Sporting Kansas City Manager Peter Vermes
Thoughts on the match…
The whole night, I think we were very good on the attack. We didn't score the second goal, at least that counted, but we were hungry in and around both boxes in a good way. The only thing where we made any mistakes is when we gave some balls away. Those are the only chances that we really gave up. Outside of that, I think we defended as a team. We grinded the result out, which was big time. It wasn't easy because I think in the first half, it was very humid and I think that took a lot of energy, but we still had a lot to go to goal with in both halves. I'm pleased about that and it bodes well for us moving forward because I think that we've been very good on the attack and we have got to keep getting stronger. Goals are important. You have got to score.
On the team recovering from early mistakes defensively…
I don't think that we were losing ourselves. I think we just made some bad decisions or execution of the situations…We've gotten better and better defensively in each of the games that we've played in. We talked about it and the guys keep getting better and better at it. I think the other thing too is you have to take into consideration that being the fact that Willy (Agada) is the point of the spear for us when we defend. Each week that we have to train, he gets more and more comfortable with the different triggers that we have as a team defensively and then everybody else knows how to sort of react and anticipate off of him. So that's helping as well for (Erik) Thommy too.
Sporting Kansas City forward Daniel Salloi
On his goal…
It was a nice attack, and I tried to stay with the action. The defender cleared it to me and I just tried to put it on target. It went through the defender's legs. I love those goals. It needs hard work to get there. I'm happy I could score and I'm happy that was the game winner. We have just got to keep going.
On the belief in the locker room…
I think the spirits are high. We're doing well in the last couple of games. We're taking it game by game. To be fair, there's no pressure on us. We are coming from the back and we're fighting through it. I think the team looks great right now and we have just got to keep going. We can't let down because, unfortunately, we can't make any mistakes anymore. This is the situation, but this is exciting. I've never been in this situation, so this is good.
On the additions of Willy Agada and Erik Thommy…
They are great players and they are creating their own chances and that's what the team needs. We need more and more players to score the goals and be the man of the match. Sometimes it's one guy and next week it's another guy. They are a great addition to the team and I think they can help us on this last stretch. This game it was me. Last week it was somebody else. Next week hopefully it’s somebody else. But let's just get wins and then keep going.
On tying the club record for game-winning goals…Â
It’s great. Me and Johnny (Russell) keep track of those records and we try to break them. This is big. I've been here for a while and I love this club. As an attacking player, you look for those records because they improve your game. You have to have smaller goals individually as well to get better. This is big time. I'm glad to be part of such a great club’s history.
Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper John Pulskamp
On keeping the clean sheet…
It’s one of those personal things as a goalkeeper that gives you that added confidence going into training the next week and going into the next game. I’m buzzing about it.
On starting consistently…
Training is great. It’s massively important, especially when you are younger. I’m still very young. Training is huge and I work very hard every single week. But nothing can replicate exactly how it is to play game minutes. Game minutes at the end of the day are the most important thing for young players. The more game minutes I get, the better it’s going to be. Hopefully I just get a rhythm going and I keep improving every single week. I’m far from perfect right now. There are a lot of areas in which I need to get better. That’s what I’m focused on right now.
On the team’s defensive performance…Â
I wouldn’t be able to do what I do without my back four and really all 10 of the guys on the field. I think people underestimate the effect even our wingers and forwards and midfielders have on our defensive roles. They’re massively important in that. More directly, the backline including Logan (Ndenbe) who came in and helped, along with Ben (Sweat) who I thought was very good today and Graham Zusi and obviously my two centerbacks are a dream to play with. I love those two guys to death so shoutout to them for helping me. This is a collective thing. The clean sheet is not just for the goalkeeper. It’s for the whole team.
