Sporting Kansas City Manager Peter Vermes
On Sporting’s 4-2 loss to the LA Galaxy…
I look at it in a couple of different ways. When I look at their goals, on the first one Tim (Melia) makes two great saves and the player gets another chance and he finishes it. Our reaction there was very poor. We find our way back into the game and we’re 2-1 down, and the momentum of the game has shifted for sure. We have a great fast break and we’re going, and we lose a terrible ball again on the counter. Our team is pushing but you just can’t lose that ball. It’s not like it was a tough ball. It was a great pass, but we’re trying to be cheeky, we play behind the leg and we lose the ball. And all of the sudden, the team has stepped up, they go over the top and they get a third goal. We get ourselves back in and score another one, and then on their fourth goal—I think defensively we don’t get stuck in. Maybe some guys are tired at that time. With the chances that we had, not to score more goals is disappointing. The goals we gave up and the chances we had to score more were disappointing.
On what sparked Sporting’s improvement in the second half…
I think the change was Jake (Davis). Jake brought a lot of energy and he was great in the midfield with his pressing. He was injecting life into the team and all of a sudden we started stepping up higher and higher on the field because there was a sense of urgency. I think it put them under a lot of pressure and when the score was 2-1, the momentum was in our favor. Giving up that third goal—I don’t blame the back line for that third goal. We can’t lose the ball the way we did.
On Sporting’s increased sense of urgency in the second half…
You can say some of that is urgency, meaning we’re now pushing forward and we’re more aggressive. Like I said, Jake was a big part of that because Jake was the one pushing the team. He was pressuring their guys on the backline and wasn’t giving them any time, and all of a sudden, we’re picking up balls at midfield as opposed to the top of our box. His energy was really welcomed. He did a really good job when he came in.
Sporting Kansas City defender Robert Castellanos
Thoughts on the match...
It was a tough game. We had a couple of chances that we didn't kind of capitalize on, and they did. They made some plays and they finished. It was tough tonight. I felt like we had a chance to get a point out here and it fell down on us.
On his set piece goal...
It's kind of a routine we do in training. I spin off to the (back) post, similar to the goal I scored last year—just spinning off to the back and closing out the pass that (Johnny Russell) gives out.
On the game-winning goal...
Yes, 100%. I feel like the team was in a good spot. After we scored that goal to make it 2-1, we had the momentum. There were some plays that we just have to be better on in securing the ball. That third goal pushed us a little bit deeper into the hole, and we had less minutes to tie it up. So that third goal really kind of hurt us in those minutes.
On the opening goal...
I think on their first goal, we could have just broken up the play faster. They kind of ran through the middle. Some of us were caught just staring at the ball. I think we just have to make those plays at the end. That's what's going to get us these wins. We did very well early on before that goal. We cut out some of their plays, and I just felt like that play, we were a little bit too slow on reaction time. We have to close on those plays.
On scoring in his hometown...
It's something special, especially for a defender—being able to put one in for the team and just support the team, especially when your family's here. Overall, the objective here is getting the point. It doesn't feel so good because we weren't able to get the win, and that’s my main focus right now.
On the play of Jake Davis...
Jake has a lot of energy. He recovers a lot of balls. You know, he's a versatile player. I just think anywhere he goes on the pitch, he has value. That's always a player we always need on the pitch.
