- New York Red Bulls head coach Mike Petke
On tonight’s game:
Massive three points. Again, similar to L.A. in one sense as we had hit the cross bar I think twice in the first half and we had two other clear opportunities that didn’t go in but we showed tremendous character with the guys we put out there and to get this result is huge.
On playing without Jamison Olave and Chris Duvall:
It’s a big loss but Armando did very well and (Richard) Eckersley did very well. The back line I thought was very solid tonight. Perhaps we missed a little bit of pace not having Olave in there, especially playing against someone like Omar Cummings. That was a bit of a concern but they did well and I’m happy for them.
On Tim Cahill:
The only thing I’ll say is that the last 24 hours have been very interesting. To suggest that a player was not in the lineup because of an international call-up is both ridiculous and laughable. We had four games left, three now, that are huge. To suggest that we would leave a player who we think could help us out because he’s going to the national team…We’re proud of him, we’re proud of Roy (Miller), we’re proud of (Ambroise) Oyongo for going to the national team. They represent their country and they represent the club. So, the steam that this picked up the last 24 hours has been to me ridiculous and I put the selection process, as the coach, which the last time I checked I make the decisions and I’m allowed to make the decisions. The selection process for tonight’s game went as this: I wanted to put the 11 players out that I felt could get us a result and we got a result.
Guys, we won 1-0 in a massive game tonight…It’s become a big story but it’s not. It’s not a big story. It’s a story that started from reporting that was inaccurate, assumptions made. I addressed it a second ago. The story tonight is a 1-0 win and guys that worked hard about it.
On Richard Eckersley:
He has been doing well in training. Listen, the decision is not based on L.A. last weekend with Duvall. This was a decision from the staff on things that we analyzed and talking with Chris that it was very obvious he needed a break, both mentally and physically. Did I want to do this? Anytime you have to change two players, one you have to because of Olave, it wouldn’t be my ideal situation to have two brand new guys in a very key game, but it was very obvious Chris needed a break. It was a mutual thing and I give Chris a lot of respect for the work that he has put in and for him being mature enough about being honest instead of running out there when he wasn’t ready.
On Eric Alexander:
He had mostly just cramps. I don’t think it’s anything serious. If anybody recalls earlier in the year, I forget which game it was, he had the same similar thing and he gave away a pass that led to a tying goal when he had those cramps so I think that was really on his mind and our mind that we need to get him out right away.
On the changes that led to the late surge:
It was two part for me in the second half: We run the pressure a lot but we continued to try to build out of the back… I just wanted them to spread out a little bit more. We were a man down, but some of those guys need to be a bit higher. And it was individual efforts, look at Peguy (Luyindula) at the end, look at Lloyd (Sam) at the end. For them to have the know how and ability to hold that ball in the corner, the ability for Lloyd to be in that corner, spin out and almost turn it into a goal, it’s a credit to them.
- New York Red Bulls defender Richard Eckersley
On Mike Petke’s message before the game
I think Chris has done really well in recent weeks, but he’s a rookie and he’s still learning, he’s still learning his trade and he’ll get better and better I guarantee that from season to season and he told me, just go out there and enjoy it and play your game. So, I’m glad, like I said with my performance, but I’m also pleased with the team performance tonight.
On difficulty of not being a consistent starter all season
It’s so frustrating because, I’ve played in MLS over 100 times but like I said, it’s soccer, you’ve got to deal with and take the rough with the smooth and it makes you a better player, a better person as well because you’ve had to come back from a setback.
On difficulty of adjusting to a new team and system
Yea that’s one thing as well. It’s moving countries, moving apartments, it’s everything. I probably wasn’t ready to play at the start of the season, but I feel more comfortable now, it’s more like a family now and like I said, I’m enjoying the last little bit of the season.
- New York Red Bulls forward Thierry Henry
On tonight’s result
It’s a great result for us, we know it was going to be a difficult game, that’s not an easy team to play against. They keep the ball well, they pass it well around. You always have to be aware of (Giles) Barnes, (Omar) Cummings, (Brad) Davis, Boniek (Garcia). I mean, they’re good on the ball, we knew that. I thought in the first half we did kind of ok to create some chances, we didn’t put them in the back of the net. So you feel like you leave yourself exposed to a counter or a goal and they had a couple of chances to be honest, throughout the whole game, but overall I thought we had a decent game.
On setting the tone to start the three-game homestand
Well it isn’t only that, I mean obviously as you know we didn’t play that well against LA the other day and we were on a good run, if I can say that and we just wanted to make sure that we could carry on the same way. Like I said the other day, we knew it was going to be difficult against them but we battled and scored one when we needed to score actually on the goal where maybe it didn’t look like it was going to be a goal right from the start and we had other opportunities where we maybe should have done better but at the end of the day we won and that’s the most important thing, but I would say that the way we battled throughout the game was the most important thing.
On how this game sets the team up for the next three games
Yea but you know, I’ve been in this league for a little while and you know, you have to take it game by game. I’ve been here for four years and the guys that have been here with me for a little while know that always it’s a must win game. Every team we play is a must win game because we had some difficulty to find some consistency this year and thankfully for us, we’re on a good run now and we have to keep on going.
- New York Red Bulls midfielder Dax McCarty
On tonight’s result
It’s huge. Huge result. We took this game like it was a playoff game. It had a playoff atmosphere, playoff intensity. Houston, they always seem to turn it on at this time during the season. They were pretty good, I thought we were very good in the first half, totally dominated the game. Second half, I thought they flipped it around on us after the goal and they were very good and were kind of hanging on for dear life, but it feels great to get a shutout, that’s a big relief.
On Richard Eckersley’s performance
I thought Rich (Eckersley) was great. He came into the team, he’s been patient and I thought he played with a real positive attacking intent and I thought he tried to link up and play forward. When you’re out of the team for that long it can get tough, it can get mentally frustrating and I know he was frustrated but the opportunity presented itself and I think he deserved the opportunity and that’s what staying patient is all about.
