Sporting Kansas City head coach Raphael Wicky
On why the game got out of hand after the opening goal…
In my opinion I don't think it was structural. I think we were very well in the game. We knew it was going to be difficult, Chicago is a team which has a lot of possession and plays well. We wanted to be very compact, which we were in the first half, and then break out when we can, threaten them in behind. I think the game plan went well. Then we concede the penalty, which I haven't really seen. It felt harsh, but obviously with VAR these days, they check. It's a tough one. Then it's like you say, then we break apart. It's not the first time this season. Then we start chasing, we start opening up, and when we open up and spaces get bigger, we struggle. I think that that was the big problem. After the 1-0, I think it was 51, 52 minutes, you have another 30, 35 – if additional time, more minutes – to come back into a game. So there is no need in that moment to chase. I understand the players that they think if you're compact, you don't get the ball. But you’ve got to try to stay in the game. And then out of nowhere, suddenly it's 2-0. Because there were still moments where we had attacks and then out of nowhere it's 2-0, and then we then fall apart.
On coaching players to stick to the game plan…
It's a mix of multiple things, I don't think there is one answer, and it's not the first time, right? It happened in one or two other games as well, where we then started opening up and started chasing. I think it's a mix of experience, of leadership, of players talking in the field and saying, ‘no, wait, stop, we got to stick to the plan, we will stick together, not opening up.’ So I think it's a little bit of probably all of that.
On if the season has been more challenging than he expected…
Yes, it has. It has because of where we were with the players coming in, where we are with injuries. We have then this smaller roster, which we all knew, we had then a lot of injuries, recurring injuries and then you get smaller. But that's not an excuse, it's then you start getting into a negative spiral and losing these games and that's why, of course, it has been tougher than I thought.
On the change in formation…
I think that went well. We have done this before, I think we were pretty compact against Columbus at home. We were pretty compact against San Diego in a similar shape. Galaxy, we won away in a similar shape. Right now, again, Justin Reynolds is out. So I don't have a real fullback on the right side. We know that Jake Davis can help out, but then when he's in the back four, it's not always easy for him against some fast wingers. So that's why we did this again. I think in the first half it worked really well. We knew that we have to suffer. We knew that we first have to defend well and give up less big chances and I think we did that in the first half and try to think defending first, everyone. I think the team did really well, we didn't give up much, we had a few breakouts, we hit the post early on. So I think they did well, but then it's when we open up, when we are not together anymore, that's when we struggle most.
On working to improve the defense…
We are working with the defense. I think it's again like I said, when we start not being together, then the gaps get bigger, the distances are too big and that's when we start struggling. In the first half I think the distances were very together, were very short, then the team defended well. We’ve got to just stick to what we do to defend better in certain areas, we cannot get opened up. Obviously then also we had two goals in transition, we lose the ball and we're open, that's another topic.
Sporting Kansas City midfielder Jake Davis
On what happened in the game after the penalty…
The penalty happens and then we're down away in Chicago and I think part of it is, we're not going to sit back and try to hold a 1-0 losing position. So I think what happens is we go after the game, we step up higher, we take chances, we take a little bit more risk. Chicago's a good team, they’re clinical, they take their chances well. So I think it goes one to five because we're going after the game and yes, one to five is unacceptable. But we were going after the game. We did do well, we held them, but going down, we have to go after the game, and whether or not we're down one or five, we can't give up. And from a losing position, we're always going to go after them. So unacceptable to go from one to five, but we had to give ourselves the best chance to win and unfortunately, it went the other way.
On making the decision to chase the game…
We have a game plan and we stuck to Rapha’s game plan, which was a great game plan. Also in the game, we start to grow into the game and even when you're down 1-0, maybe that also gives you obviously a kick in the butt to try to go higher. And yes, maybe we shouldn't have gone higher in moments, we should have sat back and stuck to the things that we were doing well. I think just from natural instinct from players, I think we just know we're losing and so we have to go try. There were a couple times where we were successful with the press. That's where we have to be more mature as a team and say, ‘okay, those are the times to press, but we can't do that all the time.’ I think that that was the point, we can't do that the whole half of the second. That's what happened to us, we try to do it too much and they punished us.
On the penalty decision…
I just remember from the play that I nicked the ball after the cross, Ian (James) stepped out and it looked like Ian made a good block. And whether or not Ian's hand was out a little bit or not, it really is 50/50 when the ref wants to call it or not. You could say that's not a penalty, you can, and he called a penalty. On the actual penalty. I don't know who wasn't running, I was just focused on following the rebound because I was confident John can make a save. I ended up in the back of the net. From my angle, I just was trying to focus on what I needed to do.
