11/1/09
| Postgame Quotes: Revs 2, Fire 1 |
|
Postgame quotes after the New England Revolution defeated the Chicago Fire in Game One of the 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinals series at Gillette Stadium on November 1, 2009.
New England Revolution head coach Steve Nicol
On the situation going into Game 2 …
“The object was to win the game. We would have preferred it went 10-nil, but we know that’s not happening. But we’re ahead, which means they have to come out and come at us. But the object was to be ahead after today and we did that. Obviously, we didn’t plan on going 1-nil down. We didn’t start particularly great, but I don’t think they did either. There wasn’t really much going on for the first 10-15 minutes. I don’t know whether we got frustrated or we just never got it together, but we started being a bit loose and they scored the goal. But from then on, we really tightened down and we put them under pressure. They broke on us, which we knew they were going to do. When you have players like (Brian) McBride, (Cuauhtemoc) Blanco, (Marco) Pappa and (Chris) Rolfe, you know they’re always going to give you trouble on the break. But I thought we dealt with it well, and at the same time, maybe we could have scored more goals. So all-in-all, we can’t be too unhappy.”
On what he would have liked to improve on …
“I think the only thing that was missing was reading the play better in the penalty box … We said at half time, if a guy in a white jersey can get a head on it, then there’s no reason that we shouldn’t be getting people doing the same thing.”
On the openness of the game …
“Previously, I think the games between both of these teams have just been clogged down with real physical challenges and stuff. But they make up for them on the break. It means that that doesn’t happen. We’re obviously at home, so we have to really push the game, which means we’re going to leave some holes at times. So I guess that’s probably why it was such an open game.”
On Shalrie Joseph’s impact …
“What do you say about Shalrie? He scores goals, he starts the play; you stick him up front, he holds the ball up … But it’s always good to be able to put Pat (Phelan) in there and push Shalrie further ahead. It always makes the other team take a step back when it’s somebody like Shalrie, [with] reputation and all these other things.”
New England Revolution midfielder Shalrie Joseph
On his goal …
“I think we were pushing up a lot of numbers in the box. Pat (Phelan) tried to tip it on and missed it, and it came right to me. I wasn’t really expecting it. I had a heavy first touch and tried to recover. But I tried to pounce on it and get a toe on it, and luckily it went in for me.”
On importance of the goal before halftime …
“It was huge. Obviously a great finish, great ball by Kenny (Mansally). To get one so late in the first half was good momentum coming into halftime.”
On going to Chicago leading the series …
“You couldn’t ask for anything better. You get the first game at home and you definitely want to get three points and put them on their back heels.”
On the better offensive effort …
“The first few minutes we started off slow, and the game was open with both teams hitting the crossbar and getting chances. It was great to see our open style of game. Our defense was huge again. They only gave up one goal and they’ve been big for us all season. With this one at home, we expect to score with guys like Kheli (Dube) and Jeff (Larentowicz). We expect to produce and get goals, and tonight it came from me and (Emmanuel) Osei, and it felt great.”
On the open style of the game …
“We knew we were going to play an open style of game. We definitely allowed way too many spaces for them to create chances. But they’re a good offensive team with (Cuauhtemoc) Blanco and (Chris) Rolfe. These guys are great offensive players, so we’re going to have our work cut out for us next week.”
On giving up the early goal …
“We just kept going at it. Matt (Reis) came out and thought he had to get a hand on it. He could have left it, but he’s been huge for us this season so we can’t really point fingers at him. We just try to make sure we stay together and stay compact.”
On the importance of set pieces …
“Sometimes that’s what it’s going to be in the playoffs. Set pieces can make or break you. (Osei’s goal) came off of Kenny (Mansally) whipping a great ball. That’s what playoff games are about, creating chances off of set pieces.”
New England Revolution midfielder Kenny Mansally
On the set pieces …
“Yeah, me and Jeff (Larentowicz) go over set pieces. If it’s farther than the 18 I take it because I know I’m good on them, just to spin it. I just played it to the far post, and (hoped) that if anybody touched it, it might be a goal.”
On Emmanuel Osei’s goal before halftime …
“It brought everybody back because we were losing 1-0, so that goal helped us a lot. We came into the second half and just worked hard. It was different than the other times we’ve played them. Today, they just wanted to sit back, relax and counter attack. But for us we just went all out, and it’s great to get these three points.”
Chicago Fire head coach Denis Hamlett
On the overall feel of the game …
“We went out with the mindset that we wanted to get a win, and obviously they're at home and they obviously wanted to get the win. I didn't think the game was as open. I thought both teams pushed to get the win.”
On whether he felt his team created enough chances:
“Yeah, we created a lot of chances and I thought that it always comes back to finishing off your chances. We didn't tonight, but we feel very confident heading back home.”
Chicago Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch
On whether he was disappointed with how the team played after the start of the game …
“I thought we started very well. We had the goal and we had a couple of other good chances. It was disappointing to give up that goal right before halftime. We got a little cute in the back a few times where if we were just simple and get it up the field, we make it out of the half 1-0 instead of 1-1. I think that was the changing point of the game. If you go in the locker room 1-0 it's much better because obviously we got sloppy there and it leads to their first goal. And in the second half they just come and are throwing everything at us, and for the most part we handled it. Then a ball is bouncing around, they keep it alive, and Shalrie (Joseph) gets on the end of it. They're a scrappy team; we know that's how they play. We just have to deal with it.”
On what he saw on Emmanuel Osei's first-half goal …
“(Kenny Mansally) hits it well and I had a good line on it. Then [Emmanuel Osei] comes running in. I'm seeing it all the way in, but once he touches it and deflects it, you're screwed. You have no chance on it. We'll look at it again and see what we can do differently on it, but if that runner doesn't come through, I catch that easily.”
Chicago Fire midfielder Chris Rolfe
On his first-half goal …
“It was a good attack by Marco (Pappa) down the right flank. Brian (McBride) made a good run in the box and I was kind of trailing, and Marco put in a good ball. I think Matt (Reis) didn't know where the defenders were, necessarily, and got his hand on it and poked it out to me. (Darius) Barnes stepped up to me and made the angle kind of tough, but I just hit it high ....”
On his team creating a lot of chances and having opportunities to score …
“I think Brian (McBride), in particular, got in a lot of good spots tonight and made it tough for the defenders. I think Baggio (Husidic) also did a good job getting in there, and [Cuauhtemoc Blanco] did a good job holding up balls and putting in some good service. As long as we can continue that stuff, we should get the chances. Playing off the turf, we'll get some bounces.”
On preparing for and winning next week …
“We know we need to win by more than one. We'll look at this game tape and prepare through that and look at the time they came to Chicago this year and figure out how we're going to be able to get at them. They'll probably pack it in a little bit and make it tough for us, but we create chances at home so it's just a matter of finishing.”
|
