Sporting KC interim head coach Kerry Zavagnin
Thoughts on the match…
We knew we were going to have to absorb pressure. Every team does that comes here. San Diego is second in the league in possession. They're very high in their in their goal scored and they create a lot of chances. So a credit to them for how they attacked the game. But there have been games this year where teams have opened themselves up and paid the price and we were determined tonight. It would have been nice to get a little bit more in the transitional moments and even create a few more opportunities ourselves. But for three games in eight days and the resiliency of the guys not just to come back on Wednesday, but also tonight to finish the 90 minutes giving away very little. There was a lot of action around our goal. But we defended extremely well. It's becoming more of who we are and more consistent in how we protect our goal. And we're still a work in progress. It's one aspect. We're very good defensively. We’ve shown moments where we can attack. But when you go on the road for three games during the week, you have to be able to defend extremely well.
On the defensive approach…
I think organizationally, we wanted to be more compact. On Wednesday night in St. Louis, we got a little bit stretched at times. We looked at that performance and tried to improve upon that defensively. And we did tonight with our compaction through the middle of the field and our ability to neutralize their short passing game through the middle. They have some very good players. They made a few runs in behind us, which we dealt with in reading the ball over the top. All in all, a complete performance in terms of attitude, intention and determination. And when I say complete performance, I of course mean on the defensive side of the ball. On the attacking side, we're still working to be the best version of us.
On Santiago Munoz’s first start…
I think he had a very, very good game. First of all, he took the instructions that we wanted to defend and where we wanted to pick up the line of confrontation and he moved with the game. A lot of times, center forwards are one dimensional in that they just think scoring goals and attacking. He contributed to the defensive effort tonight and I thought he was, at times, really good at holding up the ball and combining with some of our midfielders and getting us forward into the attack. Obviously, on a night like tonight when you concede that much possession, the center forward isn't the focal point and probably didn't get a lot of touches. But I think there were signs of a really promising player and I rate his performance very high tonight.
On the substitutions…
We had a few of those planned subs. I think two out of the three in the 60th minute, but also knowing that Erik Thommy has not had significant minutes of late so we thought we'd bring Daniel Salloi on. I think Manu (Garcia) was getting tired at the end and of course Santiago Munoz, who's just entered the team, needed a little relief. Mason (Toye) and Memo (Rodriguez) came on at the end to help preserve the result. The fresh legs at that point of the game were certainly needed and we knew we were going to sub with five players tonight.
On where the team can improve…
We have to be more dangerous around the goal. And we've proven that this year already - at times we can be extremely dangerous and effective and efficient. Even in St. Louis, I think we had 13 shots in the box so we went on the road and created enough opportunities to win the game. Over the course of this week – Portland and of course in San Diego tonight -- are two difficult places to play. You have to take your few chances that are going to come your way. But we're building as a team. We're improving week by week. We're taking small steps at a time, but we're heading in a positive direction. That's encouraging and we should feel good about tonight and the momentum we bring into next weekend's game at home. But we also know when you come at home, you have to be even more on the front foot and put your stamp on the game. We're going to try to get better in the attacking phases of the game. I also think that we have the players to do that.
On the centerback pairing…
The continuity and consistency of your backline is always the staple of stability and a good defense. And those two guys making themselves available and being available for 90 minutes game after game certainly sets them up for good performances and good continuity. They have embraced the opportunity and taken hold of the position. They fought extremely hard tonight and in previous weeks and they deserve to be out there. With Jansen (Miller), he's a young player in his first year as a professional. He's going to make mistakes and game by game he's improving on his last performances. It's been many weeks now that he's put up good performances.
Sporting KC defender Robert Voloder
On the defensive performance…
It's just the good vibes in general. Everybody wants to help each other defend. If one makes a mistake, the other guy next to him wants to make up for it. So I think we are having a great balance right now. It’s working out pretty solid and it did work out pretty good today.
On playing three road games in eight days…
I think it's unusual to play three away games in a week. Like coach said at the beginning of the week, that's also an opportunity for everybody to prove that we can do that and that it's not a problem with the traveling. I think in the end we did pretty well. Of course, we would have liked to get wins, but we definitely take the point today and we keep moving forward.
On the run of spectacular goals conceded…
It's good that we won't be in the goal of the matchday this time. These goals happen. We can try to defend them, of course. Everybody is going to have a moment in his career and unfortunately some players had them against us. But I hope that's not going to be the case anymore in the next future games. Hopefully, one of us scores a banger.
On his run of form…
I'm just trying to work hard every day individually and to help the team in the end. It's a team sport so that's what I'm here for. The team comes first. I think I've helped the team pretty well in the last couple of games and I am looking forward to keep doing that so that we can continue to get results and win more games.
