Head coach Frank Klopas, goalkeeper Evan Bush and defender Hassoun Camara met the media after Monday’s training session to discuss Wednesday night’s game versus FC Edmonton.
Frank Klopas
On approaching the first game…
These cup games are always tricky. Sporting Kansas City lost to USL side Orlando last year in the US Open Cup and they ended the year as MLS Cup champs. This tournament, throughout the world, there are always upsets. The important thing is to approach these games in a focused and serious manner. I think we did. A mistake at the end in that game and it’s a different story.
Is the second game a matter of pride…
For us, we approach every game with pride. We are playing at home, so we have to represent the team and leave everything on the field. This isn’t only an opportunity to get a positive result, but a chance to make the finals of this tournament. We just have to leave everything on the field.
Evan Bush
Is there pressure to keep a clean sheet…
You always want to get a zero, so there is no added pressure in this game. We always approach the game with the idea of getting a zero and work on that from the defensive side of the ball. We know that we have guys on the offensive side of the ball to get the goals.
On preparing for one vs. one situation…
You have to stay tuned in mentally and visualize different things from the opponent. They will probably stay low, so if we can get the first goal, that will force them to try and push back, where we can take advantage of more pace, find more chances.
Do you see Edmonton coming in and having another performance like last week?
You can’t tale them lightly by any means. We lost and that means they are an opponent of being worthy to be in the spot that they are right now, leading this semi-final. As far as last week, the goals that they scored had a lot to do with our own mental lapses. If we cut that out, find more consistency in our game and play a full 90 minutes, we’ll be fine.
Can a win on Wednesday lift the spirits of the team?
We are kind of in a negative state right now, so to get a win, regardless against who, would give us a lot of momentum going forward and a chance to play in the final of the cup as defending champs. Right now, we have to concentrate on one game at a time.
Hassoun Camara
On the approach for Wednesday night’s game…
It’s a cup game, so the calculations are different. We are going into the game not only to win, but to score the most goals as possible. Having scored one on the road is good for us, and even though a 1-0 score for us at home would be enough to move on, you never know what could happen with an unlucky bounce, so we aren’t going to play just for a 1-0 win. We have to play the full 90 minutes and dominate the match.
Playing at home and turning things around…
We were down after the first leg in the dressing room. This game at home is chance to get our revenge. We‘ve had good results in this tournament recently and we are the defending champs, so we want to be in the final to defend our title. We need to work as hard as possible to get out of this funk and playing at home could help us turn things around. We respect them as a team, but we have better quality. So Wednesday, we'll play to score as many goals as possible. I’m not concerned at all and I know we’ll turn things around.
