Sporting Kansas City Manager Peter Vermes
On the insertion of Marinos Tzionis…
The team was playing very well. The team was in great rhythm when I made the sub but I made the sub because Oriol (Rosell) couldn't go anymore because he hasn’t been playing. Actually, the team wasn't as fluid when I brought him on as it was prior to that. The team lost momentum a little bit.
On the play of Kortne Ford and Robert Voloder…
They did great. We got a shutout. No goals. I don't know what else you have got to do. It was great. They did a great job. They were very good.
On Robert Voloder coming in after the injury to Nicolas Isimat-Mirin…
I'm glad I got his feet wet last week against LAFC. I think that helped him sort of break the ice a little bit. But he came in and he was in the game right away. He did a really good job. The two of them played very well in the back. Kortne was really good in the air. He makes a great saving clearance that's right basically on the line. That guy is tapping it in if he's not there. He's got a good mentality to defend the goal. Both of those guys did a really good job. Again, there's not much more you can ask for. They got a shutout.
On the team’s ninth different lineup in nine games…
I have to because of injuries and everything else. If everybody is healthy, I know my lineup, but not everybody is healthy. Oriol Rosell is playing very well but right now I probably pushed him 15 minutes longer than I wanted to. But that's good so hopefully the next game I can push him 15 minutes longer or even 90 minutes. We'll see.
On the referee’s decision not to award a penalty kick in the first half…
It was a penalty kick. If that's not a penalty kick, I don't know what a penalty kick is and I don't know soccer. I don't know how you run into the back of a guy and especially his legs, not just upper body, and you reach out a little bit to grab. He did not dive. No chance. When I say it doesn't get reviewed, what I mean by that I'm not saying that the VAR person did not review it. What I'm saying is the fact that they didn't bring the referee over to have a look at it for him to make his final decision, I think there's a flaw in that. Because, if I'm a referee, I want to see that…It's so simple to me. I don't understand. I can't understand it. So yes, it should have been a penalty
On if a foul should have been called on the play that injured Nicolas Isimat-Mirin…
I believe so, as well. He heads the ball. The guy heads him right in his head. To think that that's just two guys going up for heading a ball, no chance. That was reckless.
Sporting Kansas City defender Kortne Ford
On getting his first start at home…
I've been waiting for that opportunity for a long time. I felt like we've trained hard all week. The mentality has been different at training all week, so I'm just proud of the group to come out and put a performance together like that. The guys have been supportive, so I'm happy the way I played. At the end of the day, we just didn't get the result that we wanted but we'll take the point.
On his partnership with Robert Voloder…
I think it's one of the things that I really like about this team is the chemistry. Regardless of where you're at in the depth chart, we play together in training all the time. Me and Robbie especially, we play back there all the time when we weren't getting the start. I thought that our chemistry was good. I hope Isi has a quick recovery. It sucks to see that. But at the end of the day, I think that we played well together and I look forward to getting some more minutes.
Sporting KC defender Robert Voloder
On getting his first home appearance…
The circumstances were quite different or not as expected. First of all, it's good that Isi is doing okay. To play my first game at home for most of the 90 minutes was very cool. The home crowd is amazing. I felt them push me and it motivated me. I think I did a good job playing a good game and I’m looking forward to the next games.
On his partnership with Kortne Ford…
Actually it was quite alright because most of the time we train together. We know what we're going to do next and we know what we're thinking. It was easier to come into the game as a substitute. I think we did a great job and we didn't concede a goal.
