New England Revolution head coach Steve Nicol

The goals we gave away were atrocious, bottom line. We could’ve scored seven ourselves. I could have been standing here with a 6- or 7-3 victory, instead we lose 3-2. We go in at halftime one down; we should have been two up. And again we come in at the end 3-2 down and we could have been 5, 6-3. The three goals were atrocious. I’ll always defend the players, but occasionally when your defense gives up goals like that, there’s no hiding place. The goals were atrocious. And really, defensively, we let down the rest of the team tonight. We made some great chances – fantastic chances when you think about when we should’ve scored – and we’ve lost again.

We should’ve been two up. But we never took them, and then we give them a terrible goal, and we’re going in down at halftime. We know we’re going to make more chances, but we have to make sure defensively when we’re going forward we’re filling the holes, and that’s what we didn’t do. As much as the two goals had a couple of ricochets, the source of the problem was when we were actually attacking the other penalty box. We need to fill the holes in behind so that when the ball is knocked out and we’re defending, we’re either winning the next ball or making it difficult for them to get out. And we didn’t do that well enough and that’s why we lost the three goals.

That’s’ what I’m talking about with the three goals. We certainly pressured them. But we said before the game we knew we were going to make chances tonight. We felt we were better than Chivas, but we had to make sure that when we went forward, we filled in the gaps, filled in the holes behind the guys going forward. And we didn’t do that. You end up getting balls knocked out of the opposition’s penalty area and because we don’t fill the holes in and everyone’s having to run 60, 70 yards to make a last-ditch tackles or to defend a corner.

We were hoping to get a spark (from Diego Fagundez). We had thoughts about playing him at some stage tonight anyway because he’s been doing great in training. He just likes to play, you can see his enthusiasm. It looks like he’s got a footballer’s brain. So it was a no-brainer to get him on. He did a fantastic job – he gets the penalty, he gets the goal: what more can you ask for?

It’s all timing. Things have settled for (Diego Fagundez) tonight. We were obviously getting everything forward early so it was a good time to come on. Starting the game might be a little bit not there yet, but as you can see, he wants to play. He’s done everything to get a game and it’s been a great night for him.

The one thing with Milton (Caraglio) is he’s not fit-enough yet. He’s been on his off-season. He’s been doing some training on his own, but there’s a world of difference between training everyday with a team and doing your own stuff. So, once we can get him up to speed – hopefully that will be sooner, rather than later – then you’ll see a lot more from him. He can hold the ball up and bring people in. He’s shown that he can score goals, as well. So that’s the combination we’re looking for from him.

We want (Milton Caraglio) to get up to speed. He can hold the ball up – you saw him holding the ball up tonight. Obviously that extra yard that that he has in his brain, his legs aren’t following him yet, which means he’s not getting away from people. Once he gets up to speed, you’ll probably see that.

I think when you have so many corners as we had, and we ended up defending throw-ins from them, we were a little bit disappointed. But even so, we still made some chances from some of the set pieces, albeit we’d rather have it spot-on every time. But that’s not possible.

New England Revolution Forward Milton Caraglio

No esperaba el resultado este pero el proximo partido sera major.
I wasn’t expecting this result (tonight) but the next match will be better.

Me esperaba esto, es una liga muy dificil pero hacia un ano que no estaba jugando. La verdad que me sentia bastante bien con mis companeros y bueno, trabajar para el partido que viene podamos tener un trifuno.
I was anticipating (this high level of play). This is a very difficult league (to play in) and it’s been a year since I last played a match. The truth is that I felt pretty well with my teammates and well, (we have to) work hard for the next match so we can get a victory.

Bien, bien. Lo verdad que no creia que me iba a sentir tan bien.
Good, good. The truth is that I did not think I would feel this well (physically).

New England Revolution midfielder Diego Fagundez

Probably a little bit (nervous), but not too bad. Once I got the first ball, the nerves just went away.

Benny (Feilhaber) slotted the ball to me and I faked the pass into the middle and just took (the defender) one on one. The guy just caught me from behind and I just went down. I’m glad we scored on that (play).

I was really excited for that (penalty kick). That proved that I helped the team a little bit, and then when I scored that, it helped a lot.

Kevin Alston played it over the top. Shalrie (Joseph) was about to head it and I just said ‘leave it,’ and the ball bounced and I put my body around a player. Right when the ‘keeper came out and I shot lefty and the ball went in.

When I saw the ball go into the net, I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ The first thing I did was a heart (with my hands) to my family that’s standing in the club seats.

If there is a difference between playing with the youth teams and the first team …
Yes, it is definitely. More physical, faster and you have to think more.

Do you think you can make the starting lineup now?
I don’t know. I’m going to keep working hard and see what happens.

When Steve Nicol called him into the match …
Right there, I was like, ‘Oh my God. I can’t believe this.’ (I was) really excited when he told me that. (The) First thing I thought was ‘I’m going to have to try and help the team score a goal,’ and I did.

Yeah, I thought we were going to come back in the last 10 minutes. We attacked the whole time, and then they probably had a couple of chances. We defended (well) and when we attacked, we were dangerous in the box.

New England Revolution midfielder Shalrie Joseph

It started in the first half, the first five or 10 minutes we couldn’t get those early chances that would’ve made a huge difference in terms of us chasing the game and in terms of being a little bit more composed and relaxed. But once we went down 1-0, we started to chase the game a little bit here and there and we weren’t able to finish tonight.

Oh (Diego Fagundez) was huge. I mean, he gave the whole team a spark. It was an unusual sub and Stevie made the call and he made a great call bringing him on. When he came on for some reason we found some energy to come outside and to get into it a little bit more and he created the first goal on getting the penalty. After that we just kept pushing the momentum and pushing to try to get the equalizer. We gave up two sloppy goals tonight on defense and we weren’t selling enough to help each other and work hard for each other and that cost us the game.

(Diego Fagundez has) been working hard for the last two or three weeks in practice. He’s been putting on a show, you could say. He’s a very confident kid at that age. For him to be so confident is a plus for him and he came in tonight and gave us a huge spark and hopefully he can keep going and keep pushing the team. For a little 16 year old to come on and be so great tonight, hopefully he can keep doing that.

I think it was Kevin (Alston) who played in a great ball and it fell for me and I just tried to get a good enough hit on it, and he just made a great save and it went off the post. Then the ball still stayed alive and then I think it was Kenny (Mansally) that clipped it in the back post and tried to find my head and I just wasn’t able to redirect it or get it on goal. That’s the story of the night, we had chances; (Ryan) Cochrane, myself, Mansally, even Diego (Fagundez) had chances and he did great to finish his when he got his. We just were not able to finish tonight. Offensively we kept creating chances and pushing and getting numbers in the box but at the end of the night it just was not good enough.

I mean, we do have a young team and if the first goal comes, for some reason our confidence lifts and we seem to be a little bit more composed and we’re allowed to play a little bit more in terms of keeping the ball and possessing the ball. But when you’re at home you have to try to dictate the tempo and push the game and that’s what we tried to do. Unfortunately for us, we went down 1-0 and then we kept pushing and pushing and we had to. Going down 1-0 at home you have nothing else to do but to push the game and I was yelling at the back forward that we had to keep the tempo going, I had to keep going, and we have to find it. And when we went 2-nothing down we kept pushing and pushing and Diego (Fagundez) did well to get that first one which helped us so great and then we gave up a sloppy goal again. So it hurts when we do so much to try to get back into the game and then give up sloppy goals like that but it’s hard work. The team worked hard tonight and hopefully we can take what we did positively and rebound for Columbus next week.

Yeah I mean when you’re pushing the game so much sometimes guys get out of position and that’s going to happen and defensively we were all over the place. That’s what happens when we change the back two in the middle, we’re not getting the consistent back four in the defensive end so hopefully A.J . (Soares) will be back and then Stevie is going to make a decision on who he starts with A.J. They did well, but it was just two sloppy goals that we gave up. Chris (Tierney) played some great balls, Kevin (Alston) was solid defensively, I mean there’s a lot of positives we can take from tonight’s performance, but we still weren’t able to pick up that three points and we have to be better next week if we want to make a run at the playoffs. If we want to be somebody that teams talk about - somebody that gets in the playoffs - we have to be better defensively and keep working hard.

No, we definitely didn’t get the balance right, especially in the first 15-20 minutes when we kept pushing the tempo and trying to find the first one. And even the equalizer in the first half, late in the first half, we didn’t keep our space well, and defensively we weren’t in the right position and we didn’t get enough pressure on the ball and that one hurt us on that goal. I mean, Darrius (Barnes) probably could have cleared it or it would’ve gone in for an own goal but he made a decision and Matt (Reis) didn’t come enough. So sometimes we make a bit of slight decisions that hurt us. Offensively, we just have to score goals and that’s what’s going to win games.

(Dan Kennedy) did great to get a hand on it. I thought it was in. I was over here jumping. It felt great when it left my feet and appeared to go in but it didn’t. He made a great save, it hit off the post and (Kenny) Mansally made a great play to keep it alive, clipped it in, and I wasn’t able to finish it. But it was all half-chances. I wasn’t good enough tonight to finish them but hopefully I’ll be better next week.

Chivas USA head coach Robin Fraser

At times when we played and played with confidence we were good and were able to play through them, but too many instances when we didn’t look confident and ended up doing a lot of defending. Obviously we’re happy to get the points and happy to get the points on the road, but we have to be better.

Great finishes. The goal sequences were very good. I thought a lot of the play that lead to some of the dangerous chances was excellent. So at times, it was exactly what you said. We seemed to have a good run of play whenever we wanted it. So for us, we just have to continue to get better and better and play with more confidence, but we’re very happy for the three points but we have to keep improving.

I thought that, again, when we were confident and really wanted the ball in those pressure situations that we did well and we were able to play through it. You know, they’re a good team, they’re better than their record indicates [and] they have a lot of good players. I thought a number of their players played well tonight and it was definitely a huge challenge for us. At the end of the day we did some good things and we deserved to score the goals. But we also didn’t do some good things and are fortunate not to have given up some more goals. So we’re happy to get the three points, no question, but, again, we just have to get better.

(Diego Fagundez) didn’t take me by surprise. I just thought we didn’t defend well in situations that he was involved in. We just got out of sorts a little bit and guys just didn’t, in those particular situations, we didn’t defend well.

We started off poorly and we put ourselves under a lot of pressure early and the fact that we got through that period without giving up a goal was huge and then we were able to find some possession and then the game became back and forth. But, we were fortunate to get out of the first couple of minutes without giving something up.

(Simon Elliott has) been extremely important. I think he’s added a measure of calm and composure in otherwise hectic situations and I think he’s been able to help kind of set the tone for our team sometimes. We’re a young team that certainly have our ups and downs and I think that he has been able to provide us some stability at times.

It’s very important that we get this result and we come out of this with some confidence and feel that we can get some results on the road.

Chivas USA goalkeeper Dan Kennedy

Definitely coming into games on the road you have to expect to make some saves. The first half, really all they had was set pieces and we were giving them to them. We were giving them those opportunities. And then the game opened up at 2-nil and the ref calls a penalty kick and that changes the game; it changes the momentum of the game. I thought 2-nil I thought we were doing a pretty damn good job of killing the game off and that was really a momentum changer. You know, from there we were fortunate enough to get another goal. Then we let them back in, but we were able to close it out and on the road, the environments you’re going to face, it’s going to get hectic. We’ve got to give us credit: we put ourselves in a tough situation but we dealt with it in a way that we were able to get three points.

Well what changed the game was the penalty kick. After looking at it on the replay, I thought it was a clear dive. So I don’t know. I’d have to see it again to be sure.

Yeah, we feel very confident and very comfortable on the road. So, we go to Seattle next week and we’re going to play in a little bit bigger atmosphere, but it’ll be a synthetic pitch so it’ll be the same type of hectic game I suspect. Hopefully we can build on this result.

Chivas USA midfielder Nick LaBrocca

Those were the three points we needed. I don’t think we’re happy with our performance, especially closing the game out. We had a couple leads and we let them back into the game and we made it a little too interesting. And obviously had to rely on some great saves from Dan (Kennedy) tonight and you don’t really want to do that. It’s always great to get three points on the road.

I’m not entirely happy with how I played, but just glad I could contribute to the team and help with them putting some goals on the scoreboard … I don’t think I was sharp enough in those crucial moments. Something to think about and something to focus on next time.

(Diego Fagundez is) a clever player. He created some good opportunities, so something that we’ll have to go back and look at. He’s crafty. He’s a crafty guy that gave us a little bit of problem.

Chivas USA forward Alejandro Moreno

Well, I thought that at times we had pretty good sequences together, we were able to create some chances and take advantage of those chances and score three goals on the road. Perhaps we didn’t close the game the way we would have wanted to, but in the end we grabbed three points that are very important to us.

The first goal - a great goal by Nick (LaBrocca) - behind the defenders, a difficult ball to defend and I just tried to get behind the centerback and try to put the ball in the back of the net and I was able to do that. The second goal, it was a good sequence for us, we put some passes together … good crossing.

I think it was more of us not taking care of the situation that should have been taken care of defensively. We got a little bit disorganized at the end of the game and we not able to close out the game the way we would have wanted to. Our organization was not what we needed it to be and regardless of who was on the field we needed to do better. That’s something that we’ve talked about and addressed already and hopefully it will get better for next week.

I think managing the game in the last 10, 20 minutes. It’s important to have the ball; it’s important to pressure in the right spots and be able to keep the ball when we have it. We were just not good enough at times. That is something we’ll work on. But in the end, three points and that’ something that makes this trip back to LA a little bit better.