CHICAGO FIRE MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 11, 2021

Jonathan Bornstein

Press Conference

Sporting KC 2, Chicago Fire 0

Q. Tough opening start to the game. What happened on the second goal coming so soon after the first?

JONATHAN BORNSTEIN: I mean, it's tough to get a goal right after you concede a goal but they found a one-on-one with Mauri and tried to push him to the side and I guess we didn't track the ball enough. To go down 2-0 is always tough to come back. From I thought the guys showed a lot of heart. We didn't have lack of chances. We actually had quite a few. We have to finish those if we want to get back in the game. It was tough to go down 2-0 so soon. It was too much in the end.

Q. Especially a team like Kansas City, playing teams in the west, when you put yourself in a 2-0 hole, are you resigning yourselves to a very difficult game?

JONATHAN BORNSTEIN: Of course, anybody, if you go down 2-0, you're asking for a hard game. We knew it was going to be a tough game coming in. They have a great crowd and they are a good team at home. They have been doing well through the year.

To go down 2-0 so soon wasn't our game plan but as I said before, we had our chances. We hit the post twice. Had quite a few chances in the second half. Luka's header, the one with Chino right there and if we put away any of those, you know, we get ourselves back in the game and unfortunately we couldn't find our way back in the game tonight.

Q. With the subs at halftime, did you play as a traditional center back in the second half?

JONATHAN BORNSTEIN: Yeah, we changed to a four-back system.

Q. How was that for you?

JONATHAN BORNSTEIN: It was good. I've played that in the past and I've played that with the national team and Chivas USA for the entire year in 2008. Nothing new. From that spot as a three-back, left center back or four-back, I feel comfortable. So yeah, felt good.

Q. Two-part question for you, but coming off the road win against New York and then you had the international break, did that international break come at the wrong time for you guys maybe? And then looking ahead, I believe you play again Wednesday. Is it good to have another game right away?

JONATHAN BORNSTEIN: Yeah, you never want to break. But actually we needed it because we have so many games back-to-back-to-back, so it's good to have another chance to redeem ourselves coming up here very quickly, but I think we had enough time to prepare. I think we're good to go. Obviously the first goal was unlucky, and it's nice to have a challenge right away so that we can rebound back from this.