LAFCvSKC Quotes: “This was a massive point and a massive performance against a really good team”
Peter Vermes, manager of Sporting Kansas City
To the team coming back to score an away result…
Games always go like this. You have to match the team’s score and then you have to try to fight your way back. And the guys did it very quickly. I think there are a few things. Again, I would like to say that their mentality is in a really good state. We build confidence week in and week out. That was a massive point and a massive performance against a really good team.
About the play by Logan Ndenbe…
I think today’s game showed how important fitness is for a player at a very high level. If you want to be dominant, if you want to be successful in your job, you have to be fit. He was working very hard when he was out and he knew he had to do it because he didn’t get into pre-season. But I give him a lot of credit for taking up the challenge. He worked really hard when he was injured and it shows in his ability to play the games the way he is. Today he ran about 60, 70 yards with the ball. His recovery and his defense have been very, very good.
About the play by Kendall McIntosh…
He made some great one-on-one challenges, stealing the ball right off the attacker’s feet. He’s so quick off the line. He’s like a cat. He’s so quick off the line. I think he was really good. I thought he played the game well. He picked his moments where we were playing from defence, which probably meant more than just hitting a long ball. But he also made good decisions because there were times when it was time to just not try to play nice from the back and hit the ball wide into field and try to get field position while one of our guys was struggling and maybe won the second ball. He was very intelligent in those situations but like I said he made some really good saves that kept us in the game.
On the team’s defensive performance…
I want to start off by saying that it’s a bit like the Seattle game where when we had to defend we were rock solid. The line was good today. The defense was good and I would say it was good in that they kept the game compact. This is one of the reasons the goal was disallowed for offside. I would like to add that, as you said, we also had enough in us to almost score the winning goal in the 95th minute. So a good mentality and a good attitude from the guys.
On the substitutions that make an impact…
Within the group there is currently a very strong understanding of the role and responsibility of each individual within the group. So if they get a chance, they will come in and fight for the group. That’s the most important. It’s great to see the submarines. Marinos (Tzionis) had his chance there at the end. He was lively. He came back and defended well. Introducing these guys is crucial, especially given that we have the midweek game and St. Louis doesn’t, and now that’s where we need to go. We’ll be a tired bunch but we’ll do everything we can to try to recover and do well there. It’s going to be tough but we’re playing again, flying away from home, traveling across the country and trying to prepare for it now, but the lads did a good job.
About the piece by Nemanja Radoja…
First of all, he’s a gamer. Second, I really like that he has a physical presence there. He always wants the ball and has a really good understanding. He barely manages to take the ball from one side of the field and open it to the other. He’s just really comfortable on the ball, which helps release a lot of the pressure as we build up from defence. It’s nice to see that. And if you can complement that with a few other guys that we have in midfield, that’s looking pretty good. The fact that he could live to be 90 and the type of work he did, the shift he worked was tremendous.
Sporting Kansas City forward Johnny Russell
On the team’s mentality of making a comeback after conceding a goal…
I think it’s totally shifted. I think you see a lot of teams, not just us, score here and panic ensues. They’re having a hard time getting back into the game and they think it’s game over. But we managed to turn things around recently. We managed to build on every game so it was huge. I think it’s another step in the right direction that we can show we can come from behind, especially against a side like that. I said it during the week: I think they’re the best team in the league and we were more than equal for a lot of the game. So I think everyone here has to take something positive out of it. It’s a good point on the way. This is a difficult place. Of course you want to win, but we got lucky with the VAR call at the end. That was badly needed. We can take a lot of positives from this game, so let’s take that and move on to Saturday.
About his goal and the focus of the team…
In front of their goal I thought we were playing really well and we knew they would try to block us on the break. We’ve seen her do it so many times this year so it’s disappointing that we let that happen. But to hit back so quickly and also to score the goal, I was just trying to make good contact and keep it low. I’m not sure if it went through both legs so I’ll take that. I’ll take them no matter how they come. We’re just catching up. So everyone is tied to what we want to achieve. I think you saw that even the guys that came in knew their job and did it well. It was a real team effort tonight.
On the team’s potential and whether he doubted it…
No, I mean it was frustrating. I was mad. There were a lot of things that went wrong and it took us a while to actually sit down and look at the real problem, and that was basically ourselves. We took that into account. It has been talked about. We had a really good team bonding session. A lot was said in a kind of safe environment. Whatever was said there did not leave the group. That was kind of a promise we made. I think you can just see that now. We fight for each other everywhere. And the pennies fell. Only we could extricate ourselves from this situation. So it took a while, but I totally agree. We’ve shown over the last few weeks in this short period how good we can be and that we have the potential to be a great team, but it’s up to us to keep showing what we’ve got in the last couple of games.
Becoming the first MLS team to score away at LAFC this year…
I think the rest of the league knows what we’re capable of. We just didn’t show it. But I think results like this, performances like that, make people realize that we’re starting to fix things. And if we do that, we’re a very dangerous team.
Sporting Kansas City goalie Kendall McIntosh
At his first start of the year…
It felt great. It felt great to be chosen. It felt great to be in the group and to contribute. The beginning was a bit scary but I’m glad the guys picked me up. We all had really good answers. It was a great game and of course a great group and I’m really happy we got the points.
Via the gate of Bouanga…
He has a cannon. I should definitely do better. But the guys really took care of me and made a lot of things more predictable after that. I generally felt like I was up to the task with the guys and I was just happy to finally be able to contribute as the guys believe I can and I believe I can .
When I went into the game I knew I had the confidence of the boys. They all kind of came up to me and said, ‘We believe in you.’ The coaches came up and said, ‘We believe in you.’ That’s why you’re out there.’ So when I went into the game, I was already feeling confident. And even after that, the rally and the guys’ reaction showed they definitely have my back. That didn’t necessarily motivate me to be more confident, but to say, “If they have my back, I have to have their back.” And that’s how I play the position. Not only is it my job to save shots, but I feel like I’ve got their back if something breaks. That’s how I see the position and that’s how I see myself. It was good to have such a mutual relationship with the guys tonight.
On the team’s defensive performance…
An incredible performance by the boys. There was a section where we were pushed back and a section where Johnny was in the back row saving balls. You see your captain and right forward crunching back there. It gives you that extra emotional boost to do whatever it takes to take the point and come out of the game with something. Honestly it was great to be a part of it. I hope that we can continue to move forward with this energy on both sides.
Regarding the mood and mentality of the team…
We just focus on each game as it comes. I feel like we definitely got to Jesus a little bit, if you will, a few games ago and the boys really bonded and bonded more as a family. I have a feeling you’re starting to see that in the results. Hopefully we can continue to show the performances and get the results that we’ve had in recent games.