Quote Sheet:
Chicago Fire 1 – 2 Columbus Crew
Crew Stadium – May 26, 2012
Fire Assistant Mike Matkovich
On the second half comeback attempt:
"The guys showed our character on the night. I think the guys were brave and they fought hard. We had as many looks, if not more, than they (the Crew) did. Sometimes it goes your way, sometimes it doesn't. We dug a hole, but we've got to proud of our team and the way these guys responded on the night. It's been a tough stretch. We've had two stretches now like Columbus where we've played three games in seven days and it's our second one. We looked a little bit tired at times, but I think the guys battled through that. Mentally, they were very strong. We could have got 2-2."
On the ninth time the Fire have conceded the first goal in a match:
"I just think sometimes things go that way, sometimes they don't. I think we're conscious of it. We always have a punch packed though, so it's not like we're going to lay down and you know we're coming. That's the true test of a good team I've always felt is that if you go down, you can come back and win games. A lot of teams can't do that. We can. We'll keep pushing this thing forward. It's a long season."
On traveling fan support:
"It was great for us to have that 10 bus loads of people, 800 or whatever the number was. That's great. The guys really put the effort in for them on the night and we're so happy to have them here. It makes you proud of the city. The guys really play for them and the city."
Fire midfielder Logan Pause
On falling behind in the first half:
"I think, of course, three games in a week is not easy. They did the same thing. That's not an excuse. One of the things we highlighted before the game was (not falling behind early). We need to get to a point where needing to go down a goal to light a fire. Obviously, it was a disappointing first half going down two. It's a big hill to climb. We even had some pretty decent chances, but I thought the fight and the character of the guys in the second half was tremendous. The guys who came on, the subs, were fantastic. They pushed, we were just a little bit short."
On the second half spark:
"We've got a group of very capable guys, not just our first 11. We've got a deep team and we know that on a game that's the third in a week, guys are going to be used and counted on and I think the guys came in and did very well. It's just unfortunate for us as team and also disappointed that we had such a great group of fans there and we let them down today. We've got to regroup and get ready for Tuesday."
Fire defender Austin Berry
On his goal:
"It was good first ball in by Danny (Paladini), a really good first ball. Eddie (Gaven) was just in the right spot and we stayed in good positions to be able to keep it back in and stayed onside. I was able to put it in."
On Emilio Renteria's goal:
"That was bad positioning on my part. I should've just held him up and stayed off him a little bit, but I was too eager to get in and clear it. He used his body well and took me out of position. It's a good learning opportunity for me, but I've got to make that play next time."
Crew head coach Robert Warzycha
General thoughts on the match:
"It was a very difficult game for us because of the two previous games and the travel. We actually started the game pretty well. The first have was pretty good. We moved the ball. Second half (the Fire) just pushed us in the box and we defended the troubles on the corner kicks. We probably could have scored more goals, but Bernardo's (Anor) shot hit the crossbar and Emilio(Renteria) nearly had one in front in the first half. We did what we had to do and we won the game."
On the results of three games in seven days:
"Especially going against San Jose and Seattle away from home, we had to travel across the country. So yes, I would like to say it was a good week for us. "
Crew goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum
General thoughts on the game:
"We made it interesting on ourselves. We've got to find a better way to close things out. We scored a couple of goals, timely goals. Goals change games and we made it difficult on them, but in the second half we had to weather the storm. I keep saying we have to weather storms. That's the case sometimes. We were able to do that and get a positive result. Now we need some rest. "
On whether the Crew got too relaxed with a two goal lead:
"They say a two goal lead is the most dangerous in sports, and really you can see why. Maybe that was the case. Maybe it's a combination of that and we were just tired. Either way, we've got to gut it out. 45 minutes to go, we've got to be able to put that team away without all the issues we had. We like to make it dramatic."
On Austin Berry's goal:
"I want to look at it again. I just saw three guys not wearing our jersey go up. I'll just have to take a look at it and see what we can improve on. We pride ourselves on keeping zeros, so we'll take a look at it and see how we can improve."
