Sporting KC Manager Peter Vermes
Thoughts on the match…
Throughout the whole entire game we were good, except for the last 10 or 15 minutes of the first half. We gave some chances away late in the first half. We just let our guard down and Tim [Melia] made a great save. Outside of that, I thought our courage to play was big time, our movement off the ball [was great] and everybody was an option. I think it showed up in many ways. It showed up in our build-up many times in the actions that led to goals. It showed up in the three goals we created because all three of them were pretty special.
On Gerso getting his first goal…
When he came here, he didn’t have much of a goal-scoring record and I think that had a lot to do with the way he played in the system that the played. The big thing about him that I said to him is he is going to be put in a lot of situations in front of the goal and you need to start finishing them off. You need to start thinking that you have the ability to be a goalscorer and tonight, the goal that he scored, was tremendous.
On Dom Dwyer scoring his first goal of 2017…
You use the word finally. I look at it like this. The players that are here on this team, they are here because we have confidence in all of them. And Dom [Dwyer] before today, he had 101 starts and he scored 52 goals for us. So his strike rate is fantastic. Sometimes, goalscorers go through some moments, but the thing that I love about him is he doesn’t shy away from the opportunity. There are some guys that when they get in that situation, they almost pull themselves out of opportunities because they are almost afraid to miss. The ball he hit to Seth [Sinovic] when he turned and hit it over the top - little situations like that - he was doing the little extra things to help the team as well.
On the state of the team after five games…
There is a lot of work to do. The thing that is satisfying - at least up until this point - is the belief that they have, the staff in the players and the players in themselves. The way we played tonight is just the beginning. We have a lot more in us. I didn’t pay for a ticket tonight, but this is the kind of game that I would pay to see because this is what you want to see as a fan. Obviously, goals are important, but just the way that we play and the idea. It’s not just if someone is playing well tonight, it’s more of a true idea of when we have the ball what are we going to do and when we don’t have the ball what we we going to do. I think the guys are pulling that off. We have a lot more to work on, don’t get me wrong, but it’s a pleasure to see that coming out.
Sporting KC forward Dom Dwyer
On the team’s patience in the final third…
We definitely finished our chances better. I think we just played well. We knew the goals were coming and they did tonight.
On getting his first goal of the season…
I had a feeling coming into tonight that I would get one. I needed one. The guys encouraged me and believed in me. Coach stuck with me. You guys kinda stuck with me. It’s just nice to get a goal and more important to get three points.
On the goal…
I know I just missed one a couple minutes earlier. Tim made a good save. The ball came down the left, Seth played a great ball in. I tried to get myself in the box. I knew if I hit it first time across the keeper, he was probably going to be coming across and he was. It just stuck him the wrong way.
Sporting KC defender Seth Sinovic…
On the goal..
I don’t score too many goals, but every time I’ve scored a goal it’s just an adrenaline rush. It’s a lot of fun and feels great. I think we had the build-up down the right side and Gerso got to the end line. We really stressed getting numbers in the box when we are going to serve balls in. I had the opportunity to sneak to the back post and luckily it fell to me. I hit it well and it went in.
On the team building momentum after each goal…
For the most part, we feel like we’ve played well this year and feel like we have created a lot of chances. For whatever reason, it hasn’t really gone our way. We knew it was only a matter of time and maybe it just took that one to get some momentum going. It’s always great when our striker Dom [Dwyer] gets a goal because that’s a good confidence boost for him and hopefully that will be a lot of our goals going forward.
Colorado Rapids head coach Pablo Mastroeni
Thoughts on the match…
Obviously, not having played in 25 days, we didn’t have that game fitness. We knew it was going to be a tough match. Having said that, the game of football is about scoring goals and goals change games. I think we had quite a few good opportunities, probably better opportunities than KC in the first half to score. We didn’t do it and the game changed. After that, we were chasing the game and were a bit disjointed. I think overall the effort was fantastic and the way we approached the game was good. At the end of the day, we weren’t sharp enough but that’s understandable given that we didn’t play in 30 days.
On moving on from tonight’s loss…
It’s a quick turnaround to Saturday in Salt Lake. We just have to tidy up some things. A lot of our issues came when we had the ball and had possession of it. It’s just getting better with the ball, being brighter and more dynamic. The fact that we haven’t played in three or four weeks affects your game sharpness. The movement off the ball wasn’t the best. We had a hard time connecting simple passes. The first half in particular, we controlled the flow of the game, controlled the rhythm of the game and again, you can’t get match fitness unless you are playing matches. The fact that we had that Dallas game taken away from us put us in a bind. This result is a by-product of that, just not having enough games but I think the effort to the end, but more importantly to be able to finish the game and to score the last goal of the game says a lot about the commitment of the guys.
On the performance of Kortne Ford...
I think it was a tough match for the whole backline. I think Kortne did all right, but you are judged on moments and on goals against. But I think his effort and his commitment was very good and it’s a performance to build on.
Colorado Rapids defender Kortne Ford
On how he would rate his performance tonight…
All it comes down to is the result and we didn’t get it. It’s a great opportunity and I’m glad I got my debut tonight. It’s nice playing in front of some family, but other than that it’s about the result and we didn’t get it tonight.
On playing at the MLS level…
The focus has got to be higher. You’re playing in front of tons of fans. It’s loud, you can’t even talk to your teammates, so it’s a difficult environment to play in, but leading up it’s a different amount of preparation that comes with it.
On RSL coming up Saturday…
We’re going to get after it tomorrow with a regen. Then we’ll train hard, look at film and try and get a result there.
On settling down after that first Sporting KC goal…
Any time we get a stop in play, we bring the guys in and talk. So organizationally, we tried to fix some things, but we also knew we had to get one back, so we had to keep pressing. We were unfortunate not to get one at the end of the first half, but sometimes that’s how it goes.
On the second half…
I think they were getting in good spots in the wide areas. We were trying to push guys forward to try to get one back, so that’s expected.
Colorado Rapids forward Marlon Hairston
On the bright spots for Colorado...
A result like this makes it hard to reflex on the good things out of it, but we tried to come here and play an attacking style. We had a few chances in the first half. We weren’t good enough in front of goal. They get some big opportunities in. When it was 1-0, we had a chance to tie it, and as the game hit 2-nil and then 3, it was tough to come back from. I guess the bright spot was to grab a goal late in the game and show we’re not a team that gives up.
On changes to starting XI tonight…
It’s going to take time. We have a solid group. We still believe in every single person in the locker room today. Kortne Ford had a big game today in his debut. I thought he did well. But, it’s going to take some time, like you said, three weeks off without a game. To come out to a tough environment like this, against a great team, it was hard to get our rhythm going. But now we head back to Colorado and next week is a big game for us. We want to get a win and the Rocky Mountain Cup is big for us.
On the knock he took earlier in the week…
Yeah, I’m fine. My feelings hurt more than a knock, but we’ll get over it and get back to Colorado and get back to work.
On grabbing the momentum towards end of first half…
I think from the beginning of the game, we tried to press them. We wanted them to make mistakes higher up the field for us, so we could try to counter and get goals. I think we did a good job pressing, but unfortunately, they scored the first goal and playing from behind isn’t easy on the road. But we didn’t put our heads down. We continued to try to press and on the day they were the really good side. A couple of their goals came from us over pressing and us being late to tackles and playing around. They were a really good team today.
On halftime talk…
We didn’t want to change much. We thought that we ended the first half on a positive note. We had created some chances off the press, so we wanted to do that again in the second half and try to create more chances from our defensive pressure and when we got the ball, to try and knock the ball around and get chances in behind. I think a few of our chances came from getting in behind them and I know we had a great cross to [Dominique] Badji and the keeper made a heck of a save. So, we had a few chances but at the end of the day, it wasn’t good enough as a team.
