Quote Sheet
Chicago Fire vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC
BC Place – Vancouver, B.C. – July 14, 2013
Frank Klopas, Chicago Fire Head Coach
Thoughts on the match
“I felt that we had a good start to the game and for 45 minutes we had a lot of good opportunities in the final third that I think we should have taken advantage of but the second half was different. In a game like this it’s disappointing for us with I think the way we played and the chances we had in the first half not to walk away with points from here but the game is 90 minutes and I felt that little things in the second half, just seconds balls and those things that kind of turned the game their way and they were able to put their chances away.”
On how the team will respond to losing two successive matches:
“It’s important how you respond from situations like this. We have a tough stretch coming up right now, we have away games and we need to find a way to get results and points. It’s a crucial month and a half with a lot of important games coming up so we need to get points or we’re going to fall behind.”
On losing two goals in quick succession:
“It’s always difficult when you fall behind. The important thing is just getting the next one but three behind makes it a little more difficult. When it’s two you can get that one back; the pressure changes. We let things slip away from us.”
Shaun Francis, Chicago Fire Defender
On Chicago not taking their chances early on:
“It was an away game so we all knew that they were going to come out and put a lot of pressure on us at home. We weathered the storm and we did a good job in the first half and kept it at 0-0. We got a couple of chances and we didn’t make use of our chances.”
On his team making mistakes:
“The game is all about mistakes and who makes the most mistakes and the other team’s going to capitalize on those chances. They capitalized on their chances and scored.”
Patrick Nyarko, Chicago Fire Midfielder
On his goal:
“It came out, we were trying to push at that time, it set up perfectly and I went up to get it.”
On recovering from two goals in five minutes:
“It’s hard, it was definitely hard. I think we let our foot off the gas a little bit for a couple minutes and they punished us and that decided the game.
On outplaying Whitecaps FC in the first half:
“Absolutely, I think we deserved a better result. When you play like that and you end up losing like this it hurts but we shot ourselves in the foot but we got to go back to the drawing board and figure out the mistakes we made.”
Mike Magee, Chicago Fire Forward
On why Chicago lost the match:
“We were good in spurts today, obviously we weren’t good with our attacking chances and they made the most of theirs. The fans are great, it’s a great atmosphere, the field is definitely not easy to get used to. But yeah, obviously they’re a quality team.”
On having several chances either blocked or saved:
“It just wasn’t my day, I tried my best and sometimes they don’t go in.”
Joel Lindpere, Chicago Fire Midfielder
On his contributions as a substitute:
“I tried to play smart, especially when you play away you got to keep the ball and give good passes to your teammates. I think I went in and did good, and did what I’m supposed to do: keep the ball, play good passes to my teammates and got an assist. I had two chances to score myself also, but I was happy I got a chance to play in the middle.”
On Vancouver’s home-field advantage:
“We played a great first half, but for us it doesn’t matter if we’re playing on turf or grass, I mean we played a very good first half, we had to realize in the second half a lot of our players didn’t have the legs after spending so much time attacking in the first. We should’ve played a little smarter, kept possession for a little while, hold back and play smarter.”
On the effects of the midweek friendly versus Club America:
“I played 60 minutes in that match and I would love to play 90 minutes normally. We’ve had a couple of practices since then and I’ve been feeling good so hopefully I get more minutes in these upcoming games. I was hoping to play even more today, it’s not my decision but I’m ready to step in each game as necessary. Hopefully we bounce back at home next week, it’s a crucial end of the month, we have a cup semifinal at home coming up, we need to get our confidence back after these two straight losses.”
Martin Rennie, Vancouver Whitecaps FC Head Coach
Thoughts on the match:
“I thought the first half was a little bit slow. The tempo wasn’t too great from us and I didn’t think we kept the ball as well as we have been and we didn’t create as many chances as we have. In the second half I thought we improved a lot, we created quite a lot of good opportunities; hit the post, had a couple of good chances before we scored and then I felt it was fitting that Camilo got the 100th goal for the club. I think that’s his 28th (actually his 29th) out of the 100 so I think that’s fantastic from him and then for him to get another one right after that was fantastic.”
On the positives to be taken from the win:
“It was a big win for us. I’d have liked to have seen us see the game out just a little bit better at the end but that’s a big win at home. Especially I thought after last week I wondered if it might be a little bit flat and it was but in the second half we really got it going and that’s our seventh win in our last 10 games. We’ve picked up 23 points out of the last 30 on offer. There’s a lot of positives there; we move up the league with that result, we’ve looked at that as almost one of our games in hand and once again we’ve scored a lot of goals for our fans and they’ve backed us all the way again. It was a great afternoon for us and it sets us up for the next game.”
On Brad Knighton making some key saves:
“He played well again and I felt it was important that we stayed in the game at that point. Sometimes if you’re not playing at your absolute best the most important thing is that you’re still in the game and it was important at halftime that we were tied even though we hadn’t played as well as we’d like to, but we had that belief and that confidence and I think that in the second half we turned it up a gear and it made a big difference.
On Camilo’s first goal and overall performance:
“For the most part, I think once he got squared up against Soumare he was supremely confident that he was going to score. As soon as he gets squared up in the box he’s really deadly and he gets past people and he set that goal up really well. I thought he’d missed out on the second one but he did well on that; it was a great ball from Kekuta. Camilo’s on a fantastic run, he’s the top scorer in MLS at the moment I believe and it makes a big difference to any team when your strikers are scoring and also when you’ve got players like Mattocks and Kekuta to come off the bench, that’s a luxury that not many teams have and it’s exciting for us to be able to bring those guys on.”
On Kektua Manneh’s introduction:
“I think at that point we were playing quite well but it just gave us a little more width, he stayed wide a bit more naturally and the main thing is he’s got penetrating pace. He can go past people, he can run behind people and I think at that point we were much more penetrative in the way we were playing and I thought the weight of his pass for Camilo’s goal was fantastic and then his trickery to score the second was excellent so I just think he’s a really talented player, there’s no question about it. We just want to keep introducing him into the team little by little but he’s got so much quickness and talent that he’ll certainly be playing more and more minutes for us.
He’s still 18 years old and he’s still young so we don’t want to overdo it but I think we want to give him experience, we want to give him minutes and we gave him I think about 30 minutes today so he got a good run at it and he rewarded us all with his performance.”
On conceding a late goal:
“I think we should have done more to keep that clean sheet. It’s the last kick of the ball, we’re 3-0 up and I think when we look back on it there are things we could have done more. ‘Keepers absolutely thrive on clean sheets just like strikers thrive on goals and I think I would expect him and others to be disappointed with that goal that we lost, but it doesn’t really take the shine off a fanastic win for us. It was an excellent win and a big three points, a really important three points today and thankfully we had that cushion today to allow us to let up there at the end which is something we need to improve on.”
Brad Knighton, Vancouver Whitecaps FC Goalkeeper
Thoughts on the result:
“Obviously we didn’t start the way we wanted to. It’s my job to keep us in the game and was fortunate to make some saves to keep the game nil - nil for the half. The guys took over in the second half and the result speaks for itself.”
Thoughts on the ending of the game:
“Yeah, well, to get shutouts. It’s what I’m here for, to keep the ball out of the net and it didn’t happen. It’s not good enough on our part. We’ve got to see the game out. 20 seconds from the last kick of the game and we let a goal in is not good enough. If you want to talk about the playoffs and this and that, that’s going to be the difference, it’s about the little things. We’re fortunate to get the three points and the three goals but defensively we deserved a shutout from the whole team. It’s a letdown.”
Camilo Sanvezzo, Vancouver Whitecaps FC Striker
On scoring so consistently:
“We work hard for the opportunity for every time we score. Today I had a lot of chances. I’m happy that some went in.”
Thoughts on 100th goal:
“It’s very important for me to be part of club’s history. And I hope it’ll continue like that.”
Thoughts on difference on him this year:
“I think we played more as a team, we work for each other, we fight for each other We pass the ball for each other. And when the opportunity comes we do our best.”
Thoughts on 2nd half:
“Martin says it’s not good enough. We know. Martin says we’re not good enough, we’re playing at home. We need to do a better job.”
Kekuta Manneh, Vancouver Whitecaps FC Winger
Thoughts on his goal:
“I don’t know how I got the goal. But when I had the ball I tried to take on the guy and try to force him down the field and try to get the ball back and try it all again. That’s what the coach was telling us, if we get the chance to shoot, give it some power.”
Thoughts on his confidence and taking on the defense:
“That’s how I play, that’s my style of play and I feel like that’s what they expect from me every single time I play. Every time I play, I score goals if I can and that makes me more confident.”
