Sporting Kansas City Manager Peter Vermes
On the early goal…
Obviously it helps the team to get a goal early. It can change the way the other team plays. That really didn't happen in this game in the first half because they changed their formation at halftime. They changed their formation going into the game, which we thought they were going to do. Scoring early is definitely good from a defensive perspective because now you can play a little differently. You don't have to be so definitive on every play and you can afford a mistake. So, in this situation, the team starts pushing and that does change a game.
Thoughts on the match…
Two goals last game, three this one. The guys are getting on the field, they're getting fit, they're getting connected back with each other and everybody's starting to have their contribution and not having to do too much.
On the play of Nemanja Radoja…
In the game Wednesday, he played 90 minutes, but that was a different situation in the game. This was a way of getting him on the field with the guys who are the regulars. He wasn't good, he was excellent. His positioning was tremendous. He has a really good bite on winning the ball. He's physical in challenges. He's something we haven't had in there for a long time. If you remember Soni Mustivar, Soni was nice and physical. He has a lot of these same qualities. He reads passing lanes really well, but his ability to provide an outlet for all the guys in the back was tremendous tonight. He kept saying he wanted to go longer and longer, but I think it was the right move to take him out after 60. We have to keep him on the field and keep increasing his minutes and I think with the 90 minutes three days ago is a lot for him.
On the team’s buildup and attack…
We had the ability to do that for sure. What I would say is that what you didn't see is guys overcooking it at times where you're taking too many touches on the ball. You're shooting when you should pass. You're taking too many touches and then shooting and the guy blocks the shot. As I've said to the guys, it's so important that you're giving the ball to somebody when it's good for them, not when it's bad for you, and you have just got to give it away. With the quality of players that we have on the field, it's just different. The sharing of the ball and the circulation of the ball is at a very high level. And when you can play like that and you can keep possession and then create quality chances like we did, it changes everything.
On the team scoring more goals…
As I've said, the guy who has to be the most patient is me, because I know the quality of players that we have within our roster. It's just they haven't been available. The fact that they are now getting a chance to get on the field and spend some time with each other, and now you see even Gadi (Kinda) coming on the last 30 minutes, he provides another. So it's just being able to get those guys out there. Imagine I'm able to bring Gadi on as a substitute. That changes things, for sure. The version of it was out there.
On his belief in the team…
It's great. Make no mistake about it, there's a side of me that is vengeful for sure. I want to show everybody that we are that good. I know inside the locker room, inside the group, that we want to show everybody that we are that good. I know that there's a lot of doubt. Us going up to Seattle (last week), Seattle is a really good team. They've been a really good team. We've beat them there before. It wasn't like we couldn’t go up there and do it. We come home and that Minnesota team has been good for years, and they've always been steady. We've had good battles against them. It's not easy to just go out and win 3-0 at your own place. But I know what this team has. I know the quality it has. I know what's on the roster. Again, those guys, they have to be available. There are times when a player is not available for a game. I understand that and you have to figure out a way how to adjust and adapt to that situation. When you're talking about guys that have been out for a significant amount of time, it takes a toll on the team. At the end of the day, I've always been resolute to what I believe in and I will continue to do that. I appreciate the fact that I work for an ownership group that we're made of the same cloth.
On Tim Melia’s penalty save…
Timmy has, since he's come back into the team after being out for as long as he has and getting fit again, he has been a calming force back there. That's one of those saves that you need your goalkeeper to do, but rarely does it happen especially on penalties. Obviously that's a trademark of his. That's a huge save to keep us at 2-0. Then it was the quality of the guys. I told them we have got to win both halves and so scoring in the second half and getting a shutout was a big deal for us.
On the team’s confidence…
Whether you're in your everyday life or you're doing your vocation or in your relationships, if it's all negative, it's not good. You need some joy. You need to enjoy something. I always refer back to 2011. We had the first 10 games on the road. The bottom line is the guys, at the end of the day, they miss being in front of their own fans and hearing them cheer for them, because everywhere we went, there were no cheers. You want to feel good about something. I think last weekend was, again, a really good performance. The guys proved to themselves that they could do it. We all doubt, but at the same time, we have to come back to work every day and try to get back on the horse and let's go again. This has helped them for sure, mentally. I'm the one who's been telling them all along I think they have the potential to be a great team. I think there's a really good group that can be great in there. Again, this isn't everything today, it’s just another step in the right direction.
On keeping the momentum going…
It's consistency of players. It’s performance. Performance leads to wins. If you perform well, that gives you your best chance to win. So, the consistency, the performance and then the results.
Sporting Kansas City defender Dany Rosero
On how it felt to score…
It was an immeasurable joy to see the ball hit the back of the net. I’m happy to finally score my first goal with this incredible club.
On the shutout and his partnership with Andreu Fontas at centerback…
It was really important to show that we could keep that clean sheet and to show the quality of players that we have and the ability that we all have on the pitch. That's what we strive for.
Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper Tim Melia
On his penalty save…
I want to see the penalty again. It's difficult when you're kind of moving. You're moving fast and the player kind of sees himself in a poor position and they kind of put their body in between you two. I'm not sure what you're supposed to do from a goalkeeper side, but ultimately I made the save. I think the most important thing about it was it just kind of gave us a little bit of momentum to continue to play the way we were playing. Because we played, I thought, very good in the first half.
On reading the penalty attempt…
He’s a new player coming to the league. Statement. A bunch of different variables are going through your mind. But ultimately I'm happy that I came out on the right side of it. I’ve already had two that I have not come out on the right side this year. So in the moment, I think that was probably the most important one so far. It was the time to kind of step up and give the team a little bit more momentum.
On the difference for the team in the past two wins…
Confidence. I think we're getting back. We're taking small steps. We've still only won two games. There's no reason to turn this into anything that it's not or it should not be. Right now we're just building and that's what we spoke about a few weeks ago. That’s what we spoke about as a group after the very difficult Montreal loss. It’s that we need to get back to being us and we need to take small steps, not giant leaps. I think we've done that over the past few games, take out the Houston game, but we're starting to get back to our identity, believing in one another, supporting one another. And we've had the results come out because of it.
On exiting the match with a hip flexor injury…
I hit a long ball and I felt it. And then I hit another shorter ball, I felt it. I don't know what it is right now, but these games are too important for me to be at 80% or 60% in a game. We have very good goalkeepers on this roster. So I just felt it was very important for me at that moment, because I wasn't on 100%, to make sure that we got the result at home that we need and kind of take myself out. I know other guys could do it. And Kendall (McIntosh) did a very good job. He made a very good save. I'm happy for him.
On if he would have made that decision when he was younger…
Probably not. That's definitely a decision that I made when I'm a little bit older and understand the importance of kind of removing yourself from situations and making sure the team wins.
On the belief in the team…
Listen, I don't think that internally we ever didn't believe in one another. And, like I said, we haven't done anything yet. We've won two games, so baby steps. Very small steps. We just need to continue on this path and we need to continue to believe in one another, continue to play with confidence, continue to give back to the fans. Our fans have supported us when we've been in every area of the table. It's so important for us to have quality results, especially at home, to kind of pump everybody up and show everyone it's a great time to come out here and provide an entertaining experience when they do.
Sporting Kansas City forward Daniel Salloi
On the quality of the team’s goals…
In the first half, I think we played amazing. I think we did really good things and were combining and we showed our true self or what we can do. In the second half, I think we kind of got tired and we kind of set back. We have to work on that part. But playing and combining like that, that's why you play. I think that was amazing. And Remi (Walter’s) vision (is like) Guti from Real Madrid. That's what I want to say. It was great.
On his set piece service…
I have been working on it. I still want to get better at it, but I think I hit a couple of really good ones. I gave an assist to Johnny (Russell) in New England and now to Dany (Rosero). I'm glad he got his first goal. It's good all around.
On getting more numbers forward…
I think we kind of felt it in Seattle that we felt the confidence and everybody wanted to score and get to the box and do good combinations. We just wanted to play the same way. Unfortunately, we got knocked out of the cup but we created a lot of chances. We should have put away our chances, but I think we're getting the hang of it of creating a lot more chances and scoring goals. This is great. I hope we continue like this. It's going to be a tough week, the next one.
On conceding a penalty right after scoring…
That looked bad at first. I was not happy when that happened. But Tim (Melia) is unbelievable. The way he saves penalties actually makes me so happy when I see it. I think we've all seen it. It's a joy to watch. He's special at this. He's not just guessing the side. He's reading the guy's mind. I wouldn't ever want to take penalties against Tim Melia. I think that's his perfection.
On getting a boost in confidence…
It definitely helps. We had a little team retreat before the Seattle game and I think that helped us a lot. I'm not saying we're going to win all of our games from now on because we can lose next week and everything can still be good. But I think so far it's been really good. And as you can see and hear, the chemistry is good. I think that's the minimum.
On the team’s belief…
I think, obviously, we have to believe in each other and not just the players, but the coaching staff too and the fans. And that just proves it.
Sporting Kansas City defender Jake Davis
On the team’s performance…
For 90 minutes, we played every action of the ball. We were together as a team today. We got everything right today. It was a great result.
On getting the team’s first home win…
It’s amazing. That's what we've been working towards currently and it's unbelievable. I'm glad that we got the win and the fans can be happy with that.
On adapting to the right back position…
Whatever it is, if they need me on the field, they can put me anywhere. I just want to help the team win, no matter where it is. That's it and 100 percent effort.
