Sporting Kansas City Manager Peter Vermes
On how proud he is of the team's response to St. Louis’ goal...
I think that tells the story of the group. I really do. I think that since kind of the midpoint, when we got all our guys back and we started getting fit and getting in form, I think the guys have started to show what they can do. I think tonight was another good example of that in that it really doesn’t matter what’s happened in the past. It’s all about us moving into the future here and being prepared. Number one, I think they had an excellent mentality within the group. I thought we were playing very well up to that point and the game opened and I thought we were good in that as well. Then the two goals we scored are two great goals. They’re beautiful goals, but then I would also say, man, we probably could have scored a couple more with some of the counterattacks that we had and really put the game away. But it’s good to see because there’s a real intensity and aggressiveness from the group that I think was very evident tonight.
On the physicality of the match…
I don’t say this often, but I think that Allen Chapman did a very good job in the game and the reason being is because he realized the rivalry, obviously. I know it’s not his first one because he’s done Seattle-Portland before and games like that, but what he didn’t do is he didn’t lose himself in a couple of the challenges that probably happened earlier and sometimes referees get in trouble with that. So, I think he managed the game really well. He let things go on both sides. And so I think from that perspective, it was a big help to the way I think the game played out and also for the fans to watch the game because I think it was a good game to watch.
On how the team closed out the game…
I actually think we did a great job. I think we did two important things. I think at times up front, we got good pressure to the ball so they kicked a few balls out of bounds or we ricocheted a ball and it went out of bounds for us (and we) did a good job managing the ball in the corner. All important things you have to do. You can watch games in any league every weekend where the last couple of minutes, if one team’s winning 1-0, 2-1, 3-2, whatever that is, and all of a sudden they get a free kick and they’re just pushing everybody and they’re hoping for it. I thought we managed those situations really well. Khiry (Shelton) was brave in a couple of those situations for us down the stretch.
On if this match meant more than just three points with it being against St. Louis…
From my perspective, I think first of all, as I told the guys when we first came out on the field, I told them that three points settles everything, right? You get three points, which we need to keep pushing ourselves towards the playoffs, and the other is that you get three points and you get to win against your rival. This is building up to be a good rivalry. You need it in sports, it's something that we have welcomed for a long time. I've said this a million times, we had a couple different rivals over the years, some of them have gone away. Houston was a big one for us in the early years, then it moved on to Chicago and that kind of went away, and we really haven't had one for a long time. I think it's great for the future of the league, because I think when you have rivalries, I think it just draws a lot more attention to every game and this league continues to grow in a good way, so this is an important aspect for us. It's a little bit more than just three points, for sure.
On the changes the team made to the midfield at halftime…
I don't know if we struggled, I would say that we were probably just a little too aggressive going forward. In the second half, what we did was we brought in Radoja and had him sit as a six. Remi (Walter) has a great engine, so he was able to go box to box and could really help defensively, and I think that was a big difference in the game in the second half.
On playing in front of the record crowd…
I can speak because I've been here for a lot of games, obviously, maybe for all of them in this stadium. I would say it was a great atmosphere. I think the same thing when we were at their place, it was a great atmosphere. Our stadium, I believe, was a genesis for a lot of the stadiums in this league – LAFC’s Stadium, Cincinnati, Minnesota – you can keep going down the list – Austin – a lot of people have come through here and looked at this place, and I think we were the kind of the original. I'll say that the environment still here is unbelievable. When this is a packed house and you got people standing room only, it's a great place to coach a game, I'm sure to watch a game, I can only imagine what it's like to play, but I never had that opportunity.
On the role of Erik Thommy and Jake Davis in the goals...
I think the first goal was a great combination play. The second goal was really aggressive in nature by Jake. Then what he does is he splits the two guys and, again, being on the front foot, he puts them in jeopardy because now that he entered the box, you have to be very careful not to trip him. He made a good move down the side. I give him a lot of credit because he usually is slamming that ball across the goal. But today he plays the ball in a good place for Alan. Alan pops off and then yeah, a great finish so it was excellent. Two excellent goals. The first one was a really good combination play. The second one, I think Jake was good. The aggressiveness from him was very good and his calmness at the end.
On scoring in multiple ways…
I said this in the beginning when everybody’s asking me, why aren't we scoring? And thought that we would never score again. I kept saying that, look, we have more than enough guys that can score. It was just a matter of time and also people and quality on the field. And now that we have a lot of different people that can as well. If you look at Thommy’s shot from last week, he froze the goalkeeper from probably 20-24 yards. There’s just been situations where the team is now finding its own. It’s finding its groove. And I think the other part of it is that the relationships and the partnerships between guys is really starting to mesh together.
On the team’s momentum...
Tonight was a very important win for us. It’s over. Now, we’ve got to get ready for Miami because that’s going to obviously be a very difficult match. The whole point is that you have to do everything you can to get into playoffs. How you do that is you’ve got to rack up points. So far, so good since we have come out of Leagues Cup.
Sporting Kansas City’s Alan Pulido
On his two goals…
I am very happy for these two goals. The work was for the team because I think we go together. I can’t score if the team doesn’t work together. So I am very happy, but I am more happy for the victory not for me. I say this all the time but if I score and the team doesn’t win, I’m not happy. So it’s a very good night because I scored and the team won.
On the victory…
This is a very good night for us because we won and we need to keep pushing like this because we have a lot of matches coming and we need to win to make it into the playoffs.
On his comeback from injury…
I feel very happy for these two goals and for my moment, because the last year is very difficult for me. Now when I come back this year and I score, now, two goals, the sensation for me, it's very good. I feel very happy for the team and also for me, because I work very strong and I work for this moment on the field and I am very happy for this moment.
Sporting Kansas City captain Johnny Russell
Thoughts on the game…
Huge win. It's against our rivals, so big win for the fans, but more importantly, it's another huge three points for us. That's the way we went into the game, we knew how big it was for everyone else, but we had one aim and that was three points. I thought we were doing well, caused ourself a few problems and then obviously they get the goal. Then I thought the way we bounced back after that was huge. We’ve shown there that's a team that's the top of the division and we've shown we can bounce back in that game. Then after that, I think you could see the hunger, the desire. Every single guy was out there fighting for each other. We needed the three points, I think you could see that tonight. Maybe not our cleanest performance, but definitely one we needed to show that we're in this fight.
On handling the intense nature of a rivalry match…
More often than not, they're not clean games, they're scrappy games and it's who can take their opportunities. I think we scored two great team goals. First one, it's a great ball, great run by Daniel (Salloi) and then a perfect ball across the box. And then the second one's, just a bit of magic from Jake (Davis). It's huge cutting between the two guys and then having the composure to pick out Alan (Pulido) with that cutback. It was huge and a time that we needed it. As hectic as the game was, you need those moments of just total calmness and I think we provided those. We had a couple others as well, they had a couple of chances, so it could’ve went either way. It was a hardly fought game, but I'm just happy we got the three points – we desperately needed it.”
On if Jake Davis learned from him on how to split defenders…
It looked good, I think he’ll be coming for the right wing and swapping me for right back! Like I said, it was a moment of brilliance, it really was. Running down there, to have the composure to stop it, get between the two of them and then once you're in the box, they're not going to touch you. He got his head up, picked out the perfect pass and it's a great finish as well from Alan (Pulido).
On if the match vs. St. Louis feels like a rivalry to the players…
You can definitely feel it. I think there's definitely respect between the players, but I think you’ve seen out there, it was a hardly fought game. It was a very physical game. I wouldn't say it was, by any means, it wasn't a dirty game. I didn't think there was any bad tackles, but it was probably our most physical game of the year. But again, that's good for us. That's shown that we can go and do that. We haven't done it enough this year, but people expect the nice football from us, but we've shown that we can go and mix it up as well. If we have to go and grind out a result and make it a little bit messy at times, we're more than capable of doing it.
On changing the mentality from coming back from a goal down to holding onto the lead…
We spoke about obviously going out and getting (another) one. We knew that they were going to make the changes. They brought some quality on. The guys they brought, there’s real quality. We knew it was going to be difficult in the second half but I thought we defended brilliantly. We hit them on the counter a few times that we probably should have done a little bit better but it's such a hard fought win. Sometimes those ones feel better than a game that you go and dominate. Those ones are satisfying, knowing that you've gave everything, you've fought with the guys alongside you and you've managed to stick together and pull off the result.
