Quote Sheet
Chicago Fire vs. Houston Dynamo
Toyota Park – September 1, 2013
Frank Klopas, Chicago Fire Head Coach
On the game
“I thought the guys played well. I think we came out and created a lot of opportunities. It’s a shame we didn’t put the game away. It’s tough the way you lose in the last minute, but that’s how it is sometimes. It’s disappointing. We have to make sure we play all the way to the end. Obviously, this hurts right now dropping these two points at home. We have a tough stretch of three games coming up so all of the points really count. So we have to find a way to pick them up somewhere else.”
On the last ten minutes of the game
“The team is playing a lot of long balls to put guys in and we knew we had to defend well. We have to be better in possession. That’s the key, if you get the ball and you keep turning it over then they are going to play a long ball. When we did get the ball we had to be better even in transitions from when we did get it to be a little bit better and finish the game. That’s how it goes and we just have to move on.”
On the Houston goal
“I saw the same thing you saw. We have to defend better and stop the ball, so I saw the same thing you saw.”
On taking Alex out of the game
“He was tired, he worked very hard. I don’t know if you were watching the same game I was, but he had a good game. He got tired towards the end, so we needed fresh legs in the game. That is why we have a team we have to rely on our players. Unfortunately we dropped those two points at this point of the season where all of the points count. We have to find a way to pick up these two points.”
On Houston’s possession
“They kept possession and knocked it in the back. We had to be better with our decision making and sometimes taking extra dribbles. They had possession, but we are the ones that created the better chances.”
Chris Rolfe, Chicago Fire Forward
On the result:
“I thought we played well and everybody worked hard. To give up a goal in the 90th minute is always tough to swallow.”
On the offensive chances in the first half:
“If you look at Mike and me, we had plenty of chances to put the game away in the first half. It’s a game of inches and it just hasn’t been going our way a little bit. The defense played well today and stopped a lot of dangerous attacks; they just kind of got worn down.”
On the play he received a yellow card caution:
“He took a long touch, I saw the ball and thought I could get there, but I’m not a good defender so I fouled him.”
On dropping two points:
“We’ve got a tough stretch coming up here, especially against Seattle. But it’s a good time to catch them; I think they are missing a couple of players. It’s still going to be tough, we put a lot into this one – we needed three points and we came away with one. We need to deal with it and pick up three points somewhere else.”
Gonzalo Segares, Chicago Fire Defender
On the result:
“This one feels like a loss, we had three points in our hands and we let it slip away, it’s definitely tough to swallow.”
On the late Houston goal:
“We have to be able to manage the game better. Just a minute before that we were dropping back and holding, we just have to be able to maintain that.”
On the last few minutes of the game:
“We stopped moving the ball, we couldn’t put two or three passes together and get the ball back, so it was hard for us in the back to move the lines up so we could get back in shape and not just be sitting in the back like how it happened. It happened in a few games prior to this, teams start pushing to come back and it’s just a matter of us in the back learning how to manage it. The line needs to move up and the guys in front of us to hold it and give us a breather because for 10 minutes they are coming and coming knocking the door. A lot of times we are able to hold them off, but today we couldn’t. We definitely need to learn from it.”
On the differences in the first half versus the second half
“We had plenty of chances in the first half to be up 2-0 or 3-0 and put them away, but we didn’t. We let them have a little breather and they came back and tied the game. That’s frustrating because it’s a game that we thought we had three points in our hand.”
Jeff Larentowicz, Chicago Fire Midfielder
On dropping points at home:
“In the end it feels like we lost some points, but it was a tough game and it’s a tough team. For the remainder of the year we have to look to get max points at home, tonight we let a couple slip.”
On the last ten minutes of the game:
“They take off midfielders and bring on forwards so there are more guys up front. They are bigger guys and they launch balls forward. I felt like we dealt with it for the most part until the end when we weren’t getting on after we cleared it and that gave them more space to come back at us. A guy got free, and it’s not guy you want to leave open in the box.”
On the difference between the first and second half:
“They changed personnel a little bit. In the first have we were good, positive and created a lot of chances, but unfortunately we didn’t put them away because I think that if we had it would have been a much different game. In the second half they’re an experienced team, they bring on guys who know they can try and get points on the road by putting the ball into the box, and they did that.”
Houston Dynamo Head Coach Dominic Kinnear
On the match:
“I thought we started off the game really good. In the first ten minutes I thought we were excellent. Obviously some miscues in midfield led to some chances for them and that sort of slowed us down a little bit. In the second half, I think we got out stuff together, we played a little better and at the end we were just chucking balls in the box, and Cam [Weaver] was getting his head on a few of them. It was a good heads up play by Corey [Ashe]. It’s a little bit of a mixed bag. I think it’s a good point, I think we created enough chances to get a goal. Tally [Hall] made a great save at the end. It’s tough. They’re fighting for their playoff lives, we are also. There’s going to be swings in momentum, but just glad to see the momentum swing back to help get us a goal and a point.”
On getting more consistent results:
“It’s not just us. It’s not just walk on the field and win the game. Sometimes you are playing against very good teams. The object is to step on the field and play well and win every game, no matter what. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. It’s a busy week for us with our Saturday-Wednesday-Sunday coming up, and a big game in Columbus on that Wednesday…so we want to remain consistent. We want to drive home and reinforce why we’ve been successful and remind ourselves what is not working for us. If we can put those all together, get the bad out of the way, it makes for a complete performance.”
On Eric Brunner’s injury:
“He turned his ankle, that’s all I can tell you right now.”
Houston Dynamo Midfielder Corey Ashe
On his assist:
“[The ball] was well struck by [Moffat]. I was trying to push the pace towards the end since we were down a goal and try to capitalize on the fact that some of their guys weren’t being honest defensively so I wanted to take advantage of that and fortunately I saw Moffat at the last second and rolled it back to him and he did the rest.”
On the result:
“I think a tie was appropriate. I thought in the first half we were really giving the ball away, we were really out of sync, we were fortunate not to have them score more, but I thought the team showed a lot of effort, a lot of resiliency. We were able to fight back and get that point. It’s definitely what you need at this stage of the season.”
On feeling the playoff pressure:
“A little bit. I think what everyone around the league knows about this team is that we’re good at finishing the season. A lot of veterans have been here and done it and this gives us the lift that we need. Obviously coming off a disappointing loss in Montreal, you take a step kind of in the right direction result-wise, but we know we still have a lot of work to go. Obviously Columbus is right behind us, so we are at the stage where you can’t be really dropping points. Chicago is so close to us, the race for the playoffs is so tight, so every game is really important.”
Houston Dynamo Midfielder and Captain Brad Davis
On the team’s performance:
“I thought the beginning of the game was good for us. I thought we started great, had a real good opportunity there with Will [Bruin] on goal, and I think we had one other decent chance I can remember. I think after the first 15 minutes, once that goal didn’t go in, I think the tables kind of turned a little bit. They put us under pressure. They scored a goal on a set piece, and that’s something we need to work on and get tighter. We’ve allowed too many goals this year on set pieces. We need a little fire lit under us, came in here at half time and had a good chat, and came out with the right attitude. I felt that the second half showed a team that is fighting. Things haven’t necessarily gone the way we’ve liked them to, but we continue to fight and get everything we can. Today is another example and it shows what we are capable of when we are down and our backs are against the wall. We have to get something out of it, and we were able to.”
Houston Dynamo Midfielder Adam Moffat
On his goal:
“I saw Corey bringing it, and I made a little extra effort to make a decent run in behind him there and he spotted it and it was a great play by him. I think I took a touch and a little time, and if I have time like that that close to goal, I’m going to have a crack. I’m grateful nobody pressured me. I caught it really nice.”
