D.C. United head coach Ben Olsen
On travel complications and how that affected the players…
"It has been a strange two days, but in the end, the staff and players hung in there. The attitude was great and to get three points out of this after a long two days feels really good; I am not going to lie. After some tough results, we asked the guys to dig in a little deeper, look inside themselves, and add a little bit more character to find a way to win these games. Today was a good day to start the next two-thirds of the season."
On Kamara’s substitute leading to the goal…
"It was a great moment and I am so happy for him because he has been through a lot. You guys don’t know him yet as a person, but he is a wonderful guy. I think the team couldn’t be happier for him because they know what he has been going through. It is always nice when you start on your debut and you get a goal. He still has a long way to go, but the one thing about him is that you can say his physical presence is real. He knows what to do in the box and he is going to be a nice addition."
On having to adjust on the fly to get ready for the match due to travel issues...
"I don’t want to be too dramatic about it. We didn’t fly in right before kickoff and the guys got some good sleep last night. It wasn’t too taxing physically, but emotionally it was a little bit draining. The message was that there are no excuses and we are here to play. I told them, ‘you can take this two ways. One is not acceptable and the other is getting something out of the trip.'"
On the feelings about the rain delay during the game...
"We were expecting a delay and we knew we could be here until 3am given how this trip has been. Our guys were ready for whatever circumstances we could have faced."
D.C. United forward Alhaji Kamara
On what was going through his mind with all this terrible weather...
"For me as a forward, you count how many games you play and how many goals you score, and this was my first game and my first goal. So that was the only thing that was in my head."
On scoring the game-winning goal…
"I saw the ball coming, and then I tried to run the ball into the goal. But then I saw the ball on the ground and immediately I just reacted in the moment and then I shot."
D.C. United goalkeeper Bill Hamid
On working with the defense tonight…
"They get themselves in the right spots and cut off ankles for through balls and always man up when there’s a cross coming in. It felt good to be back in there with them and to organize with them, and we restricted a lot of their chances, so it was a good performance."
On how it felt to be back on the field…
"At the end of the game, I was kind of emotional because I’ve been off for a little bit, and I’ve been dying to get back in. And for me to get three points in my first game back felt amazing, so after the game, it was a big moment for all of us in the back line and the defensive midfielders. We definitely felt like it was a long time coming. We haven’t had a good record on the road, so for us to lock it down and get a result on the road is a good, positive thing moving forward."
On the last two days…
"The last two days have been interesting, you know? It’s been full preparation mode for this match, and then you kind of wrap your head around this match and you’re ready for it, but then you have all these different things going on with travel and a detour in Chicago, which was kind of fun. So it was a lot to take in, but we kept the focus and we kept the right mentality, and we got three points."
D.C. United defender Taylor Kemp
On his assist…
"I saw there were people in there. I mean, it was a hopeful ball. It was the 85th minute, so I kind of hit the ball there, and there wasn’t really another option but to serve. And I knew there was someone in there, and [Kamara] made something out of nothing. So a lot of credit to him. He’s good in the air. He’s strong. He’s a little unorthodox. A lot of the balls that guys would head, he chests, but you can see he’s very strong in the air. So he did really well with it."
On being stranded in Chicago, getting into KC late, and then enduring a delayed game…
"This was the craziest 24/48 hours leading up to a game I’ve definitely ever had. I was really proud of our team. I thought our effort was outstanding. All things considered, I think we’re pretty happy with the result. But I think more than anything we showed a lot of character today. We were in the airport for 10 hours yesterday and we woke up in Chicago to play here today, so it was tough, but I think our group showed a lot of heart tonight."
On the return of Bill Hamid…
"He’s a great goalkeeper — everyone in the league knows that — and he did tonight what he’s done for the past several years, and that made him so good. And he came up with a huge save in the 87th minute tonight that I think a lot of goalies would have let in. He did what we’ve come to expect from him and what he’s come to expect from himself."
On what the team did to keep loose for the game...
"You can’t control any of these things, so when you find out, you just prepare the best that you can. We knew that it was going to be a weird day and a weird couple of days once it started unfolding yesterday, and you just do whatever you can to be ready. This group isn’t shaken up by a lot of stuff. We’re a pretty blue collar team, and I knew that if we weren’t at our best quality-wise, if we put 100 percent effort out there which we always do, we’d give ourselves a good chance."
D.C. United defender Bobby Boswell
On walking away with the win…
"It was just kind of one of those games where someone was going to have to step up and snatch it. It was good to be on the other end of that instead of them. And I thought we had a pretty rough couple of days here, but our guys were pretty calm and collected and we handled our business pretty well. This isn’t any easy place to come and play. I know they were missing some guys and so were we. I think that game could have gone either way, but we were able to capitalize on the chance and get out of here with a win.
On how he felt about the team’s overall performance…
As a defender, you always just try to keep the zero, so that was our mindset. I don’t really think they were keeping us under a whole lot of pressure, and we were actually pretty calm playing the ball out. There was a little period there where we were kind of struggling, but I thought a lot of the half we were finding good outlets for balls, and when you do that, it gives you a chance. We had some breaks, but then we also kind of figured it out and slowed it down and started moving the ball around. So I thought there was a chance for us to go and get the win.
Sporting KC Manager Peter Vermes
On the cause of the team’s recent poor performances…
It’s poor decisions and poor execution. At the end of the day that is brutal honesty. There’s not much more I can elaborate on it’s just poor decisions and poor execution.
On the lack of offensive output…
Of course you want to score goals. We should have scored goals tonight. We missed the target for sure but that still doesn’t mean that you should be giving up soft goals. I’ve never minimized the fact that you have to score goals in this game. My only point is that if you give up soft goals, you lose points. There have been other games where we’ve scored goals and we still gave up soft goals and we lost. You can’t give up soft goals. That’s my point.
On dropping points at home…
It’s frustrating everywhere because we pride ourselves in being able to go away from home and get points as well. It’s not a question of playing home or away, it’s a question of results, and the results are not there.
On the game delay and its effect on the team…
It’s no excuse at all. Both of the teams have to deal with the same stuff."
On Nuno Andre Coelho’s injury…
"He was a little heavy-legged, so it was more precautionary. There is no sense in trying to push somebody through something and all of a sudden you actually injure him. We just wanted to be smart in regards to him. He has played every minute for us so we just need to be smart. If you’re not, then all of a sudden you push somebody and they wind up getting injured and they’re out for 4-6 weeks so we decided we were going to rest him."
On defender Kevin Ellis’ return from injury and performance…
"You know I can’t really say anything bad about the majority of the guys because their performance was good. For guys like him and Nagamura, being able to fight out 90 minutes after not having played was commendable for sure."
On the decision to leave midfielder Benny Feilhaber out of the starting XI…
"If I’m going to send a message to somebody I’m going to talk to them. My messages aren’t sent on the field. I’m not a guy to say ‘hey you played bad so I’m going to send you down to the B team’. That’s not my philosophy and I’m not that type of person."
Sporting KC defender Ike Opara
On the goal…
"We work this whole week to try and get ready for set pieces. This is the perfect game, it’s raining, lightning delay, all these kinds of things and we knew it would be a sloppy game in the second half. It’s just one moment. I think we were sharp the whole game. It was just one moment with a lack of communication that led to that goal and that’s frustrating. We focused all week on stopping defensive errors and we make it 85 minutes. All I can say is moving forward, we have to finish the last five. Those are the critical moments of the game and at the end of the day, we can’t allow that to happen, especially at home."
On turning things around…
"I think we are playing well for the most part. I think a lot of games we have been in. I don’t think any game we have actually been out of it. Some of the games around this league, there are blowouts week in and week out, and we have been in every game. We are just not getting anything to fall. Moving forward, if we can finally get a goal instead of chasing the game or if we are tied, make D.C. United play a little different. I don’t think they ever had to play any different because it was 0-0. If we are able to get a goal, one of those chances in the first half or second half, it changes the whole game. I think if we can finally do that, moving forward, good things will come, but we just need to make our own luck."
On Kevin Ellis’ performance…
"He’s a warrior. What he came off of wasn’t easy. It was the first game back in, I don’t even know how many weeks, and I know how that feels. It’s never easy and he did a great job. He got his rhythm as the game went on and I thought he was sharp for that first game back. It’s good to have him back."
Sporting KC midfielder Paulo Nagamura
On the match…
"It’s a disappointing result. It was a hard-fought match. At the end, it was decided by one small mistake by us. I think we were the better team through 90 minutes. I think we were the team trying to get a goal. Unfortunately, one mistake cost us the game."
On turning things around…
"We’ve talk about it already. The game is 90 minutes and we have to be on for 90+ minutes. It’s about being concentrated and being aware of what is going on the field. Today, again, it was the same story and unfortunately we could not get the points that we wanted to."
On if being a veteran team gives him extra confidence moving forward…
"It’s not time to panic. We have 19 games left. I think we’ve showed that we have a good team, a good group with good guys. And we are going to try and get results on the road, at home and wherever we go."
