NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION HEAD COACH JAY HEAPS
On the match:
“I’m a little disappointed in the way we played. We’re still getting accustomed to movements and the way we (want to) play. The overall technique tonight just wasn’t there. They came out flying. We matched their intensity. They continued to press, and we didn’t sort it out. Unfortunately, we gave up a goal, and we never really got back (into the game) after that.”
On whether they may have played a little too direct in the first half:
“Unfortunately, we played their (the Earthquakes) game a little bit. We got sucked into it. They’re a strong, direct team. They play through (Steven) Lenhart. They play through Wondo (Chris Wondolowski). The game never got settled for us. It was, how are we going to adapt when the game doesn’t settle, when the game gets played over the top of our midfield. How do we then settle down to have our best chances?”
REVOLUTION GOALKEEPER MATT REIS
On the season opener:
“The times when they were dangerous were when we gave away the ball. We just have to be a little bit better with the ball. There are some positives we can take away from this game, but in the end, we’re upset walking out of here losing the game.”
On the difficulty of the road trip:
“It’s always been tough to come out to the West Coast, especially here to San Jose. You can’t give other teams chances. We did that a lot last year, and it really hurt us. It’s something that we have to get better at. In the end, there are a lot of positives to take out of this. It’s definitely something we can move forward with.”
REVOLUTION MIDFIELDER BENNY FEILHABER
On the season opener:
“(Head coach Jay Heaps) wants us to play a pass-and-move game, and not so much the direct game. That falls in perfectly for me, and Kelyn (Rowe) and (Shalrie Joseph), and a lot of those guys in the midfield that want to get the ball at their feet and play it. I think that will help us this year. Obviously, it didn’t come off as well as we would have liked in this first game. I think the second half was a little bit better than the first. We created a couple more chances and tried to play a little more, but that tends to happen when you’re down. I don’t know how much you can take that into account, but at the same time, it’s not going to change overnight. There are things that we need to work on, and there are still bits that we are learning to improve on from last year.”
On what he thought the Revolution did well on the night:
“In the beginning of the game, we definitely matched their intensity. We created more opportunities than they did in the first 10-15 minutes. We limited their opportunities. Their opportunities came a lot off of loose balls, loose passes, and midfield players giving the ball up. But I did think defensively, (Stephen McCarthy) did well back there, battling (Steven) Lenhart all game. We kept Wondo (Chris Wondolowski), besides the ball that we (gave up on the goal), we (the midfield) made it tough for the defense on that play.”
EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH FRANK YALLOP
On win:
“All in all, I am pleased to get three points tonight. I said earlier this week that we had to treat tonight like a Cup final and we got the result we wanted. It was a credit to the whole team not to concede a goal and to see the game out. We didn’t have a great second half but we got the win.”
On first half vs. second half play:
“The first half was decent and the second half was not good. We had a bit of an emotional letdown it seemed in the second half, but we battled through it. New England pushed their line higher in the second half and made it difficult on us so give them credit, but we found a way to get a win.”
EARTHQUAKES FORWARD CHRIS WONDOLOWSKI
On first goal of the season:
“That was a team effort to put me in a place to score. Shea (Salinas) put great pressure on them to get the turnover and he was able to play a good ball. He fed me and it was an easy job to finish it. It was an important for us to score first and be on top early. Our defense really held strong for us in the second half.”
On Quakes’ season-opening win:
“It feels good to get any type of win at home, especially when it’s one to start off the year. We are very happy with this win. Our new acquisitions like (Marvin) Chavez and (Victor) Bernardez played great and had big games. I can’t complain right now, I’m just happy to get the win.”
EARTHQUAKES DEFENDER VICTOR BERNARDEZ
On first game with San Jose:
“It was a great experience; the fans have been welcoming since I arrived. I feel blessed to have this opportunity. We are very happy with this result. It is very important to start the season off on the right foot. This win at home gives us confidence going into next week, but we know we can play better.”
On shutout:
“I am always happy when the other team does not score. That is the goal when we step on the field. To not allow a goal is the best way to start the season. We didn’t play great in the second half but we are a mature team and we did what we had to do to get the result. We can learn from tonight and take that into the next game.”
