trained four times with the team, all of that in a new country, new language, and doesn't know the people. He's an exciting player. I have no doubt that we signed a very good player. We also need to give them time, as much as we would like them to function immediately and to score goals. That would be the dream. Right? But that's not always the reality. We will work hard with him as well to get him better.

On the schedule…

The next two days are recovery and preparation. There's not going to be much training for most of the players. Then, I have to see how the players feel. We're going to altitude, we're going to a turf field, so we have to see who is available. But this is a competition we want to take very seriously. I have to see the guys tomorrow and then Monday, and then make the decision on how we start.

On taking off Manu Garcia…

No. Manu had a problem with his knee all week, and I felt in that moment that I needed fresh legs. I have not asked him how he was. I just saw him all week. That's the reason why I thought, to bring fresh legs there. The game opened up. There was a lot of transition. That's it. There's nothing else there.

On progress in training…

What encourages me is that this team, from day one, wants to work. They want to work, they want to win, they want to play, good football. The difficulty is, and you can see we've never had the same lineup. We've never had the same lineup in all these games. We've never had the same back four or back three or whatever. With injuries picking up, with new players coming in, all of that, it's not excuses. I'm not looking for excuses. My job, and that's what I'm trying to do. But for a team to be good, you need consistency, you need continuity. We were not able to have any continuity in, in our work for different reasons. That is not easy, then for a young, inexperienced team with new players coming in with injuries to deal with. I don't want to give alibis. It's still too easy for us for the opponents to score goals. In order to become a good team, continuity and consistency is important, and we need to see how we can get that. Now, again, Jayden Reid just came back after three weeks of injury. (Diego) Borges is new. Ian James came back from injury. Justin Reynolds. So can I give them three games in a week, all of them? Of course not. I cannot do that. So I will have to change again. Then I will try to find solutions, and other players will have to step up. That's how we are right now. But in the future, of course, to become a good team, you need consistency.

Sporting Kansas City midfielder Jacob Bartlett

On scoring his first professional goal…

First of all, I wouldn't be here without Jesus Christ, so I just want to give all thanks to him, first of all. Deki (Joveljic), he did all the work for me, all I had to do was pass it in the net. He’s an unbelievable player and he set me up for it.

On what it felt like when the ball hit the back of the net…

To be honest, I can't really describe it. I don't think I have the words right now, and I don't think I will in the future. So it's an incredible feeling and I wouldn't want to do it anywhere else.

On taking the good from the performance while cleaning up mistakes…

I think you have to just try your best to take the positives, the good moments, like you said. Obviously, another loss is not what we want. I think you see it, the guys want to win. We compete on the field. I think we showed it in the first half. Second half, we had a couple moments where we kind of switched off and they took advantage of it. Right now, I think there are positives to take, but again, we are seven games into the season that we have to start picking it up. There's no excuse, and I think it's a collective agreement that we’re far enough into the season where we have to cut these things out. MLS, each game's incredibly important, and unfortunately we weren't able to get the three points.  

On why he made the run in behind for his goal when he usually plays deeper…

I really don't know. I saw Deki was able to face forward with the ball, he's a good player and I know he can put the ball anywhere he wants, so I thought possibly he could slide it through, and I think he megged the guy. Like I said, Deki, he's an unbelievable player and he made my job easy.

 
On being asked to play different roles around the field due to his versatility by head coach Raphael Wicky…  

It's a privilege in my eyes. He trusts me enough to play the role and I'm gonna go out there and do my best every day, every training, every game. That's kind of my mindset going into it.  

On the team having a different lineup in all seven games this season…

I think for us it's an opportunity for everyone to step up and show their value in the team. I don't think it's anything negative. It's a next man up role and I think everyone kind of has that belief and everyone has the capability to do it on this team, on this roster. In my eyes, I think it's just again, another chance for us to grow closer as a team, as players, as a group. I don't think there’s anything wrong with it.  

On new players arriving and how they will help the team…  

I think Diego (Borges) played a great debut and Capita (Capemba) came on and showed great quality and showed spurts of brilliance. He had a couple of good crosses, a couple good runs and a couple dribbles. So it's just positive for going forward. I know these guys just got here, but to see impacts immediately, it's a good sign for us.

Referee Allen Chapman (via MLS pool reporter)

During the video review in the 90th minute for a spitting offense committed by Sporting KC #8 Jake Davis, what did you see in the replay that led you to believe it was not a red card offense? 

The spit was directed at the ground and not at the player.