Sporting Kansas City suffered their first defeat of the Desert Diamond Cup on Wednesday afternoon, falling 6-2 to the New England Revolution at Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Arizona. Jimmy Medranda and Graham Zusi each scored stunning long-distance strikes as Manager Peter Vermes continued to rotate his roster ahead of the 2017 MLS season. Here is what Vermes had to say to the media after the game.
On what went wrong defensively in the second half:
“The simplest way to say it is the first group gave away too many balls in dangerous situations that we should’ve kept the ball. It exposed us because we were wide open, you just can’t give those balls away. That’s what led to counter-attack, counter-attack and they’re still trying to get fit, the fact that they’re not and they played 75 minutes – they were struggling because they lost the ball so much, they were having to defend, defend, defend in moments that you normally wouldn’t have and you would actually have energy to go forward.”
On Jimmy Medranda getting minutes in the midfield:
“I think it’s a combination of things. Jimmy needs fitness in the middle of the field, it’s a place that he struggles from a fitness perspective and I’m trying to build up his engine to be able to give us time there and many other positions. I know what he can do on the outside, but I also think in the middle of the park he has the ability to give us something like the goal – something different, something special. But he’s only going to get that routine if he’s playing in that position.”
On Medranda’s versatility:
“He can play left back, left wing, right wing, he can play anywhere in the midfield, he can play at right back as well. He can play a lot of different positions for us.”
On Medranda’s qualities to play in central midfield:
“That’s where we started him. He’s very good on the ball, he’s got good vision on the field, he can actually do what he wants when he has the ball – he can actually play a long ball, he can do things in the game that that position requires. The final piece is I think he’s got a good nose for the goal just like he scored, he’s got good options there, he can really take advantage of stuff like that.”
On if Vermes intends to let most of the team play 90 minutes on Saturday:
“I’m going to do my best. Whether that’s going to happen or not, we’re going to do our best to try to get to that point.”
On if Vermes has decided on a starting group for the season:
“I don’t have a first or second group at the moment. Just playing guys and I’m getting a chance to see what everyone can do, that’s really where it sits. The first group will be the game against D.C. – that’ll be the first game that we play and we’ll probably have different lineups thereafter as you guys know.”
