New York Red Bulls Head Coach Jesse Marsch
On the team's performance:
The last 10-15 minutes weren't great but overall it was a very good performance. We set the tone right from the start. I thought we played at a very fast pace and our goal is to always try and make the game fast and overwhelm teams.
On finding success quickly after the club's offseason overhaul:
It's a credit to our men. It's a credit to the players we've had. It's a credit to Marc de Grandpre, Ali Curtis, and my staff. Everybody shares in this. It's been a total group effort from top to bottom.
On bouncing back from the poor performance midweek in Chicago:
I just think that the guys knew this was a big game. They were ready to give everything they had. Playing D.C. early on in the year made us better. We respect the team that they are. Playing games against New York City and understanding the spotlight's on in a big way - how to handle those games - has made us better. We know what these big games are like; we're more prepared and ready to perform.
On continuity in the starting lineup from midweek:
Our guys are fit. They've shown that they can play a game on a quick turnover so I wasn't very concerned about them physically. Clearly they were able to put a lot into this game.
On getting Damien Perrinelle and Kemar Lawrence back into the starting lineup:
Yeah, that meant a lot. I think Damien [Perrinelle] and Matt [Miazga] have been a very good pairing. We obviously think very highly of Kemar [Lawrence] and his ability physically. Certainly whenever there's a shutout, there's a lot of credit to the goalie and a lot of credit to the backline. The way we play we ask 11 players to make things fast, to press, to defend together. When we [play that way] well, it makes it hard for teams to move up the field and find space.
On a postgame exchange with Ben Olsen:
Just 'good game' and 'we'll see you soon.'
On Bradley Wright-Phillips' performance:
When Bradley drew the yellow card early in the game on [Steve] Birnbaum, he was injured. His toe was bothering for the rest of the game. To get two goals and an assist while you're limping around on the field is a big accomplishment. He's dynamic. I think he's shown what a complete player he is. I would argue that he's been much better this year than he was last year.
On if tonight was a statement game:
I understand why you say that but it's one game. It's a good game and I think it's something that if we can bottle it in our heads, this mentality and the commitment that we had on the field and the way that we want to play, that's good. It was another step forward. There's a lot to play for at this moment and if we stop for a second then we could slip so we're going to keep our pedal on the floor.
On his reaction after the midweek loss:
I took some of the responsibility because I gave them a lot of time off in the 10 days that we had between games. I felt that they needed it physically but I also thought they needed it mentally. To recharge themselves and to know that we have a big push to go down the stretch. We just weren't sharp enough on the day and you have to give Chicago credit because they played quite well in that game.
On if talk of the Supporter's Shield is in the locker room:
[It] doesn't come into the locker room at all. Right now it's just about taking a little bit of a break and getting ready for Chicago here. There's nine games to go. That's a lot of games. The minute you stop and start to think that you're better than you are, that's when you slip.
New York Red Bulls Midfielder Lloyd Sam
On the team's performance:
It was a great performance. There's been a few good performances this season [and] this just goes in that same category.
On the team's successes in big games:
Yeah, I mean, we have the right mentality going into these games. You can look at the results and see that we have the right mindset.
On his personal success against D.C. United - five goals in eight games:
I was actually aware of that before the game. My brother said that to me before our last game against them and I scored in that one, too. I was just thinking that if I was going to get a chance that I was going to be selfish and take it.
On Bradley Wright-Phillips' performance:
There's not much to say about that - two goals and an assist. He's been doing this all season. He's brought his assists up this year.
New York Red Bulls Forward Bradley Wright-Phillips
On the performance against D.C. United:
I feel like we are a very difficult team to play at the Red Bull Arena, and playing D.C. obviously makes it an even bigger occasion. I think we showed up today.
On his first goal:
It was a great ball. I didn't have to do much. I really just had to make decent connection. I saw Mike coming in, he didn't look and I was just hoping he played it into that area because that was the nearest place I could get to. It was a great ball I just had to make decent connection.
On getting more assists this season:
Like I said it was something I wanted to add to from last season to my game. I didn't have nearly as many assists as I should have, I wasn't touching the ball as much as I should be. This season I'm just trying to make it work and get my goals and my assists.
New York Red Bulls Midfielder Mike Grella
On the team's play tonight:
From start to finish I thought we were very good. Not just in our pressure and our attitude and our mentality, but I thought we were very good with the ball tonight which is good to see. I think we enjoyed this game as well. We knew what was at stake and we took care of business.
On the play of the front four:
I always said the more games we play together, the more we understand each other. Things would flow a lot more and we would produce more goals, and we can still learn so much more from each other, and keep progressing, but I think it's the way the team plays as well.
On not letting up any goals tonight:
I think we take pride in keeping a clean sheet...we know that going forward in the bigger games in the future, in the playoffs even, we need to keep clean sheets and win games 2-0, 1-0 especially when it is tough.
On what the team will be focusing on during the bye week:
We have the next two days off so I think [we will] enjoy ourselves, and also make sure we take care of our bodies, drink right, sleep right, and get enough rest, mentally prepare for the training to come next week and then we get another two days off so really just taking care of our bodies from this point on and making sure we're ready for the next game.
New York Red Bulls Midfielder Sacha Kljestan
On the keys of bouncing back from the midweek loss to Chicago:
I think we put our foot on the gas pedal and went out to get them from the first minute. I think we created a ton of chances, probably had the most dominating performance we've had this season so it felt really good, but I think the key was just good mentality, stuck to our game plan and really put them under pressure.
On if that was his best game this season:
I felt really good, I felt from the first minute I had a ton of confidence. I found the ball, I kept finding a lot of good spots on the field and my teammates found me. I was so disappointed at halftime not to have a goal in the first half, I felt like every chance I had [Bill] Hamid had a really good save or someone stepped in front and blocked it.
On the mood after the loss to Chicago:
We had a big sense of disappointment for sure and Jesse [Marsch] said right after the game that we're going to come back against D.C., we're going to get a win at home and we're going to forget about Wednesday. We had our foot on the gas pedal and we started everything really well and continued all game...now we have a chance for revenge against Chicago in the next game and we have a little break to recharge the batteries as well and we've caught up to D.C. a little bit as well so overall it was a very good match.
