Sporting KC Manager Peter Vermes
On the team rebounding from struggles early in the match…
It was a tough game. If you just look at the fact that [Dallas] trains in this sort of weather the majority of the year. We haven't really seen this kind of weather except for this week. We went up to Minnesota and it was cold, and then we go to Montreal, where again, it's not going to be that hot. You need to train in this weather to get your core temperature ready to play in this kind of heat. The way we were able to hang in there and grind this game out was great. Remember, all of our guys on the field today played 120 minutes the other day and they also played 94 today. If you look at their team, they only had one guy play 120, which was Hedges. It was great for us from a fitness perspective to be able to handle it, grind it out, do what we needed to do to get the 3 points.
On Lawrence Olum's mishap…
I think it was just a bad situation between both of them. One of the things with most of our players is that they're going to try to do the right thing. He hung in there. He got a goal, but also I think he did very well in the middle of the park, both in the back and also in midfield.
On Feilhaber seeming to play a deeper midfield role than usual…
Actually today, Benny was attacking midfielder for the first half. For the second half, we dropped him in a little more only because Mustivar got injured. It's not a bad injury, it's something he couldn't go on playing the rest of the half with. We went back to our normal system in the second half. I actually thought the way we were was working really well and we were only going to get better as the game went on. But the fact that he went down, I think we had to make a change. Last game and this game, I think the changes that we made are what helped us get the results. Hopefully that's going to continue because in both games we were grinding out the points.
Defensive style in the second half due to heat, scoreline or both?
A little of both but most importantly it was due to the heat. The heat was tough. You could see it on the players, they were dying. But they did a good job of showing they wanted it and actually coming away with a shutout, which was very important.
Importance of following up midweek victory with another solid performance…
We don't at it that way. We look at as whatever the next game is. Right now our focus is going to be Montreal in a day or so. We don't look at it like that. It's just grind out points and getting on with the next game and that's the way we see it. That was a U.S. Open Cup game, this was a league game. We had to get points and we have to keep going. It's good to see that we're getting back to our ways of being able to defend very well and not giving a lot of stuff away and being able to hold on to a lead. That's an other piece of it. We responded really well too. Even if you look at the game in Minnesota, when they tied it up, we still had something in us and we created quite a few chances. To get that second goal to win it was big for us.
Sporting KC midfielder Benny Feilhaber
On his recent form of 2 goals and 2 assists in last 2 games…
I don't know if I'm hitting a groove but I'm definitely trying to grind through it. Obviously it hasn't been a good patch for our team or myself the last month or two. So that's the mentality of all the players right now. Just fight through it and we'll come out alright on the other end. Big win for us midweek in the Open Cup. A tough game that a lot of people don't realize how tough it can be. Today, also in a tough environment with hot it was, obviously for both teams and some of their guys being a little bit more rested than us. Also playing against a good team, we were able to pick up those two goals at the end of the first half to win the game. Just kind of working through it right now and trying to get back to the way we go about things.
On his assist at the end of the first half…
It was a cross. Obviously the best way to cross those are usually to aim at the far post and if no one touches it, it goes in. But it was definitely a cross.
On impact heat and moment of silence had on energy level of the game…
I think the energy was there. Obviously it was very hot. At some points during the game, the game itself didn't have the same energy as it sometimes does in this park. But the fans were loud the whole time and I believe they were influential in pushing us. Especially in the second half when we kind of just keeping it tight in the back and getting a little bit tired towards the end. They just kept us going and I think that's what we expect from our fans and I think that's what they expect from us today.
Sporting KC defender Lawrence Olum
On taking home three points…
It’s the resilience we have on the team. We know what we have to do. We have to grind it out, and that’s what we did and we got the three points today.
On his goal…
It was a good set piece from Benny [Feilhaber]. I knew all I had to do was get a deflection or something, and that’s what happened. So it was a good ball by Benny, and I got a touch and it went in.
On the minute of silence for Orlando…
It shows that we are all together, regardless of where we are. We all feel each other’s pain. The fans showed they know what’s going on and the support they gave everybody in the country was a good thing. I thought it was outstanding.
How important is this win for the team?
For us, it’s a stepping stone in the right direction to start getting back to what we usually do, which is to get points when we need to. Today was just the first one, and hopefully we can carry on throughout the rest of the year.
On getting a shutout…
It’s a good thing. Like they say, defense wins a lot of games. So getting a shutout is a plus, but getting the win is the most important thing, and we got the win. Everyone did what they needed to do.
FC Dallas Head Coach Oscar Pareja
On refereeing of the game…
It impacted the game for sure. Today more than ever we want to step away from that. It is frustrating. Everyone saw it and I don’t want to talk about it. But to take away from things that we actually could control, we did have a few options to score. We had the goal in front of us and created the best chances in the first half. I thought we dominated the game, but it wasn’t enough. Kansas City put up a lot of numbers in behind. It was difficult to get those three points. We had a few options, but once again, it wasn’t enough.
On how frustrating it may be to have good looks on goals with no results…
The most frustrating part I don’t want to talk about. I can’t talk a lot about this because I can’t control that. When you are in front of the goal, you have to be able to put the game away. Especially when you are away and you created the options. It takes hard work. I think the boys did a good job at that part and put themselves in a good spot. It obviously frustrates us not to be able to score.
On losing despite out-shooting SKC 13 to 7…
It’s frustrating, but that’s the game. You have to put the ball in the back of the net. That’s just what you have to do. We had to create a lot of chances and a lot of positive things. We did here in Kansas City and I thought the boys did an excellent job. To put themselves in those spots, we deserved much more. We just have to continue.
On how the heat conditions impacted on the game…
I was proud of the players giving us what we wanted despite the heat. In this extreme weather they did a very good job. They lasted more than 90 minutes fighting there. With my group, they looked very good on that end. We were worried about it, but I think our response was very good.
On refocusing the team at halftime to make sure things didn’t go from bad to worse…
You can’t imagine how much it takes to get the frustration out of the players in that moment. They need to continue and keep working. I thought they responded well. They stayed on in the second half by trying to find the options, but we found it more difficult. We found that Kansas City just put more people behind the ball and we couldn’t find any gaps or windows. But we did put ourselves in a couple of options where we could have tied the game. We do have a lot of potential and did control the game a lot of the time. And once again, it did not bounce on our side, but we are going to continue. I am very proud of our performance. We came here against a very good team, in extreme weather, and performed very well.
On fan energy at Children's Mercy Park…
I always respect the crowd here really. It is one of those places where you can see that people have a good influence on the game. They really push the team. They should be proud. I told the team today that we are going to have to deal with an extra factor.
FC Dallas midfielder Kellyn Acosta
On overall team performance…
We had a few opportunities in the first half that we should have capitalized on. We had a couple mental lapses with the foul on the edge of the box and then we lost our mark. Then there was kind of a soft penalty that we could have avoided. Other than that, they didn’t have any clear cut chances on goal. We’re obviously disappointed in the result and I thought we could have put the game away early. We’re gonna learn from the game, move forward and try to bounce back this upcoming weekend.
On refocusing after a frustrating first half…
We just have to tune it up. I thought the sun and the heat played a big factor and both teams were a little gassed by the second half. We had some opportunities that we could have capitalized on but that’s just how the game is. Like I said, we’re going to remove the tape, this upcoming week we’ll touch up on a few things in practice and we can get the engine going and keep the team moving forward.
On team depth, especially Michael Barrios, Carlos Gruezo, Carlos Lizarazo and Coy Craft…
It’s definitely great to get all of our guys back. We don’t want injured guys and we have a lot of guys who are getting into their form like Carlos [Lizarazo] who just came off of a 2 goal game and Coy [Craft] who is playing well and his confidence is growing. I think just having those guys in the mix and getting back is a positive for our team. Obviously they’re great going forward so we need to utilize them and keep up their confidence.
