Sporting KC Manager Peter Vermes
On the overall performance of the team…
I thought they were great. I thought their performance was tremendous. I thought the way that we played — the amount of action, the way we played off the ball, the possession and the amount of chances we created — I thought it was all really good. I was very pleased. I look at it this way. I look at it this way: We play like that in a lot of games and we’ll win a lot of games. I thought we dominated them, especially in the first half. We were all over them. We didn’t stick enough in, but we were all over them for sure.
The team has dominated possession in many games this season, but has still been unable to score. What do you attribute that to?
I don’t think it’s that we don’t recognize the moment. I don’t know if we’re looking for the perfect goal. In tonight’s match, we had an unbelievable goal by Brad [Davis]. In the first half, we had so many other chances that we could have put away if we just would have let the trigger go a little bit earlier or had cut the ball back and just been a little more clinical in the front pass. But I can’t fault the guys for the number of chances that we created. Sometimes you miss and that’s the way it goes. But when you play like that, it builds a style of play that you want, not only now but for the end of the season. You have to have a purpose in how you go get your points, and tonight there’s no doubt that we went out with a purpose and played really well and aggressively. I thought we had great numbers in the box and were able to win the ball back in tough situations. So I’m very pleased with the way we played.
On whether aggression was key in dominating possession…
The change in the way that we played, formation-wise, really put a lot of pressure on them. I also think that we had the key people who we wanted on the ball. They were on a ball the majority of the game, and I thought that helped a lot. And I know this is going to come off poorly, but we had a lot of veteran men on the field tonight, because we had a lot of guys coming back from injury, and so we were able to change the team around in a way that we got our older, veteran type of guys, which really changed the game.
On his choice to put more veteran players on the field...
One of the things about LA is they’re a very experienced, older veteran type of team, and I wanted to make sure we matched that on the field. I also think it was important for us to get the right people on the ball and in positions where we thought we would have the ball. And I think we were good from that perspective. When you create that many chances and you dominate the game the way we did, it’s a good sign of things to come for sure.
On Jimmy Medranda’s performance…
This is the best game he’s ever played for us. It was good. I put a lot of myself behind him, and he’s definitely paying off. He’s got a lot of quality, and the whole thing with him has just been kind of getting a rhythm and getting some games under his belt, but his quality is really starting to come out in the game. And it’s exciting because he’s a very, very good player.
What triggered the new formation tonight?
I thought for us to get more numbers in and around the box, we have to be able to sometimes play different than we usually do with our 4-3-3. I thought the guys executed very well with very little time spent trying to work on it. But it’s not that big of a variation from what we normally play, but I think we adapted well. We really achieved some great moments in the game through that formation.
On whether the five-match winless streak is a product of the schedule or something else…
I think in our last three matches, each was building off the other. I think it’s been good. When you look at two of the losses we had, I think Salt Lake and Dallas, we lost the games 2-1, and each game we made two mistakes, and on each of those two mistakes, they scored two goals. I look at that as more of a fault of ours, not because the other team dominated us in some way. As much as I don’t want to make those mistakes, the positive going forward is that when we minimize those mistakes, you win those games instead of losing them. What I like about tonight is that when you have a dominant performance, even if you don’t get the win, you can see that there’s something you’re building from, and the guys believe in it. And that is much bigger than winning 2-1 with no place to go. With games like tonight and this environment, you build a culture from this. In past years, we’re strong all the way up through two-thirds of the season, and then we have this lull. And we have to be careful of that. And that’s why you see us rotate the roster as much as we have early on. We just have to make sure up until the halfway point that we’re competitive and we stay within the points.
On the inability to shoot and score when the team is a man up…
I’m not concerned. Whenever you’re a man up, the team winds up just really bunkering down and in their mentality, they become galvanized. They become a wall. And a lot of times, I’d rather play 11-v-11, because it ends up being a very difficult proposition to break them down, and it’s hard to get anything through there. We had great movement in and around the box, and the chances were there. We didn’t give them anything, but at the end of the day, we didn’t score. But you can’t take away how well we played today. I think we’re doing more than enough to get something.
Sporting KC Defender Matt Besler
On he feels about the game…
I think we can walk away happy with how we played. Defensively, we knew we were going to come in and try to high press and playa high line. I think there were probably ten balls that popped out and were potential counter-attack balls. We probably dealt with nine of them. The one ball we didn’t deal with they scored a goal. That’s just the way it goes sometimes, and we have to move on.
How did you decide to press high?
With all due respect to the Galaxy, we really did focus on ourselves this game. We were confident that if we were able to play at our pace and our tempo, that was going to be enough for us.
On the new formation…
I didn’t really view it as any new challenges — just a different guy in front of me and adapting to the way he moves. He was basically playing a defensive midfielder role for us, but it didn’t really change a whole lot. I think our approach was right. You could tell from the beginning that we were going to try to high press them. I think for basically the entire game we were able to do that. Like I said, the one time they were able to counter us, they stuck it in the net, and that’s something we have to live with.
On coming away with one point…
I think every guy walks away frustrated. We expect to win games at home, especially when we play like that. You can’t fault the work rate, though, from anybody. You can’t fault the approach. For a number of different reasons, the ball didn’t go into the back of the net. I think we need to concentrate a little bit more on the final product, but I think if we do that I think we’re going to be fine.
On going a man up in the second half…
I think you have to find the balance of trying to play and spread them out, and also trying to serve the ball into the box and putting some pressure on them. I think if you just start serving the ball into the box, you’re not making them work — you’re not making them run. You have to get the ball on the ground and then make them run. That spreads them out. Then you can find that pocket. Unfortunately there were only 10 or 15 minutes left, so they were able to stay compact and hold on and make it difficult for us.
On whether Sporting KC used the man advantage to make LA work…
I think we made them work for 90 minutes. I think if you ask them how that game was, they’re going to say they put in a lot of work. I think we’ll all try to take a look at the game and see what we can do better the last 15 minutes. Maybe we serve a few more balls into the box, but as far as making them work, I think we definitely did that.
On how Sporting KC can open up teams when they bunker down defensively…
I think we just have to be more clinical as a team. It’s never just one guy. As a team I think we need to put a lot of effort and concentration into that final product. Some nights it happens like this. Other times the ball goes into the back of the net three or four times when you play the same way. Unfortunately it didn’t tonight, but we have to move on and stay positive.
On what made them successful in tonight’s game…
I think it’s a mixture of things. It all starts with our attitude and our approach, and I think that was right tonight. From the opening whistle, we came out with the right energy and we got pressure on the ball, and when we do that on a consistent basis, it allows us to control the game like we did tonight.
Sporting KC midfielder Benny Feilhaber
On tonight’s match…
Obviously, we are frustrated to not pick up three points at home. Regardless of the red card, we think we outplayed them from the first minute and had plenty of chances. We couldn’t hit the target very often and we gave them one chance and they scored. Of course it’s frustrating and, having said that, when they did go down a man they did pretty well to make it tough on us to create much with 10 guys behind the ball.
On both teams making changes to their lineup/formation…
I can’t speak for them, but we did a couple different things today in regard to how we approached them. I think, to be completely honest, playing at home and coming off a tough road trip we just focused on ourselves. It wouldn’t have mattered too much if they were playing a different formation from what they had played or different players in certain positions. We knew we wanted to press them, make it tough for them to break out and put a lot of pressure on them. We did that. We followed the game plan pretty well and it’s unfortunate to not come out with more than one point.
On if he takes pride in limiting the Galaxy offense to one goal…
I think it’s frustrating that we gave them one, to be honest. The way we did play, we probably shouldn’t have given up any. They make a pretty good play on the counter attack, we don’t slow the game down and Giovani Dos Santos is pretty dangerous on the field. It’s frustrating to give up that one goal. I don’t think we are thinking about anything other than getting the win. I don’t think that’s too much of a silver lining for us.
On the team’s recent performances…
If you look at our last three games, it is something to build on. I thought we played really well with good intensity. We went into the games with good attitudes and followed the game plan. The last three games we’ve done well, and are unfortunate to only pick up two points in three games but that’s how it is in MLS some times. Other times you don’t play so well and you pick up nine in three. We have just to keep on going and the points will come, for sure.
LA Galaxy Head Coach Bruce Arena
On getting a result in Kansas City…
I think our guys did a great job, even when going down to ten men. Some days are going to look like this, but the grind up to get a point here is important. We are pleased with that. I don’t think we played well today. We had a lot of issues with this game today. It’s a point. We are going home. We are not looking back.
On what happened with Ashley…
I have no idea. We need to publish law eighteen and make a lot of copies of that and send it off to everyone involved. Do you know what law eighteen is? Law eighteen is common sense. That’s the law we definitely violate in every game.
On Sporting KC’s offensive attacks…
I thought they played a good game today. They were very aggressive. They won a lot of second balls. They are obviously a team that came back home and played real hard trying to get three points. We were fortunate to get one point.
On scouting lineup formation…
Zusi playing right back was interesting. Nothing else surprised me really. We made one change. Probably wasn’t the best. Larentowicz did a real fine job. He is coming back from an off-season surgery and we don’t want to throw that many minutes at him this early. We were pretty conservative with him and I thought he did a very good job. And same for Robbie Rogers coming in for Ashley. I was very pleased with him.
On the atmosphere in Children’s Mercy Park…
They do a great job from an organizational standpoint. This is a great organization, great stadium, a great fan base; they do everything right. If that’s the reason why we don’t win here, then maybe that’s the case. They do everything well.
On his impression of Giovani dos Santos’ performance...
Very solid with the goal. Obviously, he had a specular goal. Gio is getting goals in every game, so that is a real positive.
On Sporting KC’s aggressive tone…
I think they played really well today. They brought a good mentality to the field and played real hard. For us to walk off the field today with a point, given all the circumstances was good. (This game) I am not going to try to look at all. I will throw that one in the garbage can. We didn’t do well except in the last twenty minutes playing with ten players.
On LA’s multiple issues to the game…
I thought the game was an awful game. What can I say? It’s an MLS game. I don’t want to get into that at all, but there are things that we have to do to make some things better.
LA Galaxy defender AJ DeLaGarza
On tonight’s match…
Those are the games that we usually gave up a late goal, especially being a man down. Everyone on the field was fighting because we wanted that point. We know how crucial it is, especially this early in a place like Kansas City. It’s a hard-earned point.
On Ashley Cole’s ejection…
The ref gave a soft yellow on the first throw-in. He didn’t even warn him, just gave him a yellow. I didn’t see a replay on the foul.
On what he learned from the match…
I think it’s a game where we did not play well and we got a point. You take those and today is one of those days. We know how tough it is in Kansas City. I’ll take it and move on.
On the team’s recent defensive performances…
More fight and effort and collective as a unit. We are all engaged for most of the game. We have given up more than one goal once this year. The next goal is to start working on shutouts.
On the pride of giving up so few goals…
We take pride in that, but on the flip side, I know that [stat] because we only have one shutout. It can definitely get better and, as a unit, we have to stop getting scored on first.
LA Galaxy goalkeeper Brian Rowe
On tonight’s match…
These are the ones that we weren’t able to grind out and get the result on the road. We showed a lot of character tonight coming back from a goal down on the road, losing a man in the second half and closing it out to get a point.
On having to come out for multiple long balls…
You know once you go down a man, their gameplay is going to be to possess the ball and dump balls in . You just try to be off your line and help the guys when you can. I thought our subs did a great job killing the game for us and we really buckled down and got that point.
On the team’s recent defensive performances…
We are working well as a unit. We are pressing teams. We are getting the balls in good spots. We are scoring goals on the road which is always huge. We are defending well and eliminating chances for the other team.
On overall team’s performance…
I think once you go down a man, you are just kind of holding on. You know you aren’t going to have much going forward and you are just trying to kill off the rest of the game. Gio [Dos Santos] was just amazing on that goal. Great ball by Gyasi [Zardes] and just another game where we went down first and we were able to come back and get a goal which is huge for our confidence as a team.
LA Galaxy midfielder Giovani Dos Santos
On scoring another goal…
I’m happy because I feel fitter, but I think the important thing is that I helped the team and I think everyone is doing a great job.
On the chemistry with Gyasi…
As I said before the game, the chemistry on the team is getting better. All the players know what to do on the pitch and we are feeling more comfortable in the games. Gyasi [Zardes] is a great player and I knew straight away he was going to give me that pass and the play was in my mind before he gave me the pass.
On getting the point on the road…
It talks to the character of the team. We have to continue in the same way. Some of the games on the road are very tough. Today, we showed a lot of character, especially after we lost one man. We have to continue working like that.
LA Galaxy midfielder/forward Mike Magee
Thoughts on the match…
Things have been going really well lately. We’ve been getting good results and it’s been pretty. It’s nice to have a game where you are down and it seems like everything is against us and we find a way to get a point in a tough place to get one.
On playing midfield tonight…
Normally, I would be fine there. Tonight was difficult. They had a lot of guys in the middle of the field running and I thought we made the best of it, especially since I haven’t trained there in 10 years. We’ll take the point.
On the Galaxy not getting a win in Kansas City since 2007…
Obviously it’s tough here. They have great fans and a great team. I’m surprised we haven’t won here in that long, but we are putting in a good performance even though we probably played our worst. We did what it took to get a result.
On the importance of getting a road point…
We have so many games where things are going our way. Tonight was one of those games where you find out what you are made of when your back is against the wall. We didn’t back down.
