Sporting Kansas City manager Peter Vermes
On Sporting KC’s second-half performance in a 3-1 win…
I thought in the second half we were really good. I thought we moved the ball really well. I thought we played really well with a man advantage. It’s sometimes difficult when they are sitting back with so many men behind the ball and they play that one release ball that can put you under pressure. I thought we did a good job with that. I thought we were patient in the build up was good. It was a great pass that [Matt] Besler played to Benny [Felhaber], and it was a great shot by Benny. That immediately hurt them emotionally, psychologically, and it also gave us a big shot of enthusiasm. From then on we were all over them.
On Dom Dwyer’s goal after missing a penalty…
I had no doubt that he was going to score because I just know his determination. It was almost as if it wound him up. There is no doubt in my mind he was going to score.
On his decision to play a strong lineup…
I obviously made a couple changes on guys. As I said before, there are a lot of ways you can manage multiple games in a short period of time. I really think for us the best way to do it is to put our best group out there and then decide after the game who is ready for the next one. We will take inventory of the guys tomorrow and Thursday and then we will make a decision on Friday about who is going to play. Obviously, this is a bear of a seven-day stretch and we expended a tremendous amount of energy on Saturday. The great thing is we didn’t go 120 minutes today. From that point of view I’m happy. Winning this game and going to the semifinal is good for us, but now the most important game is Friday. Obviously, it is going to be tough for us because we expended a lot of energy, but I have a lot of confidence in our guys and their mental toughness and fitness.
On Krisztian Nemeth’s ability in the attacking third…
I mean, he’s Hungarian. Hungarians are the Brazilians of Europe. I have said that here before. Seriously, he’s a smart soccer player, and what I like about him is when he is in the final third he has an excellent awareness of when to take the final shot and when to play the final pass. He’s a team guy. He’s an unselfish guy in that regard and I appreciate that about him. I think that is why he and Dom connect so well. He has embraced coming in from the left, and that has really helped Dom. Their partnership is very good. He just has a great soccer I.Q. when it comes to the final third.
On Chance Myers’ performance…
Chance is an important player for our team. The biggest thing he does is bring a tremendous amount of experience to our team because he has won. When he is out on the field he gets it. He doesn’t dive in. He knows when he has to slow the game down or speed it up. It’s great because up until now, Besler has been the only veteran back there including the four defenders and Tim. Adding Chance back there is a big help and his experience is good for us. It’s another big step for him. There is still a lot of soccer left in him. It’s great to see he’s come back, but we have to be smart with how we manage his minutes on the field.
On the training intensity of Tim Melia…
He fits in because there is a large group of guys on this team that come into training everyday like it’s their last system. Tim fits in with them very well. It’s a good team and it’s a humble team. There is a lot of competition within the team. When you have three guys that can go on the field as first round draft picks you have to be ready. You can’t leave the door open for anybody, and Tim is embracing that as well. It’s a good culture to have within the group.
On the maturation of rookie Amadou Dia…
I don’t think he has ever played like a rookie. I think Matt will attest to this, from the first day that he came in during preseason, he just took over. It was very obvious that he could play. He is also a quiet kid, so that helped him some with the older guys. He is an excellent kid, he wants to learn, and he realizes when he makes a mistake. On that last corner kick they had, it was his man that got up and won the header. He told me that will never happen again. Unfortunately it will, but hopefully it won’t happen again for a long time, but at least he understands his mistake. He, and Saad, [Abdul-Salaam] and even [Connor] Hallisey at times are playing very well. They are playing like they have been with the team for a long time.
Sporting Kansas City defender Matt Besler
On if the Open Cup result between New York and Philadelphia impacted Sporting KC’s performance…
I was aware of the result, but it didn’t cross my mind when we were playing. When we were out on the field we were focused on ourselves. I actually think we did a good job of playing with a man advantage. Sometimes that can be hard; sometimes you get stagnant. I feel like we did a good job of moving the ball, playing simple and being patient.
On how the scuffle in the middle of the second half impacted the game…
I don’t think that particular instance gave us anything extra. I think the crowd got involved a little more at that point, which definitely helped us. But we were determined coming out of halftime. We didn’t play the way we wanted to in the first half and we came out with a different attitude. Then we gave up a goal that we shouldn’t have given up and I think that’s kind of what turned it, because at that point, there’s nothing to lose. We have to go after it.
On Melia’s rise in stature both within the team and with the supporters…
MB: He’s done an excellent job and he’s made that position his. He’s embraced that No. 1 role. It’s amazing that he’s never been a No. 1 keeper before, because he doesn’t act like it. He acts like he’s a six-year veteran. He’s a guy that gives you confidence behind you, and that’s exactly what you want out of your goalkeeper.
On if the scoring form of the team takes any pressure off the defense…
It’s great, but I don’t think it takes that much pressure off of us. We come into every game with the goal of not giving away a goal. We’re confident now that if we can do that, we’re going to win most games. I think a very positive sign that we’re seeing is that late in games, when we have maybe a one-goal lead or a two-goal lead, we put the game away. That’s really where you can kill teams and kill the game off. I think those are the instances where it takes a lot of pressure off your defense. In the last five minutes of the game, if you can get that insurance goal, then the game is won.
On how home form impacts their performances…
It’s a big factor. We made it a goal of ours, coming into this year, to be better at home, and we’ve taken that very seriously. So we’ve got to keep it going. I think we have the confidence to play at home and we understand the advantage of playing at home and what that gives us.
Sporting Kansas City forward Dom Dwyer
On turning a 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 U.S. Open Cup win…
We have a solid team and we’re going to keep fighting to the end. I think we showed that, and all we had to do was break them down and get one. Once we did, it opened up and we managed to finish the game off in style. We’re very, very pleased with that.
On getting the insurance goal from Krisztian Nemeth to make it 3-1…
It was awesome. We had a chance to go to the corner. I saw Roger (Espinoza) going toward the corner and decided to run back to the middle and see if we could get another one. He ran into the middle, killed the game off and it was job done.
On nine home victories in a row across all competitions, setting a new club record…
It’s awesome. We just want to keep winning, home and away. We’re doing good at home at the moment, so if we start winning some away games too we’ll be tough as well.
On scoring a goal after having a penalty saved…
It was massive. I was starving for it, and I wasn’t going stop until the whistle went. I was determined to score one. I didn’t want to be the reason we got out of this competition, so I was very hungry for it. I think we did a fantastic job from front to back today to grind out the result.
On continuing Dwyer’s recent form…
I’m not really thinking about numbers right now — I just want to win championships. I’ll keep scoring goals — as many as I can — but the most important thing to me is winning games. We have a good team, we have a deep team, and I’m just focused on winning championships.
Houston Dynamo manager Owen Coyle
On Houston’s 3-1 loss to Sporting KC…
We always knew it was going to be a very tough game against a quality side. I certainly believe, at the moment, it’s probably the team in MLS. We’ve certainly seen that with the strength of the team that Peter [Vermes] put out—a first-choice pick, pardon Zusi missing obviously with Gold Cup. I wish I had the option of only missing one player as well, but I didn’t. Having said that, I think we were outstanding tonight.
There was no doubt that the sending-off changed the game. Was it a sending-off? I believe it was. There’s no argument with me on the red card. Certainly he’s let himself down, and also his teammates because they then continued to work their socks off, which they did against good opposition. They’ve got wonderful players. We knew we were always going to threaten them on set plays—we did so to get a goal to get in front. The penalty I thought was very soft. Having said that, big Joe [Willis] makes a great save. Feilhaber had their first goal—such a wonderful player, such a good ball into the bottom corner. But we also knew he would be a threat to start a counter or a set play.
Then ultimately the great finish from Dwyer [made] it 2-1. Overall, we’re disappointed with the result, not the performance. I thought our lads were outstanding tonight from start to finish. I thought they showed, certainly at 11 and at 10 men, that we had a good side. And that’s with already missing Jermaine Taylor, Giles Barnes, DaMarcus Beasley, Boniek Garcia, Rob Lovejoy and a few others. So, I think we can take a lot from that performance.
Obviously we’re disappointed because like Sporting Kansas City, we wanted to move on and try and win the Open Cup. It’s a fantastic tournament, and I think you’ve seen that tonight. I think Kansas should be applauded for the fans coming out and the energy they bring to the competition, and we’re the same: we wanted to go as far as we possibly could. Se feel a little bit grieved in the respect that we put a lot into the game. I was delighted in the performance. That will help us going forward, and obviously we look forward to going against the Galaxy on Saturday. The players need to make sure they recover properly because they’ve put a lot in tonight and we wish Kansas City the best of luck in the semifinals.
Houston Dynamo midfielder Brad Davis
On Houston’s 3-1 loss to Sporting KC…
It was extremely hard playing against a good team. We were unbelievably disciplined and played well the first 30 minutes. I think we were actually the better team to be totally honest with you—coming on the road and putting them under some good pressure. Obviously with the red card we lose some discipline there, and it definitely hurt the team. When you go down a guy, that’s going to be difficult to fight through. We had it at 1-0 and we worked extremely hard, but at the end of the day Kansas City kept pushing forward and got the goals.
On the rivalry between Sporting KC and Houston…
It’s always been a good matchup every time we’ve played each other. We’ve had some great games in the past and both sides have been successful at certain points, and both sides have had some heartbreak as well. I think we match up really well. For 10 years we had Dominic Kinnear going against Peter [Vermes]. They’re cut from the same cloth—kind of the same style—so with their coaching abilities, we always matched up well all around the field, and it was always a fun game to be a part of. We’ve had some good battles and I think it’s something all the players look forward to.
On giving up a one-goal lead in the final 20 minutes…
When we go up 1-0 and Joe [Willis] makes that save, we were defending well and they didn’t have too many clear-cut chances. I felt we had a good opportunity. It’s tough, but obviously Benny [Feilhaber] is having a great year and you can’t give him space. His confidence is probably through the roof and he put it in the one spot that Joe couldn’t get to inside the far post. It was definitely disappointing all around because I thought we started the game well and came here with the right mentality.
Houston Dynamo goalkeeper Joe Willis
On saving Dom Dwyer’s penalty kick in the second half with Houston leading 1-0…
I watched some of the penalties that he’s taken this season before we came over here [to Kansas City], so I kind of had an idea of where he would go. He’s a good penalty taker because he switches sides, but I just had a feeling that he’d go that side.
On Houston's overall performance...
To be honest, I thought we could have snuck out of here with a win from the first minute in the game. I thought the team worked their [rear] off and I think from minute one to minute 90, there wasn’t a guy on this team who didn’t think we could win.
On why the game changed in the final 20 minutes...
I think it was fatigue. Being down a man hurt us in the end. Like I said, the guys were working [hard] the whole game but when you’re playing a man down—and a lot of the guys played a few days ago—it’s really tough to play 90 minutes twice in four days. I think at the end of the day fatigue set in. That kind of decided the game.
On the rivalry between Sporting KC and Houston…
This is my first taste of it, but you could see it in the first regular season game we played against each other earlier this year. It was 4-4 and it went 97 minutes long. That really showed me what kind of rivalry it is. We had that in the back of our minds coming into this game and we knew it was going to be a battle.
