Sporting KC Manager Peter Vermes
Thoughts on the game - kind of, how it played out?
I thought we started really well. I thought we played really well, maybe for the first twenty, twenty-five, and then they owned the period after that. They were all over us; we were giving up way too may free kicks. We were giving up way too may corner kicks. The first two goals they scored were both our fault. We can't clear the ball. We cleared off our own man. We tried playing off the back, which is not a big deal, but we're playing like we're afraid. We lose the ball in a very bad area. It goes out for a corner, and now they score on a corner, all based on the things that we did poorly.
We come out in the second half, Barnes does a great job; he comes right up the middle. We back off way too much, he hits a great shot. They go up 3-1. We found the way to get back in the game, a couple of times. But, over the course of the game, we made way too many mistakes over the course of ninety minutes and that's something you can't do at this level.
I think we're a little bit fortunate to get out of here with a point. At the same time, there are some things that could've happened. I think the referee missed some stuff over the course of the game. I think the fourth goal was a handball on Brad Davis, before he even gets touched. The guy misses that piece and they get the free kick. The same side, I think we went into the box - Krisztian Németh went into the box and he gets pulled down from behind and the ref's not even watching in the middle of the play. But, that's part of the game and that's the way it goes.
Sporting KC midfielder Benny Feilhaber
How did you guys prepare for Houston and how did it play out during the game?
To be honest, we put a lot of emphasis on ourselves this week. We gave up a couple of soft goals last week to the Galaxy and we wanted to put emphasis on that and to continue to play the way we did for half of the game last week. It was a little bit some of the same from last week, where we had a spurts of good moments and spurts of bad moments and still giving up some set piece goals. Still more to work on, but having said that, we know that what Houston provides is always a good game with a lot of physical battles. I think today was actually one of the fewer games that we played against them that there was more soccer. It was a pretty entertaining game with eight goals. It was fun to play in. It's nice to get a point, but we're always disappointed with ourselves when we don't get three. So we'll continue to work and we'll see what we can do next weekend.
Sporting KC midfielder Roger Espinoza
Initially, thoughts on the game. How do you think it went?
Tough game, but I thought we put ourselves in bad situations - both teams, actually, put themselves in bad situations, but, us, especially because we were winning the game. It was a tough game; it's always a good game against Houston.
Down 2-1 at the half. What was the talk at half time?
That we put ourselves in that situation. We shouldn't have allowed that. We have the team and players to come back. Right away they scored a third goal, but we knew that we had to keep working hard. The game was not over, we had a lot of time and were able to come back.
Dynamo defender DaMarcus Beasley
What's missing there - you're talking about being up 3-1 and this game that you should've won; what was missing there?
I think we just got lackadaisical. We thought the game was over, but we still had twenty, twenty-five minutes left. But we can't do that; we have to stay focused. We have to be very conscious of the ball. It's a tough pill to swallow; a tough one to get over, but we have to learn from it. At the end of the day, last season, these games we lost, so at least we're getting a point. They're adding up.
As a defender, does it give you reassurance that the team is scoring more goals?
Everybody was saying, "where's the offense?" and now we're starting to score goals. I knew we would. But obviously, giving up four goals - for our defenders, we never want to see that. But that's what people have been telling me - Houston and Kansas City is always a good game - always a battle. Unlucky we didn't get a win, but it was a good game. The ref didn't make it any easier.
Dynamo defender Raul Rodriguez
What's the reaction to seeing those kind of passes being made at that point in the game?
From my point of view, today I made ten mistakes in the game, and every of us made ten mistakes. Soccer and every sport are about mistakes. It's about how you learn from it. It's not about Giles' mistakes. It's about learning. It's about what are we going to do in the next game.
[Regarding scoring his goal] It must've been a great moment for you.
Yes, it passed very fast. I was so happy in the moment because here, the people in Houston - the club the Houston Dynamo - gave me a great opportunity, and you're trying every game to pay them back. Today is probably best for learning from our mistakes.
How are you guys going to push forward moving on to a big game on Friday?
We have to learn from our mistakes. It's the same as usual. It's not a different game from any other - look at what you did wrong and try to do it better. Work together. Keep working.
Can you talk about the defense?
I think you have to be very concentrated in the first ten minutes and the last ten minutes. It's not about the defensive line - it's about all the team. Yes, we scored seven goals in three games, so maybe we're attacking better, but we [allow] a lot of goals, also, so we have to improve.
