Sporting Kansas City
Manager Peter Vermes
On tonight’s result...
I think the first half for both teams was kind of back and forth. There wasn’t too much purpose to the game. If we look at the first goal, we made two big mistakes on the clearance and tackles that should have been easily routine. And then Piatti finishes off a great chance. It’s a lay-up for him to hit that ball. Second one as well. We easily had it under control and then we don’t clear correctly again. They score their second. They felt good.
I would say the one thing for them that they did really well was they were organized defensively, and we didn’t move the ball quick enough to disorganize their defense. To me that was probably the biggest thing especially in the second half.
On not finishing in the final third...
I think it’s just about movement on the ball. If you don’t run – if you don’t move the ball quickly – I mean I could go out and play today and move with the lines and close all the gaps at my age. But if you move the ball quickly, I could never get there. And that’s the whole thing. We just didn’t move the ball quickly enough tonight.
On the officiating of the game...
I do think that the referee could have called a penalty on the first play with Sallói in the box. I mean the guy pushes him down and takes the ball and he’s right in front of him. And it’s inside the box. The fact that he doesn’t do
anything, that doesn’t matter. I mean that wasn’t the outcome of the game. The outcome of the game is that I think tonight they were better than us.
On whether it’s less motivating to play a team in opposite conference...
I don’t see it that way. The way I see it, every game you play in this league, you have the opportunity to win points. It’s one thing to play cross-conference. But I look at these as bonus points and it would be great to steal them. The fact we didn’t get anything from this doesn’t help but these games come back at you really quickly. We play Wednesday in Salt Lake so we have another chance to redeem ourselves.
Goalkeeper Tim Melia
On the result...
It’s disappointing obviously. Coming here, starting the way we did, getting through the first half zero-zero and then kind of letting it get away and losing some points on the road is disappointing. This is a game that is going to frustrate us a lot. We didn’t play up to our standard. I think we let it slip in the second half.
On Piatti’s goal...
Yeah, I got my whole hand on it. I have to be able to keep that out of the goal. It was a bit of a broken play. I was kind of scrambling back into the goal. But if I get my hand on a ball, I have to keep it out.
On the next game...
We have a big game in-conference on Wednesday. We have to forget about this game tonight, step back, take a look at it tomorrow, see places where we can improve and get ready for a really important match. Playing in-conference games, everyone is trying to take points away from one another. Home or away shouldn’t make a difference. We have to go in there and look to get maximum points.
Midfielder Roger Espinoza
On tonight’s result...
I think it was a pretty close game in the beginning. I thought that little mistake we had cost us the game. But it was a great shot. You can’t take anything away from Piatti’s shot.
On what was missing from tonight’s performance...
I think it was the flow of the game. We could have played faster. Obviously, it was difficult. They created some blocks and it was difficult to get through. I thought we could’ve done better at keeping the ball. We didn’t create any opportunities but props to them for that.
Montreal Impact
Head coach Rémi Garde
On the performance of Alejandro Silva...
Alejandro played excellent today. He worked hard tonight, and we saw that he’s capable of elevating his level of play compared to what we saw since the beginning of the season. I’m happy for him tonight, because he’s someone who spares no effort at training, and tonight he was rewarded.
On the team’s improved play...
It’s a big first step, but I think we could’ve reached this level of play even earlier. A lot of work was put in once again on behalf of the players tonight. I won’t hide the fact that there was a lot of happiness in the locker room after this one.
On winning games at home...
I think it’s very important to win games at home, especially in this league, as it’s difficult to get wins on the road. The fact that we started the season with seven games on the road and just three at home made the beginning of the league very difficult for us, especially because my staff and I, and a large part of our players, were unfamiliar with the league. We had to adapt quickly to settle in and it was tough, but I think the group gave the right answer and we started to be rewarded.
Goalkeeper Evan Bush
On keeping the lead...
I think the last couple of games we’ve been very good with the lead. We haven’t felt pressured or rushed on the ball, and we’ve kept possession well in moments that we needed to. Getting the second goal was very important, especially against a team like Kansas, who was down last week and came back to win it. We really finished the game out the right way.
On the improvements defensively...
As a team, we’ve really committed to the defensive side. In the past, when we said that, sometimes that meant we sat deep and just looked to counter. It’s not the case this time. We’re pressing in the areas that we need to press, and our wide midfielders are doing a good job of staying tucked in.
Midfielder Ignacio Piatti
On beating the best team in the West...
It’s a very good win for us and our confidence, and for the work we put in during the week. Kansas is a very good team, but we didn’t give them any space. The first goal was very important to open the game up a little, and we’re very happy with this win.
On letting Silva take the penalty...
Alejandro asked if he can take it, and I told him it was no problem. He scored, so obviously we’re happy. He used to take a lot of penalties in Argentina, and he was always very good, so I knew that he would take a nice shot.
