Sporting Kansas City Manager Peter Vermes
Comments on the match…
San Jose is a very difficult team to play for a number of reasons. They play very direct. They have some guys that are extremely courageous around the box. They get up not only for the first ball, but they have great movement off the guys that flick balls on. Second balls become a very important aspect of the game. I thought tonight where we were very good was central defense. We did a great job of winning the first ball in the air and we talked about how important the second ball is. Throughout the game, I thought we were very, very solid. It becomes difficult, especially late in the game, because they start pumping everything into the box and forward. I thought we did a good job of managing the game at the end. It's something that we've been talking about because of our last two games in league play where we've given up goals late. We've got to be able to manage the game at the end and manage the result. I thought the guys did a tremendous job. It's good to see that that hasn't left us. We've been very good in the past of taking lessons and learning quickly from them. This is good evidence of that; an excellent win for the team tonight.
On rebounding from Wednesday's CCL loss…
Great. I think we understood what we had to do. Obviously, Wednesday's game was disappointing from a number of perspectives but at the same time the reaction has to be always a positive one. Even for them, I had said to Mark (Watson) before the game, it was a shame they got knocked out. I thought they did a good job. Penalty kicks are what they are. I knew it was going to be a tough game for both teams. We're coming off a disappointing exit from CONCACAF Champions League. This was an important game for both of us. It's great for us that we were able to figure out a way how to get a goal. I thought we had great chances throughout the game. We were in and around their box. We had a couple opportunities. I thought there could have been a pk in the first half. At the end of the day, we found a way to do it and that part is good.
On getting the team's first MLS win...
We've always said that the league play is the foundation to everything that we do and for us to make sure that we continue to get better. Even though we lost our first game, the second one we tied and now we've won. It's a good progression for us to keep going with some confidence. Now we go on the road against a team that's doing pretty well right now in Colorado.
On the fitness demands…
I know that our team looked good. We didn't look tired in the game. I don't necessarily know if they did. I know that they were a little bit banged up. We all are at this point, especially with the number of games we've had to play up to this time. The one thing I wasn't worried about at all was the fact that we were going to come out and give a good effort. I thought that was going to be the case. The thing I'm proud about is the fact that we really managed the game really, really well. The last 5-9 minutes of the game was excellent by us. It's recognition of what we needed to do. It's one thing, positioning is very important. The other is making good choices with the ball and I thought we were good in that area.
On attacking Cato…
It really is more the fact that Seth, the guy has got leather lungs. He probably runs 18 to 18 about 110 times a game. That's actually a real statistic. It's hard when you're talking about a guy that just keeps coming and overlapping and overlapping. It winds up at times, certain games, we can end up being a little bit of a left-sided team. I don't necessarily know if we were picking on him but once you find a weakness, you start to go after it. If you find an opportunity where you're having some success, I always tell the guys we've got to keep going with it.
On capitalizing on chances…
We're really early on in the season at the moment. I think sometimes situations also occur in games where, it is what it is. I'll have to watch it again. I have a feeling that there was a PK in the first half. If that is there, we score then it opens the game up even more and things change. It didn't do that. I always say, the hardest thing about this game is creating chances; being in and around the goal and creating chances. If you can't create chances, you're never going to score. It doesn't matter how good your players are. We wind up creating them, it's just a matter of us getting into that rhythm. I have all the confidence in the world in the group that we're going to do it. Shoot, Ike (Opara) should have scored two goals tonight himself and he knows I'm right.
Sporting Kansas City defender Ike Opara
Thoughts on the match...
San Jose is obviously a tough team. Having a lead late in the game, when they're going to be throwing everything at you. I thought the guys did very well dealing with the first and second balls, especially with them pumping balls into the box. We struggled a little bit against Dallas with that and I'm glad we learned from that quickly. Moving forward, we'd like to see that through.
On managing results…
I think a lot of it started with our positioning from the back line to the midfield to the forwards. Dom was doing a great job of putting their defenders under pressure so they didn't have as much time as they would have liked to dump as many balls as they did. Finding a way to win that first ball and being well-allocated with our midfielders and outside backs to win that second ball. I think that was key for us tonight.
Sporting KC Forward Dom Dwyer
On getting the first goal of the season…
It’s nice. I think we really needed three points today. We can’t keep dropping points at home, especially when we needed to get a solid win in the league. That’s the most important thing but it’s nice to get a goal.
On getting chances in the game…
They are not a bad side, but I thought we pretty much dominated the game. I thought we deserved the win.
Thoughts leading up to the penalty kick…
He was standing a little to the side that I went and I figured that he was a smaller goalkeeper so he was going to take a step. I just waited for him to move and kicked it the other way.
Sporting KC goalkeeper Eric Kronberg
On the clean sheet…
It feels really good. The team played fantastic in front of me, defensively. I didn’t have much to do so props to them because they really held down the fort against a good team.
On not allowing a late goal to San Jose…
I’m proud of this win because they are very dangerous the last five minutes of the game. That is something we have been working on, especially with the last few games and we got it right this time. We managed the clock, we took the balls to corners, we did everything right to close out a win and we did really well.
On team’s defensive performance…
They did a fantastic job spacing, marking when they needed to, reading the game and reading the crosses. They pretty much kept the ball away from me all night. All the free kicks were pretty deep and not too dangerous. I’m very happy with how the team played tonight.
On getting the team’s first win…
It feels very good to get it. We’ll take it one-nil and it definitely could have been two or three easily. But it feels good to get a win and it feels good to play with this team.
Sporting KC midfielder Benny Feilhaber
On getting the win…
I think some people try and make it like it’s a must-win game, but it’s early in the season. It’s big to get three points and I think this team did well to come back from a disappointing performance a couple days ago, but now we’re looking forward to continuing with this momentum and continue to get points to improve our position in the standings.
On the team’s progression since week one…
I think there are plenty of things we can still get better at, but it’s nice to see us hold the result at the end of the game. They are putting players up there; There were fouls all over the place; The refs were giving them fouls to put the balls into the box and we needed to deal with it, which we did. I think it’s a step forward to learn how to manage the game at the end of it and get the result that you need.
On playing every minute of every game in 2014…
It feels good. It feels good to play, to play well and to play a lot of minutes. It was a tough road last year to get as fit as I needed to be to play on this team, and thankfully now I get to reap some of the rewards. The team is playing well and making it easier for me. I know my spot on the team, I know the job I need to do and all those things make it a little easier.
San Jose Earthquakes Manager Mark Watson
On both teams battling for 90 minutes...
Our guys will always do that so I wasn't surprised. I don't know about the call. It was a penalty and they scored, so it's over with. I haven't seen a replay on it. I thought we played against a good team tonight. They moved the ball well and made it difficult for us. We had a couple chances. I think both teams are a little tired. It's been a long stretch of games and that showed in the performance a little bit. It wasn't a factor in the game. It was two teams that had a tough schedule. I thought Kansas City were just a bit better on the night.
On tactical changes in the second half…
We said a couple things. Kansas City do a couple things really well and we needed to do a better job against it. We addressed that. I thought our guys could have raised their game 15-20 percent each in terms of quality on the ball and trying to break their pressure. I thought we had a good start to the second half. In the end, I'm proud of our guys. They worked right to the end. But it wasn't good enough tonight.
On the home winning streak by both clubs in the series…
It's tough to win on the road. There's travel. There's a lot of things involved. I think the biggest thing is teams come at you with such energy and such aggression. You have to be able to match it and keep a strong mentality for 90 minutes to have any chance of winning on the road. It's definitely a difficult task.
San Jose Earthquakes defender Clarence Goodson
Thoughts on the match…
We always have a shot. We are a difficult team to score on and we had guys back there. I think that it was quite a sloppy game to be honest, for both teams.
On the team’s recent schedules…
Who’s to say? Of course it’s different circumstances for both teams and it could have been that. But either way from us, it wasn’t good enough from us tonight.
On the penalty call…
It was definitely a handball. What I was upset about was the previous play. Collin had me. He’s grabbing me and pulling me away from the ball…There’s a lot of tussling going on in the box and I just asked him to look at that.
On rebounding next weekend…
I think it’s going to be great to have a full week of training. We have had a lot of guys out. I think we will get a lot of guys back and even if we don’t, it will be good to go through a full week of training with the guys that are playing together. I think the guys have done a good job and stepped up, but to have a full week of training makes a world of difference and of course we are a different team in San Jose. We are looking forward to stepping high and putting them on their heels.
On the home field advantage in the series…
These are two teams that are battling, fighting pretty hard. Would anyone really say that either team is a pretty team? Kansas City might think they are. I think they are kidding themselves if they think they are that pretty. They create/commit a lot of fouls. So do we at times. It’s two hard teams banging at each other and I think both teams’ home parks are two hard places to play. Both teams like to step high in their own homes and that’s difficult.
San Jose Earthquakes forward Chris Wondolowski
Thoughts on the match…
It was a tough one. Kansas City played really well. We didn’t play our best. I think a lot of it had to do with how well defensively Kansas City did, and it kind of dictated the game. It’s frustrating because we still had a couple of chances and missed them.
On the short turnaround between games…
I think that it had a lot to do with the kind of pace and quality of the game. I think both teams will definitely say that wasn’t the most pretty or fluid game and I think a lot of it had to do with coming off of altitude and very tough matches midweek. It is what it is though. They did well and deserve three points.
On the tactics for tonight…
We don’t change the way we play. Whether it’s home or away, we expect to get three points and we didn’t do it. We will go back and regroup and try to get it going again to get the win against New England next weekend.
