Sporting KC Manager Peter Vermes
On the result of today’s match...
"I think we had more of the better chances to be honest. I think we should have been up 2-1 at halftime. [Ola] Kamara had the one where he kind of whiffed on it, then we had the one where we stole it from the keeper. We kind of went in and flubbed it too. We both had chances, I just think playing away from home, we deserved it a little bit more. The good thing is both teams wanted to play."
On his team’s takeaways from the match...
"If you think of it a two game series to go away from home in the first game and you get a point, now you go home, that’s a good thing. I think at this point in the season, that’s what you’re trying to gear up for, getting to that place where hopefully you can get into home and away and get into a little rhythm."
On Tim Melia’s performance...
"He was very good. Both keepers kept both teams in the game. Tim [Melia] is very good, he’s played very well over the last couple years here for us. As he gets a little older, he gets better and better and the amazing thing is this is really his third season in full MLS action. Hopefully he’s got some more good ones in him."
Sporting KC Defender Seth Sinovic
On Tim Melia being in goal for his team...
"I felt like the team played really well today, kind of limited chances but Tim [Melia] has been great this year making those one or two big stops in a game."
On his confidence knowing that he has Tim Melia is behind him...
"Like I said he’s had huge games this year. The way we play we like to open up and possess the ball and if we’re not good in possession we expose ourselves. So the few times a game that we give up opportunities I feel like he comes up big and he’s been huge for us. The way he can play out of the back is huge for us too because it allows us to play the way we do."
On the result of today’s match...
"Yeah I think we felt like we were the better team this year. We had a little let down on that corner, kind of mismanaged the game towards the end of the half but other than that I thought we were controlling the game, controlling possession, had good opportunities. We just weren’t fortunate enough to put one away, and like I said limited opportunities and I think Tim [Melia] came up with a big save there. But I felt like we were the better team today."
Sporting KC Goalkeeper Tim Melia
On his performance in today’s match...
"For the goal which was the most important thing, I think we played a pretty solid game. We let our guard down, there were a couple quick corner kicks which they capitalized on. I thought last game to this game we had a good response, doing the things we’re good at."
On his saves today...
"Positioning is everything, but again our team is so balanced and organized. Even when guys are getting in they have pressure on them, they know someone is tracking them down. They’re rushed in what they’re doing, because of that it makes my job easier."
On his team’s performance...
"I thought we played well, but we dropped our guard and gave up that goal. We could have won the game 1-0 and gave up that opportunity."
On his chances at the U.S. Men’s National Team...
"It’s not a reality at the moment and my focus is doing my best for Sporting Kansas City."
Columbus Crew SC Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter
On the difference between the first and second halves of today’s match...
"What I would say is that the rust that you guys have been warning us about was certainly evident. You can tell that we hadn’t played in a couple of weeks, you can tell that we were a little bit leggy today. I thought the first half was a good half, a lot of give and take in terms of us attacking and them attacking us and in the second half we lost movement, we gave balls away to easily. When you look at 71 percent passing accuracy in the second half, it wasn’t good enough."
On his feelings about earning a draw today...
"We’re going to have to take it in stages. What I would say is that, I said it to the group as well, a performance like this early in the season and we would have lost this game. I think it is valuable to get a point, to show that we’ve made progress. I think our defending in the penalty box was excellent today. You see guys blocking shots, good positioning in the box, so all of that was excellent. What we missed in the second half was our game, moving the ball around and putting them in uncomfortable positions. One cross in the second half. It’s not good enough."
On how much his team has worked on set pieces...
"Of course we were working on set pieces. We identified a spot that we thought they [Sporting Kansas City] would be vulnerable in and it was a great ball in by Pedro [Santos]. It comes down to the guys executing, guys making good runs and good service and we had that on that play for sure."
On his team’s first two substitutions of today’s match...
"Ola [Kamara] these past two weeks has basically trained in full one day. So we knew that he was going to struggle, he was a guy that we identified before the game that might have some difficulties. I think it was difficult for Adam [Jahn] in the game and I’ll say the same for Cristian [Martinez]. You want substitutes to come in and make an immediate impact. I think they both struggled in this game to make that impact that we were looking for."
On what Jonathan Mensah could do differently on the goal that his team allowed
"I think that [Jonathan Mensah] has done a good job lately of playing mistake free soccer and I think that today was an example that he could have handled the situation a little better, you can head it clear, you can shield the player, there’s a number of things that you can do. What I would say is that he rebounded really well from that mistake. I thought that he had a really solid game, making some big tackles in this game."
On Jonathan Mensah’s early yellow card...
"I think it was too quick to give a yellow [card] in that game, to be honest. I think especially the second [foul], in my eyes it wasn’t a yellow card. What I would say is that the referee now set the tone for the game by giving that early yellow and then he had to follow up with [Roger] Espinoza, which again I’m not sure the foul merited a yellow. Overall I think that [Jonathan Mensah] did well to control that, stay in check and not expose himself to a potential red card."
On Kekuta Manneh and if he could have subbed in for Justin Meram...
"Yes. We did. I think it was more of a question of as Kekuta [Manneh] is getting ready to come into the game, we’re looking at what [Sporting Kansas City] is doing, looking at our right back Hector [Jimenez] who was fatiguing and we thought we needed a defensive reinforcement at that time. Kekuta was certainly a candidate to come in."
On his team’s next match against Vancouver Whitecaps FC...
"They are in good form. I watched them last night, dynamic team. I think they got out and running on the counter, they scored some decent goals and it’s going to be a tough challenge. I know that we are going to get there a little early, we’ll get to see their game on Wednesday live, which will be nice to live scout a game and we’ll prepare to have a good performance."
On if his team shook off the rust today...
"It’s not going to oxidize. We’re going to clean off that rust, we’ve got some good wire brushes to get that rust off and we’ll be fine."
On how having a potent set piece attack effects his offense...
"It definitely sparks us. When you look at, now, the commitment of the runners, it’s changed because they know that a good ball is coming, I’m doing everything that I can to get in free space because the ball can get hit accurately and hard. It’s a difficult ball to defend. I thought it was an excellent goal."
Columbus Crew SC Forward Ola Kamara
On drawing at home...
"I mean one point is okay—I think we went into this thinking three points were done and we wanted to tackle the game but they were strong and in the end I think one point was okay."
On his goal...
"I think I was still mad at the penalty situation—I think one guy had me, I bumped him a little bit and then I just decided."
On what Pedro Santos adds to the team...
"I think he keeps us very active. Pedro [Santos] and Federico [Higuain] hit it differently too, so I think teams have to prepare for different types of set pieces. So, I think that’s good."
On coming back from a deficit...
"Of course, I think not losing is always important too. To get a draw, get a point out of it, if that’s always a minimum, you know, that’s a good thing. Then, we can go home and maybe be disappointed that maybe we were not on our top game. One point minimum is a very good thing."
Columbus Crew SC Midfielder Pedro Santos
On his assist on Ola Kamara’s goal...
"We train on set pieces and I tried to put in a good ball and everybody knows where they need to appear. I feel great to the goal and am very happy to have one more assist."
On his team’s difficulty in generating chances in the second half...
"I think we lost very easy balls. I think this was most difficult for us because we need to keep calm with the ball. In the first half we did well, but the second half was more difficult. I think we did a great job and had a great game."
On his team getting seven points in the last three games...
"It's better if we got nine points, but we need points, we need to win. We wanted to win this game but it was not possible. I think one point of is good for us."
On his team’s set pieces...
"It's important in the game because if we do well in set pieces, we can score many goals. We train every week. I think it’s important for us, corner goals or set pieces, because when we have difficult games, we can score goals from set pieces."
On his set piece chemistry with teammates...
"We need to know where I can put the ball. I think everyone knows where the ball goes because we scored a goal."
On his team’s next match against Vancouver Whitecaps FC...
"I think it's going be a difficult game because Vancouver is a good team, but we are training next week and we are training for winning the game and I think it's possible that we win the next game."
Columbus Crew SC Midfielder Wil Trapp
On his thoughts of today’s match...
"If you ask us before, seven points would be pretty good but I think asking after this game we’re a little disappointed in the result. Not because of the score but more the performance, especially in the second half. I thought we lost a little bit of the grasp of the game and we kind of still right there in there but this would have been a nice one with a couple of chances we had in the first half, as well as the second half to hop up the board and get a little bit closer or a little bit above."
On his thoughts about his team’s performance...
"I don’t know, I think you had a couple guys that traveled back. Jonathan [Mensah] and Justin [Meram] maybe got a little bit of fatigue because of the amount of traveling they did and playing nationally. But for the guys that were here—I don’t think it was rust, I think we just lost grip of the game."
On what it felt like to score right before halftime...
"Well I mean it was a relief, because I think the goalie can see what was poor but credit to Pedro [Santos] with the ball and Ola [Kamara] with the finish for making up for that and going in. We were definitely more confident in the second half."
