FC Dallas head coach Oscar Pareja
General thoughts on the match…
Tonight, we are very proud because we beat a great Kansas City team. Sporting has a great model and a lot of experience in this league. They always control the game very well, as was the first half tonight. We created a lot of options to score. The unit was phenomenal tonight.
On Michael Barrios coming off the bench and creating the goal…
We wanted to refresh one of our flanks. We wanted to attack on the right side of the field through Roland Lamah. We did not want to attack vertically in that zone. We wanted to create a pocket where he could come and receive the ball and combine with Javier [Morales]. That also created additional space for Maxi [Urruti] and Tesho [Akindele]. We knew Michael [Barrios] is lethal coming off the bench. He has tremendous speed, especially when he is fresh. He can change the game.
On being the only unbeaten team in MLS…
Being respected in the league is not easy. Surely, next game people will talk about us being the only unbeaten team in the league, but we do not put those facts in our heads. We just keep moving forward. Tomorrow, this game is the past. We’ll take the best we can out of it, correct some stuff, but Portland is on our minds already.
On the play of Carlos Gruezo…
Carlos Gruezo was special today. Normally, he logs a lot of miles during the game. If you track the amount of balls that he gives back to us… it’s amazing. Now, the next step is, what can we do with the ball when he has it at his feet? If he can improve his distribution, then collectively we are going to be much better. That’s hard work for him because he put so much effort into winning the ball back and now he needs to glue people together in the middle. It’s tough, but he did it today. That’s why FC Dallas had such a great game today.
FC Dallas midfielder Kellyn Acosta
On the being the only unbeaten team in MLS…
It’s a great feeling knowing all our hard work has paid off. That’s what we’re aiming for, to be consistent at the top of the table. We’re definitely being rewarded for all our hard work we put it in. Collectively, it was one of our most complete games. We could’ve capitalized more in front of the goal but other than that we were really sound. [Oscar Pareja] was really proud and we left the field knowing that we controlled it the whole time. It was a proud moment for our team and hopefully we can continue on that note.
On scoring on SKC…
They’re a great team and defensively they’re real sound. Obviously, attacking-wise they have a lot of numbers in the middle and it’s hard for us to battle with them in the middle, they put in a lot of bodies. They never make it easy for us and playing over there I know we struggled on the road. Hopefully we can change that this year but they’re a great team. They have similar qualities to us. They go try to attack the flanks and find [Dom] Dwyer. Defensively with [Matt] Besler and [Ike] Opara back there… Those are two great center backs in the league. It’s just hard to break them down, they’re a good team.
FC Dallas defender Maynor Figueroa
General thoughts on the match…
Besides the goal, we are very happy to win and to get those three-points in our home. We are going to keep working. We are the only team who is still unbeaten and we are going to try to continue to score to win more points.
On his goal…
It was a play that we’ve been practicing all week, and tonight we had to opportunity. But we must continue to work because we’ve had many chances to score and we’ve let them pass.
FC Dallas winger Michael Barrios
General thoughts on the match…
More than anything, I was anxious to get in the game, to help my teammates and to get a goal. Luckily, I had 20 minutes and the first play was very important defensively. It was what coach wanted from me.
On his assist…
I saw throughout the game that shooting low wasn’t giving us any results, so when I went in I tried shooting higher and Maynor was luckily there to score a header and give us those three points and goal.
On coming off the bench…
It’s what coach wanted. He wanted me to take advantage of the guys who played the whole game and were getting tired, so by the time I went in, with my speed and ability, we would be able to score. We got the results that we wanted. We have to continue working hard for what’s to come. We’re very happy. We’ve been working hard all week and it showed on the field tonight. I hope that we continue on this unbeaten path and we move up on the standings to be in first place.
Sporting Kansas City head coach Peter Vermes
On tonight's game...
I thought it was a pretty even match all the way through. In the middle of the first half I thought we started giving the ball away in the middle part of the field and they had a few counterattacks based on us losing the ball, and I thought we fixed that going into halftime 0-0. I had a good idea the game would end 0-0, 1-0, somebody might sneak (a goal), but it was a good effort from our part. I don't think at any time we were overplayed. It was just an even match.
On his team's 65% possession advantage for the game...
You always want to have the ball as much as you can, but it doesn’t necessarily always equate into anything. When I look at the number of times on goal for both teams it’s very similar. Statistics can play a lot of different ways, but they were pretty even for the most part. Possession was just a fact that, at times, we were good with the ball.
Sporting Kansas City defender Seth Sinovic
On tonight’s game…
It was a difficult match for us. We weren't as sharp as we typically are, and Dallas was on the front foot. We've got to have a better performance if we want to get a result.
Was the gameplan to slow down FC Dallas...
I don't think we're ever looking to slow the game down. We like to come out and play, and put a stamp on the game. Unfortunately, we probably didn't have our best game tonight, but it's still early and we've got time to bounce back.
Sporting Kansas City defender Ike Opara
On tonight's game...
We weren’t good enough when we needed to be, they drove the game for a decent bit of it, got their goal, and they deserved to win that game. We’ve got to look forward to this coming weekend, correct ourselves and get ready for our next game.
On his team’s offensive struggles…
They did a pretty good job of pressing when they had the right moments. They make it a track meet so it's difficult for us to get our rhythm. That's the way they play, and we knew it. They implemented their gameplan to perfection. We need to be better at playing opponents like that, who want to make it up and down, and figure out ways to control the ball and get in behind.
On his team's 65% possession advantage for the game...
I didn't even realize it was that much but, again,that's what they do. They'll let you have the ball a little bit, then when they pick you off, they've got guys that are ready to go. That's what they live off of is that counterattack, and they had a couple moments in the first half. I'm not sure their goal came off the counter, but unfortunately we allowed one late in the game today.