Sporting KC Manager Peter Vermes
On the second card against Ike Opara...
Unfortunately it does change the game. You go down a man. It's a bad call. In a game like that, to call that as a second yellow is sad. It's really sad. But look, outside of that I don't really know what they had in the game. I thought we had a very good performance, though. They played well. They fought. They worked hard. They deserved a lot more than that game.
On Zusi, Feilhaber and Myers not making the trip...
Zusi had a bit of an injury to keep him back.
On what he liked about play tonight...
I thought that we played well right from the get-go. We had good possession of the ball. I thought we were dangerous on them. I don't think we gave anything away. They had one chance based on the foul that they called, and outside of that there was nothing else in the game. They should be elated right now to have walked away with what they got.
On tonight’s result…
Tough, tough result. I think we were in the game and I don’t think anyone did anything and they certainly didn’t do anything other than the one play. There was nothing else in the game. I thought we had more energy than they did for a majority of the game. I thought we were pretty good in the first half, we were the better team in the first half. We should’ve gotten out of here with a minimum of a point.
On still not packing despite the loss…
Absolutely. This is a long season and a lot can happen. I’ve seen stretches in this league and every team has gone through them. That’s the way it goes and we’ll find our way.
On what you think has caused this winless streak…
Other teams are scoring more goals than we are in games.
On Medranda’s performance tonight…
He had a very good performance. He’s actually come on really strong this year and it was good to see him again and play as he did. He’s starting to get stronger as time goes on and he brings something different to the game, which is great to see. He’s got a great future.
On missing Zusi and Feilhaber…
Those guys weren’t on the field so there’s really not much to talk about there. That’s the way it goes, sometimes you’ve to play without players on the field and other guys have to step up. I thought our guys played very well and I don’t look at is as we played poorly.
On what could’ve swung your way in the second half…
Unfortunately, the second card changed the game for us because we brought in two fresh guys in the wing channels and we were going to try and step that up a little bit. At that point, we couldn’t anymore because they brought in a fresh guy up top and I thought they were getting tired in the back, especially out wide and we were going to try and take advantage of that. Down a man is a big difference when you’re chasing the game away from home.
Sporting KC Goalkeeper Tim Melia
On playing five of the last six on the road…
It’s been a really difficult stretch for us at the moment. We’re not playing bad, we’re just not finishing out games from the first minute to the 90th. We’re doing a lot of good things. I think defensively we’ve been really good – we’re not giving up a lot of opportunities and we’re just getting scored on the ones we are.
So we’ve got to forget this, this game is behind us. At this point it doesn’t mean anything anymore. We have a really important game on Sunday. We’ve just got to build off our defensive performance here, start sticking the ball in the back of the net and things will work out. This is a very good team, we’ll be okay.
On taking advantage of having 3 home games in a row…
We just have to be really, really confident while we’re at home. We have to use the fans, use the environment to our advantage and make sure we’re getting on teams quick and early and turn this around from Sunday on.
Sporting KC Midfielder Roger Espinoza
On the team’s performance tonight…
I think it was great. We did really well and if we keep fighting like that, things will definitely turn around and things will begin to go well again.
On the difficulty of playing the last five of six on the road…
It is very difficult. We know playing on the road is not an easy thing – especially in the Western Conference. Now, we’re going home for three straight games and we just need to be positive and do well there.
On the differences between playing at home and on the road…
Like I said, it’s difficult playing away and dealing with the away fans. At home, you get to sleep and eat your place. We go to the stadium and feel welcomed by our fans right away, which makes us work harder and win for the fans.
On the team’s current morale…
When you give it your all, you can go home with your heads held high. Now it’s time to go home and try to get the job done over there.
