Sporting KC manager Peter Vermes
General thoughts on the match…
The three points were well-deserved. We dominated from start to finish. They did score a good goal in the first half. We made a big mistake on that, but I thought our patience in the second half to keep possession and circulate the ball and probe them was excellent. Both goals were scored at the top of the box and that’s something we have been working on. The insertion of both guys (Dom Dwyer and Oriol Rosell) was good for us. The one thing about Oriol that we talked about is that he has to have a little patience. He has great qualities and it was a great day for him. It was a great goal from him and a great introduction into the team.
On coming back from being down a goal and winning the game…
The patience from us in the second half was huge. What we were able to do was to be patient and circulate the ball. And that sometimes is the most difficult thing to do in the second half because you are so antsy to get the goal. To have that calmness and composure is great. You have to take each game in 45-minute sections. We built it up in the second half to get those two goals and secure the win.
On Paulo Nagamura’s goal…
He was in the right place and had a great shot and it was on-frame. Not every goal is going to be upper 90, bent into the far post. Sometimes it’s going to be what it is.
On new signing and goal-scorer Oriol Rosell…
He has great qualities as a player. I jokingly told him “We brought you in here to be a midfielder, not a center forward.” What he does well is that he circulates the ball and reads the game well. I have been delighted by his competitiveness going one-on-one. His game is much more than I thought it was and he fits in very well with how we play.
On winning before a bye week…
It’s good for the next two weeks off. It’s good for the mental aspect to maintain the mindset of winning the Supporter’s Shield. It keeps us ahead in our conference, which is the most important thing. We want to solidify playoffs and get home field advantage. It’s a good mentality to have. We got really antsy to score and we stayed patient and that is a confidence booster. It sends an important message to this league. At some point you get broken down. You can try and pack it in- but at some point you get broken down.
Sporting KC midfielder Oriol Rosell
General thoughts on the match…
I am very happy to be here and get three points. I owe it all to the players and the fans. I am very happy the crowd was behind me. I am just happy to be here.
On whether or not getting game minutes is the most important thing…
No, I don’t think that getting a lot of minutes off the bat is the most important thing. What matters is being a good player and interacting and being with my teammates at practice and coming in and making a difference in a game- no matter how many minutes I play.
On scoring on Kei Kamara’s birthday…
I wish Kei a happy birthday and I am very happy we could celebrate his birthday with a victory.
Sporting KC midfielder Paulo Nagamura
On his equalizing goal in the 60th minute…
Shooting is one of my strengths. I’m not a goal scorer, but it is good to step in and score when the team needs something. I saw the ball come to me and it sat well, and it was a good strike.
On Sporting KC’s domination throughout the match…
We controlled the whole game, but sometimes it can be tough to break the other team down.When I scored that goal, it made us calmer and more confident. We feel great to get the three points because we are further on top now (in the Eastern Conference).
On falling behind 1-0 just before halftime…
We needed to stay positive. We should not have been losing at halftime, but we told eachother to keep fighting and we definitely deserved to win. Toronto defended well but we should have won more easily than we did.
Sporting KC defender Chance Myers
On Sporting KC’s 2-1 win over Toronto FC…
I thought our movement was really good tonight. Everyone was active off the ball. We had a lot of 1-2 passing and it was a good effort from start to finish. Obviously it was tough falling behind at the end of the first half, but we fought back. That’s just something we’re capable of doing.
On the dramatic ending to the game…
A win’s a win, but these are exciting for the crowd. We kept them holding on until the very end and luckily won it in the last few minutes. But as players we prefer tocome in here and confidently win the game, rather than leave it more to chance. We made it difficult on ourselves by letting the other team get a goal up on us. They immediately sat back and made it hard for us to break them down.
On Sporting KC’s two goals scored…
I’m very happy for (Oriol Rosell). That’s his first goal in just his second game. He did a good job passing around and changing direction. And then give credit to Nagamura for his goal. I don’t know how that ball jumped 30 feet in the air, but it did.
On drawing level with San Jose in the race for Supporters Shield…
That’s something we think about before each game now. We sat down at the beginning of the season with three goals in mind. Obviously the Open Cup was one of them. Now we want a Supporters Shield first and foremost. After that, we’ll look to the playoffs.
Sporting KC midfielder Graham Zusi
On Sporting KC’s 2-1 win over Toronto FC…
We controlled the flow of the game from beginning to end. We had quite a few chances in the first half, but couldn’t finish off a couple good runs. We got a little lackadaisical at the end of the first half, and they punished us. We came out in the second half knowing Toronto would sit back and protect the lead, but we did a great job of not panicking and keeping possession in and around theirbox.
On coming from behind to win…
It’s good for us to get the experience and practice of playing from behind. Now we know that if we get in this situation again, we’re capable of turning it around. We showed tonight that we can win when the odds are against us late on.
On Oriol Rosell’s game-winning goal in the 87th minute…
Congratulations to (Oriol Rosell). That was a great redirected shot. It was a good ball played in by Chance, and we’re all extremely happy for Oriol—great composure on the shot and a really special moment for him.
On the positive impact of the win…
This is a big win for our confidence. We were already really confident coming in, but it would have been really hard sitting with a draw or a loss to those guys for two weeks. By fighting from behind a goal to get the win, it’s just good for our spirits. We’ve got a little break now, so we need to get our rest and recharge the batteries, but also stay focused for Houston a week from Friday.
Sporting KC goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen
On Sporting KC’s 2-1 win over Toronto FC…
It shows that wehave a very strong mentality. We completely dominated the first half but couldn’t score our chances. We didn’t hit the target enough. It was a little shocker at the end of the first half when they scored out of nothing. We were kind of mad at each other when we came (into the locker room) at halftime. But we all agreed that we had to forget what happened in the first half and start fresh. We just had to finish our chances when we got them. Paulo scored a great goal, and then (Oriol) scored a great goal. Winning 2-1 is well deserved, but we almost gave this one away. It’s a huge difference between one point and three points. We can take a break now with a little peace of mind.
Toronto FC head coach Paul Mariner
On Rosell's game winning goal…
I think it was a goalkeeping error for the winner. It was just one of those things. Freddy (Hall) makes a fantastic couple of saves early on. It's tough to really put the finger on anyone personally because we are in it together.
On the loss…
Again, it’s the same old story. I'm just heartbroken for the players because they put a great effort. You can only dig so deep in your roster. A lot of guys haven't played together and are new to the team. But they worked extremely hard andit’s unfortunate
On Nagamura's goal…
There's a few things. Number one, don't give set pieces to very good MLS teams because they're generally going to hurt you.
The simple fact of the matter is that he didn't hit it particularly well. The goalkeeper's setting up for a power shot and would imagine he's trying to hit it on the volley. And it hits on the ground and bounces up. Sometimes when you're on your top form the games break for you like that.
On injuries/roster changes…
You've got to remember that most of these boys; Freddy (Hall), Darren, (O'Dea), Jeremy have just come back from injury, Logan, Aaron Maund started his third game in MLS. Quincy's just come into the squad so has Andrew Weideman. Of course as coaches, we always are critical and we look inwardly first could we have done something differently. But I thought we did extremely well.
Toronto FC defender Richard Eckersley
On Toronto’s 2-1 loss to Sporting KC…
The first half was okay—Ryan Johnson put us in front. Then in the second half, they had two lucky goals. It’s the same old story every week. It’s on the eleven players on the pitch. Everyone’s got to step up to the plate, and if we don’t do that as an eleven, we don’t win. We can’t just do that in sixes and sevens.
On assisting the opening goal in the 44th minute…
(Ryan Johnson) came around the back and I saw him peel away from his man, and it was just a little clip over. Bad marking, but I’ll take it.
On Toronto FC’s busy fixture list…
That’s part of MLS. You’ve got to deal with it. You’ve got the (Champions League) one minute and then the League another. There’s no excuse, really. Now it’s back to the drawing board.
Toronto FC midfielder Andrew Wiedeman
On Toronto’s 2-1 loss to Sporting KC…
We got at them abit in the first half. There are a lot of new pieces in the squad. You can tell at times that it’s starting to gel. We obviously didn’t produce our best performance tonight, but at the end of the day we should have done better to come out with at least a point.
On conceding yet another late goal to lose…
We’re right there each game, but at the end of the day losing 2-1 is the same as losing10-0. To come out with no points is disappointing.
On coping with several injuries in the Toronto FC squad…
It’s been tough. We’ve had some key injuries that have definitely hurt us, but we’re professionals and we have to fill in the void when players are out.
Toronto FC defender Jeremy Hall
On Toronto’s 2-1 loss to Sporting KC…
It’s a hard way to lose. We were playing against a really good team and weathering the storm. Their first goal was kind of a bad goal. It’s a weird shot that bounces and goes in, and then the second one is a heartbreaker in the 87th minute.
On Toronto’s mentality after Paulo Nagamura’s equalizer…
At that point, we were just trying to get the (draw). It was a good team, and they were really pressuring us. They had a lot of shots, but Freddy (Hall) made a couple good saves. But that last goal just killed us. That’s a hard way to lose.
On conceding yet another late goal to lose…
We get tired at the end and we aren’t mentally strong enough to weather those last couple of minutes. It’s tough when you play good for 89 minutes and it’s not good enough.
On remaining at the bottom of the table…
It’s tough, especially with the way the season has been going. We’re trying to get as many points as we can, but at the same time it sucks coming into the locker room and losing every weekend the same way. We have a little break now to regroup and get our injured players healthy, and we’ll try to win these last few games.
