Frank Klopas, Chicago Fire interim head coach
Thoughts on the match:
“We didn’t have the start that we wanted. We came out a little bit flat and that was a concern of mine. I wanted to put the U.S. Open Cup match behind us right away. I talked to the guys and told them that they needed to stay focused, that we still have a lot to play for ahead of us. We were flat from the beginning, we weren’t sharp. We were just one step behind everything. Give credit to Dallas. They made it difficult for us. But we pushed the game late and we got something going. In the end, we gave up two soft goals that hurt us. We’re disappointed. Not only to lose but to lose at home. Now our chances are very slim for the playoffs.”
On timing of his substitutions:
“We made a change during the game when I felt Dominic could help. We had a hard time keeping up with Dallas’ wing plays. When we gave up the second goal, we had to make changes. Because when you lose 2-0, 3-0 it doesn’t matter, you have to push the game and try to get a result.”
Thoughts on fielding younger players for the coming weekend (with three players suspended): “Those guys are young guys. They have to earn the right to step on the field. They’ve done better, but every game we’re going to put the best group out there to give us a chance to win. Those are our young guys. They’re developing and their moment will come.”
Thoughts on the possibility of coaching for the 2012 campaign:
“When I stepped in, I said I believed in the group (and I still do) and for me, more than anything, we had 16-18 new players. It takes time for players to gel. The late additions helped. I think there’s a good core that we can build on. We’re going to wait until the end to see. Right now the time is for us to focus on the upcoming game. Nothing else. My focus is on getting the team a win in D.C.”
Expectations for last games of the season:
“We have to finish strong. Every time we have an opportunity to step on the field and train or play, it’s all about improving as a team. We don’t believe in excuses. We look at this game and it’s behind us. There’s nothing we can do about it. We can only look forward. Starting right now. That’s all we can do. Every opportunity we get, we’re looking to improve as a team.”
On Marco Pappa’s absence:
“Marco’s a good player. I put Patrick in the middle. Once we won the ball, we wanted to be a bit more direct and get the ball to him, especially when he was on Zach Loyd’s side, and get him to push forward. We wanted to find Diego in transition. I think the players put a lot into this over the entire season, not just the past few months. Their attitude has been great. Sometimes games like this in a long season happen. It’s unfortunate for us to have it happen now. The guys tried, but sometimes it’s not there. In a long season you’re going to have moments like this happen. It’s unfortunate that it had to happen tonight when we needed the win.”
Dominic Oduro, Chicago Fire forward
On the remainder of the season:
“We’re not mathematically out of it right now, but I don’t think we helped our chances of making the playoffs at this point either.”
On the team’s performance:
“I’m very disappointed. We started out flat and we gave them momentum starting off and it was hard for us to fight back after going down 2-0. We just need to keep our heads up. We fight every game and that’s what we need to continue to do. We still have a small chance of making the playoffs and we have to give all that we’ve got in the two games left, then we’ll see what happens.”
On Dallas’ defense:
“It was really difficult for me to get behind the defense. They just dropped back the whole time, so we had to change tactics in the second half. I had to go play on the right and I think I was able to get to a few more balls on the right. Technically, they did well the whole time by just sitting back to try and stop a run from behind and they did great with that.”
Gonzalo Segares, Chicago Fire defender:
On how the team will approach the final two games:
“Like Frank [Klopas] said we need to regroup, go to D.C. and look for the win. We’ve been pushing pretty hard for the past couple of months and it got us pretty close to being in the position where we’re fighting to make the playoffs. With the result today, it’s really tough to swallow but we have two more games to play and we need to go out there and gets wins.”
On the team receiving so many red cards:
“It’s definitely a result of the frustration the team feels. A lot of them are when we had them on the corner and somehow we had to steal the play. We hardly had any chances and sometimes you have to stop those breakaways. Because so many guys got cards, it’s definitely going to hurt us as a team, but we have other guys who can step into the starting line-up and help us in the last couple of games.”
Pavel Pardo, Chicago Fire midfielder:
On his red card ejection:
“It was a play that I came in a little bit late and I know it was a foul. But I think sometimes this is a foul you make 10 or 20 times in a game, but this is the referee’s decision. That is no excuse, I got the red card and I apologize because when you have to play with 10 players it’s difficult to try to win.”
On his future with the Fire:
“Of course I’d like to come back. I was talking about this situation with the people from the Fire and they want me to here next year. And I want to be here also, but not for one year, I’d like to be here for more years. I’ve integrated with this team, the club and the fans. I’m very happy playing here with the Chicago Fire.”
Sean Johnson, Chicago Fire goalkeeper
On the result:
“I tried my best to keep the team in it, but unfortunately these things happen. I try and limit my mistakes, I pride myself on being consistent day in and day out. But it’s just one of those things, you do your best to try and save the ball. On this night they were the better team and deserved to win the game.”
On their goals:
“On the first goal, I could have done better. I’m my toughest critic and I hold myself to a high standard. On the second goal, it was just unfortunate the ball got loose in the box and he was able to hit it home.”
