Sporting KC Manager Peter Vermes
Thoughts on the match…
We had a lot of chances in the game, especially early on in the first half. We had a ton of chances. We just didn’t put them away. It’s unfortunate because we played well. We moved the ball well. We created some very, very good chances. We turned them over in their half of the field which we thought we could do. We just, at the end of the day, couldn’t stick it away. We hit the crossbar. Just a lot of little, different things – we just couldn’t finish it.
On Sacramento’s run in the tournament…
It’s what happens all around the world. I don’t know why it would be different here in the United States. It’s not the first time a lower division team has played and made it into a final. It’s normal. It happens around the world. This is why this cup is such a great competition. I think it’s an awesome competition personally speaking. I’ve always thought it was. I loved playing in it as a player and I love coaching in it. Congratulations to Sacramento. They played hard. They fought for everything. They were throwing their bodies around. They were blocking shots. They worked really hard in the game so congratulations to them.
On the frustration of the result…
I thought that we did more than enough to get the result that we needed but that’s the game sometimes. I thought we played well. I’m proud of our guys. It hasn’t been easy. They’ve had to do it in a lot of different ways and a lot of guys have had to play in a lot of games. We’ve had so many different lineups going through this competition. I’m proud of the guys and we’ll move on to our next game.
Sporting KC captain Johnny Russell
Thoughts on the match…
Just disappointed. Gutted. We did enough in the 90 minutes and then in the extra time to win it, I felt. We created so many chances. We just weren’t good enough in taking them, myself included. The longer that goes on and you let it go to penalties, then you give a team hope. We should have had it over and done with before it even got to penalties.
On not finding a goal in the game…
We created more than enough. We got in great space, great opportunities. We just were nowhere near good enough tonight in that department. It sucks. It really does. We really wanted this one. It's not been a good season for us. We know that. This was our chance to get to a final and try and win some silverware this year. We’ve let ourselves down and we’ve let our fans down back home as well and the ones that have traveled out here. Just really disappointing to be honest.
On Sacramento’s defense…
They defended well. They defended deep and defended in numbers like we know they were going to. We watched a lot of footage on it. We knew it was going to happen. They defended well. I thought the goalkeeper was brilliant. He made some big saves for them and then obviously made a big save for the PK as well. They were definitely tough to play against, but I felt that we did create enough chances to win the game in the 90 and then extra time as well.
On how tough the loss is on the team…
It's definitely up there with one of the toughest. There’s been a few in my time, but this is definitely up there. Like I said, we created enough chances to win this game. We didn't take them. They defended well and we continued to give them hope and then when it gets into penalties it can go either way. Unfortunately, someone has to lose. Tonight it was us.
On the remaining games…
It's going to be difficult but we know the challenge ahead of us. Most people are probably going to count us out but we can't think like that. This is a really tough one to take but we have to turn it around quickly. We've got a massive game at the weekend now. It's going to take a huge effort to get us into the playoffs from where we are right now, but there's no other option. We have to go out, believe that we can do it and that's it. The guys are hurting right now. It's definitely not the time to speak right now, but I'll be speaking to everyone and try to get them back mentally. We've got a mountain to climb and it starts at the weekend.
