Head Coach Adrian Heath
On the U.S. Open Cup match on Tuesday…
“It was an eventful evening to say the least. As I said after the game, it felt like we had to win three games because we’d got it until the last minute of normal time, then it was the last second of extra time, then we have to go to penalties. Eventful evening, but the most important thing is we won the game because in [U.S. Open] Cup competitions, that’s the only thing. If you go and win the tournament, somewhere along that line, you’ll have had a bit of luck or a weird game and hopefully that’s ours.”
On determining players to take penalty kicks…
“You can talk about it, but the actual 90 minutes and then the extra 30 minutes, people are tired. People maybe haven’t had a good game. So as much as you can plan it, once it gets to that stage, you go ‘alright, who fancies one of these?’ You would [think] that Bongi [Bongokuhle Hlongwane] who had scored two goals, would’ve. He didn’t want to take one, so that gives you an idea that it’s not quite as easy as some people think, and the pressure affects people differently. I thought our penalties were excellent, apart from Kervin’s [Arriaga] of course.”
On taking positives out of the win over Philadelphia Union…
“Yeah, and I thought there were some really good performances. It’s the first time we’ve played three in the back at home since I’ve been here, and I thought that worked well. I thought Bongi [Bongokuhle Hlongwane] and Fraga [Franco Fragapane] gave us a real lift when they’d come on. Bongi got a couple of goals. We got to see his celebration again which was nice. There was a lot of pleasing things. Now, we turn our attention to the league game because ultimately that’s where we’re going to be judged.”
On the possible warranted excitement Sporting Kansas City brings into the weekend…
“I think so. Everybody knows of what my admiration for Peter Vermes is. I think he’s not only a top guy, a top coach, and he’s suddenly not gone bad in the space of three or four weeks. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that [Alan] Pulido played well, and Johnny Russell played well. Now they’ve got Gadi Kinda back. As we always say, you can be a really good coach when you’ve got really good players. He’s got his best players back. It’s never been easy for us in Kansas, and I don’t think it’s going to be any different this weekend.”
On disregarding the records when MNUFC and Sporting Kansas City play one another…
“We’ve generally done well against them at home, and they’ve done well against us at their place. We know when we go there – I’ve looked at their last three or four home games – although they haven’t gotten the results they would like, they’ve outshot nearly every team that they’ve played, and they’ve made some mistakes that have proved costly. It’s never easy, it’s not going to be easy this weekend. We’re going to have to play well, but if we play well, we’re capable of winning.”
On talent shining through with their three best players…
“Yeah, I think so and obviously [Alan] Pulido had nearly a year out. You don’t come back within two weeks it’s everything is firing on all cylinders. It’s taken him time but they’ve paid, what was it, $10 million for him? The guy is a quality, quality player, and he’s proved in this league that when he’s fit and healthy, he can score goals. Johnny’s [Russell] always been a handful for any team. I’m sure Peter’s [Vermes] delighted that them three and [Gadi] Kinda’s back now from a long-term injury – I’m sure he’s delighted he’s got his best players back and look like they’re fit and healthy. So, for us, we’re going to have to be mindful, certainly on the counterattacks because they’re very, very quick on the counterattack. As I say, it’s going to be a difficult game.”
On the approach to a busy schedule…
“We changed it around a little bit for the [U.S. Open] Cup games. Now it’ll be a case of ‘let’s concentrate on Kansas’ and then we’ve got what seems like it’s a regen day, a video day, and off we go again. But we’ve got a clean bill of health apart from a couple of players, so we’re going to need all of them in this really difficult stretch.”
Defender Michael Boxall
On the impact of the win against Philadelphia Union…
“How our recent run of form has gone, I think that we needed the positivity from that result. We still need to find a way to keep the clean sheets. We’re putting ourselves in the position to win games and then we’re finding ways to not see it out. To get the result is positive and then to play how we did for the majority of the game is another step forward, so we just need to put it all together.”
On seeing games through until the end to get a result…
“For the most part, it felt like we were controlling well. I don’t think Clint [Irwin] had too many saves. We just give the ball away, top of the box, and then it gives a team like Philly [Philadelphia Union] - when we think we have sure possession of the ball and then all of a sudden, we don’t. It’s just those little mistakes that have kind of cost us in the last couple of weeks. Just bad turnovers in the middle of the field where you can’t do that. Need to learn from those mistakes and make sure they’re in the past now and keep moving forward.”
On the key to getting a result at Sporting Kansas City…
“Obviously we’ve had tough times down there. I think we just need to start the game subtly. When you allow them to have space - I think it’s always we come back and deny them space where they enjoy. Let the back four have it, if we can stay compact and get us before we get into the game, and then assert our dominance later on. They’ve struggled to start the year, but then they managed to right the ship last weekend against Seattle [Sounders FC] which isn’t an easy place to win. We know their tails will be up, so we’re going to be at it to get something out of it.”
On managing a long stretch of games in a short amount of time…
“May, it’s a busy month, a lot of games. You’ve got to eat right, get as much sleep as you can. It’s three football games in a week. At the end of the day, I’d much rather be doing that than a 70-hour work week. You’ve just got to get on with it, there’s no better job. You’re blessed to have that many games.”
