HOUvSKC Quotes: “We created enough chances to win the game”
Peter Vermes, manager of Sporting Kansas City
The team not taking their chances…
There were so many sitters today. You have to score. I mean it’s a simple thing. You have to score. I don’t know what to tell you about it. I can’t shoot the ball so all I can tell you is that there are probably at least four, maybe a fifth that you could throw in there as well, but there are at least four just amazing possibilities. We didn’t score.
Congestion in the timetable…
No, I wouldn’t put that in there. nope We sent a group of guys onto the field who all had energy and also had a chance ahead of them. They had a real chance ahead of them. Unfortunately we didn’t make it. But we definitely had chances. But that has nothing to do with travel. It has nothing to do with midweek and all the other things. That’s part of our job. you have to be ready We changed our squad. We bring fresh people out there. We had lined up all the submarines. We had it all ready to go. I don’t think there was a lack of that. Now there are some guys who played longer than I thought but they also went longer because we had the ball for a good part of the game, especially the whole second half. So it wasn’t like they had to defend and wasting a lot of energy doing it. They could stay on the field, but they didn’t kill themselves in this game.
About the play by Marinos Tzionis…
He was very good in the first half. I just think that in the second half we were slow to move the ball and we didn’t find that many chances when he was 1v1. They also made a little change because they put a few different people out there to be one on one with him. And at that point, they really didn’t need to go any further. Because they already knew they were finished and they just tried whenever they could. It was certainly hard to break that, but we created more than enough chances in the game to claim victory.
On Robert Voloder replacing Robert Castellanos…
What we did was we actually went three in the back, and we went five in the middle of the park, which means three in the middle, two far out, and two in the front. So we actually used another attacking player to get us into that shape.
Roger Espinoza, Sporting Kansas City captain
About not being able to finish any of the team’s chances…
It’s hard to say, hard to say. We created a lot of chances. I like being a positive guy. I’m convinced that if we keep creating those opportunities, we’ll be in good shape given the opportunities. At least we create them.
In preparation for Minnesota at home on Saturday…
That’s the beauty of football. You can play immediately on Saturday and try to win the game. We’ve got some guys who rested tonight so let’s hope we can continue with another home win on Saturday.
On playing at left-back…
Exactly 10 years ago in the FA Cup I was left-back, so 10 years ago. It feels good. You can last 90 minutes just because you can rest a little when the ball is on the other side, on the weak side. But hey, anywhere I can help the team, no matter where – except goalkeepers, right, I can’t play there – but anywhere I can help the team, I’m fine with that. It’s a shame we lost the game, but if there’s anything I can do to help the team, I’ll do it.
On the fact that the team can concentrate on the league game …
Yes, we have to take care of the MLS now. The Open Cup is over and now we have to be excited because we won the last game in Seattle and we still have a good run to go. We have a few (upcoming) games, one at home and two away next week. So we have to be prepared for it. I just don’t know when we have home games. It looks like every game we play is away, but I’m happy to be home this weekend.
On replaying Houston in the US Open Cup…
It does not matter. Against everyone you have to play, you have to win. Every game is tough. Every team is tough. It’s easier for us. It’s a fast flight. So I’m not complaining just because we don’t have to go far east or far to the west coast. It’s very close to us. It’s a shame we had to play away from home but that’s the draw we got. I thought we had a chance to win tonight. We created enough chances to win the game.