New York Red Bulls head coach Jesse Marsch
On bouncing back with a good result after last match:
Yeah, we took the D.C. loss really hard. But to come back and respond, and listen, this game was never going to be wide open. It was never going to be a three, four, five-goal game. Chicago doesn't play in games like that. They keep things very tight. They make themselves very hard to break down, and they see if they can catch you on the counter.
So all those things we can be very susceptible to and we can give up goals. The fact that we got a shutout against some very dangerous attacking players on the counter I think was a big step for us, and to grind out a Game 1-0, right? We haven't done that all year. We haven't shown the ability in a tight game to come out as the victor.
So for me, that was a really important game for us, important for us to be in and important for us to get the result.
On the first half and any half-time adjustments:
Yeah, it's easy to get frustrated in a game like that because they're sitting back, and any ball you lose winds up in a 60, 70-yard sprint the other way, but we knew that going in. We tried to prepare them for it. I think overall actually the frustration level stayed fairly in check and the guys stayed focused on what it was going to take to win the game.
We knew this game was going to come down to being able to make a play, but more about our ability to stay totally concentrated on what the game was going to look like. Listen, the game played the way Chicago wanted it to. They sat back, they made it hard, and when we lost balls and they went on a counter and then they were a little dangerous at times. So those are the kind of games they play in. As much as you feel like you have a grasp on things, one little slip up and you could be down 1-0. So overall our concentration and mentality to deal with that kind of game was good.
On the armband he and some of the players wore:
Yeah, one of our most loyal fans has been through a lot lately. So we all just wanted to show solidarity and tell him that we're all behind him and make sure that he knows that we're thinking about him. And that three points tonight was for him.
So we're not going to talk about who it is, but it's somebody that's very close to us, and I was really proud of the guys to be able to go out tonight and get the win.
On the play that lead to the goal:
Yeah, I mean, we felt that the way to find the goal was most likely going to be through a turnover. As much possession as we had, we still felt that if we could find a way to press them, if we lost the ball to go and win it right back and then play balls forward and go at them that that was when they'd be most unbalanced. Because anytime we got the ball and started to just play backwards or sideways, they got numbers behind the ball and made it very hard to break down.
Lloyd made a very good play, got it into Brad, and that whole combination that set Mike up was a very good play. So it was good to see us be rewarded for what we thought we could be rewarded for.
On the back line:
Yeah, obviously one of the things is getting a clean sheet, and we haven't done that much this year. Only one other time. There have been so many different contributors to the back line, and it's been hard to create any kind of a rhythm, and now we had another game where we have a different back line than we had last week.
So it's been really hard in that sense. It's been frustrating. We've had to grind through moments with different back lines and playing outside backs at center back and everything else. So the good news was Chris Duvall stepped up big tonight. And we thought it was going to be the kind of game that Chris would be effective in, a game that would involve counters and we'd need speed back there.
So overall I thought Chris did really well. Aurélien competed and battled and did all the things we know he's about. And I thought Connor was our best player on the night. His ability to shut down really good attacking players, the heart he shows, the ability he shows, the ability to shut guys down and get right back and provide an option with the ball. What do you say about a guy like that? It's a pleasure to coach him. So overall I thought four good performances on the back line.
On keeping the momentum going this weekend:
The last thing we talked about is that we have a big game on Saturday. I looked at the lineup. New York City sat a lot of guys, so they got two good results on the road. They're going to come back home with a lot of confidence, as they should and they're a much-improved team. Patrick Vieira's done a great job with that team. We know we're in for a huge challenge. But I promise you that that will be something that we'll be up for. We can't wait and we're really excited for that match.
On the play of Connor Lade:
You know, he's different, but Chris Armas was a bit like that. Chris Armas was a guy who was up for every challenge, never backed down was a guy you could count on for every play, never took a play off. Was always battling through certain situations, winning his battles, winning almost every duel he was in. And they're not exactly the same because I think that as great an engine as Chris had that Connor's engine is probably even better.
But I mean that's obviously a great compliment to Connor to compare him to a guy like Chris Armas. But Connor's a guy we know we can count on at any time. I always try to remind myself, and I said this last year, not to take him for granted because it's easy to take a guy like that for granted because he's always in it for his team, and to help his teammates be up for the challenge.
But the reason I put him on the field tonight is I felt like we needed more of that on our team and we needed a performance like that, and he gave exactly what we thought he would.
The other one I didn't mention Kemar when I talked about the back line. But I thought Kemar did really well with the matchups. Did really well with making sure he was alert at all moments and nothing got away from him. Had great recovery runs, tackles, head balls in the box. Really great effort from the overall back line all together.
On if he sees the season turning:
You know, I mean, this is -- it's not like all of a sudden we've become a bad team. I know it's still got all the makings of a good team. It's been challenged in a big way, right? And the key was to try to continue to force feed certain messages so that we could get ourselves over the hump.
Now I don't take anything for granted right now. We're going to have to grind out a lot of games this year, a lot more than we did last year. But even when I go through last year, there were a lot of moments where, yeah, we had some quality and scored some goals, but we had to battle and fight and claw our way through every week and that's what this league is.
So the more that we can grasp that, the more that we can understand that, and the more we can put it out there on the field like we did tonight, the more results we're going to get.
On the status of Mike Grella:
Yeah, so Mike just felt some hamstring tightness. I think he did a wise thing. He said he didn't feel a pull, it just felt tight. So it could be anything from a cramp to a small little pull. So we'll be hopeful that it's in the cramp category and that we can put him recuperated and recovered and ready to go for Saturday. But we'll have to just wait and see.
Red Bulls midfielder Mike Grella
On finally breaking through with the goal:
They made it difficult for us, credit to them, and we probed the whole first half looking for a chance and whether it was that our passing was a little off, or they were just so compact back there we just couldn’t get it right, you know – it seemed like we got balls wide and crossed them, and we only had two or three of us in the box and we were outnumbered. Nothing was really falling to us. So Jesse said at halftime a good way to get at them would be to pick one off somehow and suck them out, let them come out a little bit of their shell and maybe pick one off and that’s exactly what happened.
On the ratio of possession to shots:
No, I think that’s the key. Look, we have three points now, and we had a shutout. We’ll move on from this in a good way, I think. I think that’s a professional performance, you know, in terms of keeping the shutout, being patient, getting the one chance of the night and putting it away.
On bouncing back from the D.C. United loss:
Absolutely. I mean, we’re very good at home. I think a lot of people know that, I think we know that, so like I’ve said before we just need to make this translate to away games, try to open up and play, and be confident away from home the way we are at home.
On change since the beginning of the year:
Not too much. I think if you play at 99% you’re not as good as your opponent no matter what kind of talent you have in the room, or quality, and I think we learned that the hard way at the start of the season – that everything needs to be done at 100%. And that’s from training to taking care of your body and to executing on game day. So we worked hard. I think that it’s been at 99% and that hasn’t been enough, and when we do play at 100% that’s been the difference, I think.
On his hamstring:
I think it’s my hamstring tendon, as far as I know. But feels okay, just sort of more precautionary than anything else. I don’t want to push it too hard and hopefully we’ll know a lot more about it in the morning.
On the difficulty of different opponents:
I don’t think there’s any teams in this league that you look at and say, “this is an easy game.” I certainly don’t. I think Chicago tonight – they’re in last place in the entire league, and they’re tough to play against I can tell you that. They were very hard to play against. And there’s no teams that I look at in the schedule and say, “that’s an easy game” – I think that would be a huge mistake. So we take every game as it comes, and we’re looking forward to playing New York now at Yankee Stadium, and we’re looking to put out a very good performance and take points away from the game.
Red Bulls Goalkeeper Luis Robles
On bouncing back from the D.C. United loss:
I think tough is an understatement for that D.C. performance, but nonetheless we knew that going into this week it was going to be important not only for the mentality of this team but obviously for the standings. We have a big game on Saturday, but we had to continue to remind each other that there’s an even bigger game on Wednesday. And we knew going against Chicago they were going to be a team that sits back, they’re going to limit our chances, and they’re going to counter, and I think for the most part we handled that pretty well.
On frustration of not finding the goal in the first half:
Not necessarily, because that’s what we expected. We knew that it was going to be a long, slow, frustrating game, and the first half was that. But in the second half, it opened up a little bit. I think they took a little more risks and we were able to capitalize on one of their mistakes – a great pass by Bradley [Wright-Phillips] to Lloyd [Sam] who throws off the defender and opened it up to a nice finish by [Mike] Grella. So to that same point, for us to get a 1-0 win, to get the shutout, is huge for our mentality but also for us going forward. It’s this idea that we can grind games out.
On the goal:
Anytime we score it’s beautiful. I have a lot of admiration for those guys and what they do up front.
Red Bulls Midfielder Lloyd Sam
On the result:
It’s nice to grind out a 1-nil result.
On the play leading to the goal:
Yeah, and it’s good to see that Brad [Wright-Phillips] was ready to pick up the ball that was played short. It seemed like that’s how a goal would come from today, the way they were kind of stifling us and making it difficult, so it would have to maybe come from one of their errors.
On the whole game:
Yeah, it’s frustrating, but we’ll take that because sometimes we have games where we’ll end up losing the game like that and playing better. I don’t feel we played that well but it’s great to see us grind out the 1-nil win.
Chicago Fire Head Coach Veljko Paunovic
Opening statement:
I think that we did a great game against a very good team. We deserved more, for sure, and of course I would say that during the game many, many mistakes happened. But for us, we just want to encourage our guys to keep on working hard and keep the spirit that we had today in the game and keep on believing.
So for us, it's important that we are still building. We are a team under construction, a team that will continue working hard and believe. That's where we are and that spirit and identity of being a tough team to win, a team that plays every game until the end. A team that is getting better in every, every, every game during the season, and it's a long season, again. We will get there, for sure.
On status of David Accam:
No, he's okay. So far I spoke to him after the game. He said he's okay. Just that he's coming out from the injury and he's taking care of his body. So treatments are still important part of his recovery in order to be ready for the next game.
On being shut out again:
Well, telling the truth, because I think we did a great job today. We had a very good team in front. We played, we defended well, we created chances, we had opportunities, and that's the spirit that we have to keep. We just tell the guys, they did great, and we are proud of them and keep on working. Keep on working. Next game, next game. Because there are things that you can improve, like you can always prove that you are improving. So we tell guys that they are doing good.
On giving up one goal on one shot:
No, it's a part of the process where we are. We are, as I said before. We are a young team, a team under construction still. But growing and we learn from the lessons like today and we just keep on pushing hard.
On the shot that hit the crossbar:
Yeah, it was fantastic. It was fantastic. Our guys, they figured it out how they can take advantage of the space created by moving Rodrigo to the side, and the shot is a piece of art. It was really a great, great shot. But the thing is that it would be better if it ended in the net.
Sean Johnson Chicago Fire Goalkeeper Sean Johnson
On the defensive effort:
Our staff speaks wonders about the effort our backline put in. Everyone was committed to defending for the entire match. We wanted to make it very difficult for them to break us down. They are a talented team attacking, especially from the wide areas combining and going forward. To allow only one shot on goal was great for us and to see how far we’ve come along this year and hopefully we can keep building.
On getting his first start of the season:
It felt great. It’s a long year and the feeling of playing at night under the lights is one that’s hard to describe. It’s good to be back out there and I’m just trying to do what I can to help the team win, that’s the most important thing. Three games now on the road, tough stretch for us but it’s time to bunker down when we come back home and prepare for Houston to get a win at home.
On rebounding and getting ready for Houston:
It’s important for guys to spread the message that we have two days to prepare for out next game. This game is behind us now, we’ll learn from our mistakes and move on. I thought overall we have something really good to build on and now we’re starting to develop that confidence to really go on and push. We have to come out on Saturday with the mentality that we’re going to dictate the play at home and really take it to use. It’s going to be a good matchup, with them coming off a good results at home. We have to be prepared to come out and better their energy.
Chicago Fire midfielder Razvan Cocis:
On the defensive effort:
We did a good job defensively besides allowing the one goal. We wanted to close them down because they are very dangerous with Kljestan and Wright-Phillips in the middle. We gave them some space on the wings to play and it showed that they were not very comfortable playing like that. It’s a positive thing and we have to stick to this same spirit for the next game. I know we can do better.
On going home after a long road trip:
Yes, we are happy to go back home and heal and with the support from our fans I know we can get a win against Houston. Then starting from there, we can start to win more.
On preparing for Houston next:
We’ll have time when we get back to Chicago and have a couple days to prepare well. It was a quick trip, we took one game at a time and that’s how it’s going to be with Houston.
