Sporting KC Manager Peter Vermes
On style of play in second half…
“I think the fact that it was 1-0 and they didn’t play at all in the first half, we knew they were going to step up in the second half because they were down 1-0. We had the ball, we had the majority (of possession) of the ball. They had a couple sequences where they were knocking the ball around a little bit, but we were just kind of getting our shape back in a couple of those situations. But then we won (possession) and we were back at them again. So there wasn’t really anything in that regard, it’s just a shame. We played a very good game against a team that didn’t really come in to play at all. Obviously their formation told that story pretty quickly, playing a five in the back, two in the midfield and three up front and trying to just counter. A lot of times they were 5-4-1. As they say, it’s not easy for anybody to break down those types of things. We were up 1-0, we had the game in control, they were still content with sitting back the majority of the game.”
On the frustrations of the game…
“The goal we gave up. It’s unfortunate, it’s something we obviously didn’t want to do, but that wasn’t a goal that they made by any means, that was a goal that we gave up on our part. They don’t deserve the points. They just don’t. They don’t deserve the point, that’s the frustration. We played more than well enough to win, and giving up the two points that way is hard to swallow.”
On mentality after giving up equalizer…
“The most important play in this game is always the next one, so for me to look back, it’s wasted energy on my part. Last time I remember something like that happening was in 2010 when Colin played a ball back in Colorado against Colorado. It’s a shame, I know he didn’t mean to do it, we’ll just move on from there. It’s just a mistake. It happens. That’s not something that any player wants to do. It’s just an unfortunate situation.”
On upcoming game against Minnesota…
“When you’re at this level and you understand how you play, which again, we played more than well enough to win and come away with three points, and a mistake like that happens, there’s not that much really to bounce back from. We’ll just move on. You just get on with the next game and guys will be fine. Guys will be ready for the next game.”
On status of national team players for upcoming game…
“We’ll wait to see what happens after tomorrow and we’ll go from there.”
On playing on the man advantage in second half…
“We could’ve scored right at the last second. It was a great ball in by Roger, we had two players there, I haven’t seen the replay but it sure as hell looked close to me from where I was standing. Until the last minute or the last second, we were trying to get ahead. Unfortunately we didn’t.”
On response to Montreal’s formation change…
"We knew actually before we went out to the field that they were going to play a 5-4-1 or a 5-2-3, however you want to say it. But when they were defending, they were 5-4-1. We knew they were going to do it. We knew they were going to try and string the ball as fast as they could to Piatti, and when they had to make the change because actually their lineup was different, a player got hurt in warmups, and they brought Oduro on, it was going to be trying to play the ball to those two and trying to get behind us. But for the most part they really didn’t. They scored, but they were offsides, so it doesn’t really do anything. They scored a goal because of a mistake on us, not because of a great play by them. It was heads up, the guy was paying attention, that was good. But it’s not like they did anything that hurt us, or something that our guys couldn’t figure out. Our guys had possession, we were moving the ball well, we created chances. I think we were very creative in the later third. We created movement, we had shots on goal and their goalkeeper made a few good saves. I don’t know what else to say other than the fact that we made a mistake late. Sometimes you win games 1-0, tonight we made a mistake which we’re not accustomed to doing, and they tied the game."
On physicality of game…
"There were a couple of fouls that occurred, but I thought the referees did a good job tonight."
On Gerso’s goal…
"It was great. We don’t get a lot of those chances, we don’t score those all of the time, but to put that ball in the back of the net was good. It changed everything because they didn’t know what to do. They didn’t have a plan B at that moment. So at halftime they made a change and obviously started stepping up the field."
Sporting KC Midfielder Benny Feilhaber
On how the quick turnaround helps the team re-focus…
"It’s obviously a result where we dropped points here. Regardless of if we had a game on Wednesday or not, I think you are forced to just focus on whatever is next. It’s just a frustrating result."
On Montreal's goal is frustrating with the team's emphasis on keeping the ball...
"Sometimes it happens. I think we’ve been very good this year in that aspect. It was an unlucky action. It’s a mistake but it’s something with the way we play, the way we want to try and build out of the back, there is always the risk of that happening and it happened tonight."
Thoughts on the second half...
"It felt like they had a lot of the ball, but I looked at the stats and we had more possession than them the entire game except for one five-minute period. What I remember in the second half was a lot of nothing. I felt like there was no real chances at goal for either team. I didn’t feel like we had too many chances until they scored. I didn’t feel like they had any chances against us in the second half. As ugly and as boring as the might be when we are winning 1-0, that should be OK."
On Montreal playing defensive tonight...
"There are some teams that are always going to do that and I think Montreal is one of them because they are so good on the counterattack. They are going to put a lot of guys behind the ball and try to counter with [Ignacio] Piatti and [Dominic] Oduro. They were reasonably successful in the first half. They had some breaks, no clean cut shots. They had some bad shots that just dribbled in at Tim [Melia]. But for the most part, I thought their game plan worked pretty well in the first half. We got our chance off a long ball from Ilie that they went to sleep on. Gerso and Ilie did a fantastic job to combine and Gerso with the finish, but the first half was a lot of what we expected in terms of how they were going to play."
Montreal Impact head coach Mauro Biello
Thoughts on the match…
"I thought we had a solid game. I think in the first half we were a little too low and gave them a majority of possession. We got caught on their goal over the top, but I think we adjusted well and were able to push our wingback a little higher and our forwards a little higher and we were able to recover a lot of balls in the second half to manage the game in the right way. In the end, we didn’t give them much in the second half and we were able to score that goal."
On the team controlling parts of the second half…
"Everybody thinks we are a counterattacking team, but we have been showing in the last six or seven games that we are a team that can also maintain possession. It’ about understanding those moments in games, when to keep the ball and when to recognize when to go forward quickly."
On the team’s recent run of form…
"If I had to analyze everything, we were in every game. Every game we have given ourselves a chance to win. I think in the first half, we fell on the other side and now we are starting to build momentum and confidence. We had two good wins in Montreal and now we were bale to get a good point on the road against a very good team. We have to continue to build on that performance."
On Montreal’s goal…
"It’s obviously a great finish. [Matteo Mancosu] is someone we haven’t had for the last seven or eight weeks. To come back from injury and be able to score a good goal was good for us and for him."
On getting the result despite missing so many players…
"We knew it was going to be a difficult game. They are a good team, the top team in the West. We felt if we defended well and frustrated them, we would be able to grow in the game. In the end, we were able to unbalance them and score."
Montreal Impact defender Chris Duvall.
Thoughts on the red card…
"I think I should watch it back. In my personal opinion I was surprised to get a red card. I’m sure just like any red card, there are different opinions and the ref just made the decision based on what he saw."
On getting players back from injury with so many players away with their national teams…
"I’m not sure, I think Matteo [Mancosu] scored on his first touch on the field. Michael [Salazar] gave us so much energy and quality that we needed because in a game like that, in the heat, away from home, we were all a little bit struggling with energy. And late in the game to have those guys come on and make such a big impact was amazing."
