Sporting Kansas City II Head Coach Benny Feilhaber
Thoughts on the match…
Performance wise I thought it was one of our best games of the year. I was very pleased with the energy of the group; the way we followed the game plan and I think the only thing that is disappointing is that we aren’t coming away with three (points) but performance-wise, really good from all the guys.
On earning the extra point in the shootout…
It’s always big. We know how MLS and MLS NEXT PRO work. There's very little room in terms of finishing in the playoffs or finishing out of the playoffs, getting a higher seed, those points all add up at the end. So, it’s good for the guys in terms of confidence and being able to get that extra point.
On the cohesion of the team with seven first-team loanees…
It was the best performance we have had in terms of cohesion between the first and second-team guys. That’s always one of the hardest things to get right. There are not a lot of training sessions where those guys are training together, but today was a day where I felt like the guys were mostly on the same page and working together. It was really good to see.
On Ozzie and Pau’s performances against Tacoma…
Ozzie’s been great. Played him in a different position today and I thought he was again, very influential. Found moments to come inside, found moments to make that off-the-ball run, to create space on the wing. On his goal he’s able to get inside just like we teach at the first-team level for our opposite-side wingers, to get inside and be that second forward. I thought he was fantastic. Pau, is a guy who has done really well for us. I wouldn’t say he has been stagnant but he’s slowed down a little bit here in the last few games. It's good for him to get back on the score sheet. I thought he was really good when he came on. The goal that he scores is off of sheer willpower and then the focus to just finish so it’s good for him to get to scoring.
Sporting Kansas City II Defender Nassim Mekideche
Thoughts on the match...
I’m not very happy because I think we deserved to win, but that’s football. We gave them that penalty kick and that’s just football sometimes.
On winning the shootout…
It’s much better to finish with two points rather than one point. Two points has so much potential to help in the standings. Every point is important.
On being the team captain…
Honestly, whether I have the armband or not, we are all captains on the team. We all help each other. I was happy to take it, but we are all captains.
On the quick turnaround…
We will continue to work hard and take every game step by step. We need to keep doing the work and try to get three points.
