New England manager Jay Heaps
On New England’s 3-2 win over Sporting KC…
It was definitely an exciting game. For me it was the tale of two halves. I thought our first half was really good. We stuck to our game plan. But after halftime, 10 minutes in you really saw Kansas City put on the full court press and score two goals that we gave them a little bit, and they took it. You have to give them credit there for taking advantage. I was really proud of how after those goals, we were able to bend and not break. We had the legs at the end and I thought Jermaine (Jones) scored a really great goal. Jermaine had to gut it out. He doesn’t fully have the fitness, but I thought his performance was spot on and his goal was much deserved.
On the comeback after giving up the two-goal lead…
I think we made a key substitution. Scott Caldwell went in and was a little bit more defensive and kind of shored it up. I thought our guys settled a little bit after the goals. Kansas City wasn’t getting through as much. Credit guys like Lee (Nguyen) and Jermaine (Jones) and Scotty definitely. And the backline, I thought (Andrew) Farrell was spectacular at center back.
On Jermaine Jones’ game-winning goal…
I’ve seen him shoot those before. If you give him a little bit of space, he’s going to rocket it. I was just happy he got his first goal here, a game winner, in a tight game with huge playoff implications. It’s huge.
On a potential playoff matchup with Sporting KC…
We were looking at this as just a regular season game. We have nothing but respect for Kansas City and this organization. To me, they are the premiere club right now. Coming off the championship and having this stadium and the way they play here. I think it was good for us to get some confidence here, since our season ended here last year, so getting the confidence here is good. But that said, there’s a lot of football left to be played. The Eastern Conference is really tight, so we’re just focusing on getting up in the table.
New England midfielder Jermaine Jones
On his game-winning goal, the first of his MLS career…
I think after two-two from Kansas City, I was a little bit upset. I think it was my mistake. After that goal, I said I have to step and help the team come back and take a point or maybe a win. I scored at the World Cup a similar goal so I try to shoot when I have the chance. I saw that the corner was free, so I tried it. It’s a big three points and I’m happy for the team, the team works really hard. In the end, we’re happy to have three points.
New England midfielder Teal Bunbury
On playing his first match back in Kansas City as a New England player...
It was definitely a little emotional. I had a lot of friends and family in town, which was great. The fans are unbelievable, as they always are. It was an unbelievable atmosphere. I had a lot of butterflies going into the game, but they calmed down and I was glad to get a win. It's always fun playing Kansas City and it's also bittersweet.
On New England’s recent form...
We are feeling good. We have four games left in the season and we just have to stay consistent staying going into the playoffs.
On sweeping the season series against Sporting KC…
It's nothing I really think about. Every game I want to go in and win. It was great that we were able to win those games, but winning all games is crucial.
Sporting KC manager Peter Vermes
On Sporting KC’s 3-2 loss to New England…
After three games in nine days, it’s a massive effort by our team. I’m extremely proud of the way they played. I actually thought that we were good in the first half and that we were unbelievable in the second half. We gave up three goals, two of which I think were really soft. The other one was a throw-in. I think a couple of different things could have been done, but the first is something that a team puts together and scores. But the other two, I think were really poor on our part. I’ll say it again, though: it was a massive effort by our boys. I don’t think I’ve ever said this to them before, but I said if you play the way you play tonight – if we put the goals aside – it’s not that you’re going to be competitive in this league, but you’re going to win a lot and you’re going to win often. It’s extremely painful for the guys to walk out of here with nothing, but when you look at the long term and play three games in nine days with the intensity that we played with, it’s a good sign for the future.
On Paulo Nagamura’s performance…
The only thing I have to say about him is what I say all the time: he’s a winner. When you have winners on the field, they don’t give up. He’s just a winner. A couple years ago he scored the game winner for us in the Open Cup on the penalty kick. But he’s a winner and that’s why he’s valuable to the team. It’s hard to find guys like that, but that’s what he is. He’ll find a way to win. It’s simple. It’s hard to find guys like that, but that’s what he is. He has a winning mentality and he doesn’t expect anything else, not from himself and not from his teammates, and that’s why he’s important to the team and that’s why when he comes on we have success.
On losing three games against New England this year…
They’re a good team and they played well. At times things don’t go your way. I think I’m always very honest when it comes to this part of the business. I don’t think I sugar coat it about my team one way or the other. But when you play like we did tonight—if you go to the stats, that’s one thing. If you watch the game, you know the domination that was put out there by my team. When you play three games in nine days the way we did, the intensity we had was great.
On if the strategy has changed drastically from the beginning of the season to now…
I would love if we didn’t have as many injuries as we had over the course of the season. It’s taken us out of our rhythm and I think’s it’s been a big issue for us. But I would say that what it has done is that it’s helped us find a way with the guys that have not only come into the team and had to fulfill roles that they normally wouldn’t have, but it’s given them a lot of experience. If you look at tonight, Collin couldn’t play and Kevin Ellis played. And he played excellent. He was fantastic. He was good in all aspects of the game. To see that and have guys that you can rely on this late in the season—that’s a positive. The negative is that a lot of that stuff is us losing three players over the course of the season is a big hurt for us. Those are big losses, but I think the guys have responded well and I think they will continue to do the same.
On Kevin Ellis’s performance…
He played fantastic. He played a great game. He was good in the air, he was good with the ball, and he doesn’t play regularly at 90 minutes. Tonight he did and that’s not easy at the pace that he’s playing, so that was very good for us.
On Sporting KC’s place in Kansas City sports…
We are a part of the Kansas City community. We want the Royals to make it to the playoffs and we want the Chiefs to be successful and make it to the playoffs. In the past, we were fighting for a place in the sports landscape in Kansas City. But that’s not the case anymore because we have our own fans. We have our own stadium. We have our own environment. I’m sure there are a lot of people in the stands that are Royals and Chiefs fans, but at the same time they’re our fans too. We have our own niche. Success brings people in and it makes them proud to be a part of something. The result is one thing. It pains me to lose 3-2 with the way that we played and that’s because I know how it feels as a player. But the other side of it, when you know that you played that way and you played in front of a full stadium like this, those fans don’t leave thinking that our guys don’t work hard. They left it all on the field for those three games in nine days. When you understand that – and those people do – that’s why they keep coming back. They know our team goes hard for 90 minutes all the time. So I think our niche is there. We’re a part of the landscape. I wish all those teams success, but at the same time we have to focus on who we are.
Sporting KC forward Dom Dwyer
On Sporting KC’s 3-2 loss to New England…
I thought we deserved at least a point tonight. We came out flying in the second half. I’m really pleased with how we worked after halftime. It was a great reaction from the first half, and I think we were unlucky not to get a third or a fourth. Things just didn’t quite bounce our way tonight. Then we conceded one late out of nowhere, really. That happens sometimes in football.
On Sporting KC’s three losses to New England this season…
I wouldn’t say we’ve played badly against them. We’ve been sloppy here and there, but in the second half, like I said, we really dominated. Maybe our execution was a bit off. We probably should have scored a few more chances tonight. I’m always going to demand more from myself. I’ll always be disappointed when the other team scores more goals than us. When that happens, I kind of take it personally. And that’s what they’ve done to us.
On becoming the first player in Sporting KC history to score 20 MLS goals in a season…
I haven’t really thought about the number, to be honest. I’m focused on winning games. Twenty goals doesn’t matter to me right now because we just lost today. Obviously I’m a forward, and you like to score. But I’d rather not score and win. It doesn’t mean too much right now. We have four more games left, then the playoffs. Then maybe we can talk numbers.
On Sporting KC’s visit to Eastern Conference leaders D.C. United next Friday…
D.C. is a good team—a very good side. They’re similar to New England. They are tough to beat, as they’ve shown this year. Now it’s time to start playing these teams and winning some points.
