Sporting KC 1-1 Philadelphia Union (7-6 on penalties)
Here the post game quotes:
Sporting KC Manager Peter Vermes
On Sporting KC’s effective mix of experience in newcomers…
I think tonight there were seven guys on the field in the beginning of the game that were from the 2013 MLS cup Final. That experience is huge. It took a long time to cultivate that group and I don’t want to say it’s everything, but it’s a lot. And as much as you are a part of the time period where we built that culture. What else is transpired is that they are now the ones that raise in the standard year after year. So when new players come in, there is no flexibility for them to go their own way. They either adapt or adjust to the culture the way it is or they find themselves out pretty quickly. So when the new guys come in, they understand very quickly what the club is all about, what the expectations are.
Something we said right before we were going out this morning, when we had a pregame talk, we were looking around, couple of coaches and myself, we were saying that what’s tremendous is that we have a young group that played against Seattle this past Sunday and they had a great experience there. They held up to what they needed to do to get us in position for this game, and make sure everybody was rested, but they earned a tremendous amount of experience today going through this. It’s one thing to go through and lose but it’s another thing to go through and win. You gain something from that, and I don’t know if all the guys come through that win are winners. All I do know is when the guys get a taste of winning they become that pretty quickly.
On the Philadelphia Union’s performance…
In the first half, I thought they were the better team for sure. I thought the second half we were the better team. I would say that we managed the overtimes really well. There is two things, and this isnt any off field tactics or so. It is not winning a championship at home. We have done it twice and we had to learn some valuable lessons on the road. In 2012, when we won the cup at home we played Houston Dynamo in the Eastern Conference Championship the year before and they were more experienced. We were very naive, although we played well, we were naive, and we gained a lot of experience from that, that has been a big help to us, we had to learn that. I think the Union has a very good foundation; I think Jim is doing a really good job and I think their future is bright for sure.
On his progression with Sporting KC…
From when I first came on the team as a technical director, and then became coach, and then both now, my thoughts were never about building a team, it was always about being a part of building a club. There is a big difference between the two things. A team can be built, and you can win, and you can fall apart the next year and be a one hit wonder. The whole idea for us was a club that was going to be connected with a community and more importantly was going to be competitive year after year. That is a very tough thing to do in this league because of the salary cap. We’ve had to sell guys, trade guys away. It’s unfortunate: C.J. [Sapong] played on the other side today, and he is a monster, and I love the kid, we have a great relationship. It’s not something we necessarily wanted to do. [Teal] Bunbury last year played in the final with New England. Another guy, Kei Kamara, he is leading the league in goals right now. I can go down the list of players that have been with the club and incredible servants for the club. At the same time they know and understand what clubs are about and we still have a lot of work to do. We are adding something that are going to be announced sooner than later for the organization. We still have a long way to go. Lets’ face it, there are some super powers in our league that are LA Galaxy, new LA team, Toronto, New Yorks of the world, Montreal, Vancouver, Seattle. Those are some superpowers and we have to be able to do things maybe a little different because of our market and we need to continue to stay competitive because those guys are getting better all the time. It’s not an easy league to navigate form that perspective to stay consistent.
Philadelphia Union head coach Jim Curtin
On Philadelphia’s loss…
Not a ton of words after a night like that. First off, congratulations to Kansas City, Peter Vermes. Very good team, a team that’s lifted a few trophies. We continue to try to find our first. It’s the hardest thing to do in our game and the past two years have been an example of that. I think this year we’re as close, probably even more close than Seattle. The building’s ready to erupt and we came up a little short in penalty kicks. At that stage, it can go either way.
First half I thought we pushed the tempo. We’re sitting on the sidelines saying we need a second goal, we need a second goal. I thought KC was a little vulnerable in that first half. Especially once we scored, it kind of opened up and we had some chances as they pushed. Didn’t make the final play in the box to get that goal, a couple unlucky bounces. On another night it could go our way, but for some reason it just doesn’t. That’s a difficult thing in this building. Our fans were amazing. They stuck with us, like they always do. The atmosphere was all we could have asked for. Again, all I can say is sorry for not delivering something that we’ve talked about achieving…It’s elusive for us right now. No fault of my players, they put everything into the game. [They] emptied their tanks for me, it set up alright in terms of the 120 minute mark getting Johnny in there to maybe finish the thing. It just didn’t go our way. Again, credit to KC. A very good team, a team that has a bunch of winners.
On Philadelphia’s performance…
I was really happy about how we played in the first half. At halftime we talked about having that killer instinct to get the second goal. I said to them I think there’s going to be more goals in this game. It’s critical to get the next one. Us going up 2-0 or them tying it, which is would up being what happened. It’s a little bit execution a little bit of ball bouncing your way. Their goalkeeper was good on the night. Made a few saves to bail them out. When you have a team -I’m not saying we had them on the ropes- a little bit scrambling in the first half it is critical to take advantage and get that second goal. I’m kind of at a loss for words. I don’t want to sound like I’m making excuses or anything like that because Kansas City is a good team.
