Sporting Kansas City II defeated OKC Energy FC by a 3-0 scoreline on Saturday night at Swope Soccer Village. Post-match remarks from head coach Paulo Nagamura, forward Wilson Harris and defender Danny Barbir are below.
Sporting KC II Head Coach Paulo Nagamura
On playing a home match for the first time in over five months...
It felt amazing. It's been a very long month for us, driving back and forth to Indianapolis, Louisville and St. Louis. The guys really appreciated this home game tonight, and I think that showed on the field. It was a very good attitude from the team and a very good performance. It was a great result and a really good three points.
On the team's mentality during the previous seven-game road stretch...
Our mentality has been great. The guys have been warriors. We had a game Wednesday, traveled back overnight, had training sessions on Thursday and Friday and now we played here on Saturday night. They've been really good and their mentality has been fantastic. I'm really pleased with the way they approached the game today.
On the performance of Wilson Harris...
We always say that when Wilson gets chances, he'll bury them. Today was another show of what he's all about. When he gets chances, he'll nail them and put them in the back of the net. To be honest with you, those weren't two easy finishes tonight, especially the second one. Those were really good strikes from outside the box. We know Wilson and what he can do, so we try to put him in the best spots so he can do that more often.
On the team's defensive display...
We were very good defensively. I think we lacked work against Louisville on Wednesday, and that cost us the game. The guys responded really well defensively and were really tough to play against. The backline was in tune for 90 minutes, and again it was a very complete performance and a great three points.
Sporting KC II forward Wilson Harris
On playing a home match for the first time in over five months...
It felt great. All the boys were excited for the game tonight. Being on the road has been very tough with the amount of away games and bus rides. Everyone was just fired up to get out here and have a home game finally.
On his two goals in the first half...
OKC was playing a high line the whole game and maybe trying to do something there with that, but I think I can play well against a high line. I was just consistently making those runs, so it was bound to break through. On the first goal, Tyler made a good run and their keeper bobbled the ball. Easy finish there. The second goal was a great ball by Petar (Cuic) and I was able to put it away at the far post.
On the team's defensive performance...
I think we were consistent throughout all 90 minutes and executed the game plan well. We were locked in and focused, and I think that showed over the course of the game.
On the team's mentality playing the next seven matches away from home...
It's tough, it's very tough, but I think these boys are built for it. I think we're up for the challenge. We already have three wins and we've been playing much better than last season. If we just keep pushing and keep looking ahead, I think we can keep winning games.
Sporting KC II defender Danny Barbir
On playing a home match for the first time in over five months...
Honestly this felt great. We had a really tough schedule to start the season and were able to get a few good results against Indy and Louisville. We also drew Saint Louis, so I think we've been pretty solid on the road. It's just tough when you have to go to someone else's place every single game, so it was great to have a game at our place and get a win.
On the team's defensive performance...
One of the things we talked about before the game was being strong defensively. We had to be sharper and we had to stick together because Wednesday against Louisville we weren't very good. We're thrilled with the clean sheet.
On his goal in the second half...
Fredinho put a good ball in, I shrugged off my man and found a bit of separation and put my foot through it. Happy to get the goal but even happier to get the clean sheet tonight.
On the team's mentality playing the next seven matches away from home...
We already have a taste of what it's like to be on the road, so we're just going to have to take this performance and build on it and keep it going.
