New England Revolution head coach Jay Heaps
On the overall match…
“In the end it wasn’t our best game overall. I thought our fight and our commitment was really good. In the end just too many guys just didn’t have their stuff tonight and it hurt us because I think there were times in the game where we could have played and we didn’t. In the end the pressure kept coming and credit a free kick goal. That one was really a tough one to give up.”
On what he saw on the set pieces…
“Have to look at it. I didn’t like the foul, to give it. I think that it was unnecessary so we have to be a little bit sharper and smarter in those areas. I have to look on the film. I didn’t see it.”
On how the team responded from Portland’s early wave of pressure…
“I thought our best stuff was probably from 20 minutes on until the end of the half and then they came back out again and we never got controlled in the second half. I felt our first half, I was happy with. Second half in the end we were just giving up too much space and too much pressure.”
On if you start thinking about getting a road point in the second half…
“I think we wanted to get control of the game. I think you think about when you get down when we’re in the 85th minute and we haven’t generated enough offense we’re thinking about who’s doing well, who can keep the ball for us, how can we stay in this game. So, we made subs to do that. I thought Kevin [Alston] coming in to shore things up a little bit, give Chris [Tierney] a little bit more freedom, I thought Kevin did a great job. Sean [Okoli] was a like for like sub, we wanted some size up top. I thought Charlie [Davies] did a good job but we needed fresh legs and then [Andy] Dorman I thought really ran out of gas. Unfortunately, I think he was doing a lot of work and that’s where we need to keep the ball. Center midfield gets punished if you don’t keep it so bringing Daigo [Kobayashi] on to try and give us an outlet and in some way a play rather than to just continue to take in on the face.”
On how big the upcoming home game against Chicago is…
“We’re going to look at the film on this and take our medicine. We as a staff will look at it. Really it’s moving forward and learning from this game and when we’re really taking it on what can we do to get out of it a little better. What was our posture like? I think we could have been 10-15 yards further up the field at different times. Those are the things we’re going to go look at but at the same time we’re looking at this film to prepare us for Saturday.”
New England Revolution midfielder Kelyn Rowe
On the overall match…
“You know it’s a hard team to play against here and the home crowd. I think we had our spurts, we had our moments that we were good, some chances that weren’t taken to the fullest, I think. It’s not a way you want to end a game. It’s something we really need to focus on. It’s happened a couple times this year. Just have to buckle down and get a point on the road, it’s just something we need to do. Two goals in the last five minutes, you know, we know that and we know that we can be better and we will.”
On what wasn’t clicking in the second half…
“A couple of things, I think they won a lot of second balls in the middle. I think Scotty [Caldwell] and [Andy] Dorman really stepped it up and really made it hard for them to do that. I think it’s back and forth in the second half. I don’t think it was one way too much besides maybe the last five or 10 minutes but I think credit Dorman and Scotty and Lee [Nguyen]. I think they disrupted them a lot from getting their play going. [There were] a lot of half chances.”
On looking ahead at facing Chicago at home…
“It’s obviously a big game; it’s an east coast team. They’re doing decent and I think we need a win. That’s the major thing. I think we need a win. We haven’t gotten one in a while and we need to put together a full 90-minute game. I think we deserve it and I think we fight for it but we haven’t actually done it and I think we will this week.”
New England Revolution defender Jose Goncalves
On the overall match…
“Very difficult. We knew it was a tough place to come and play. I think the first half we were in there. I think we pressured well, the ball, and created some chances. Obviously they had some chances but the second half they came out and they wanted it more than us. The last 10 minutes they had a lot of chances. I mean we knew that they were going to make everything to try to get the three points and it’s tough. We have to move on to the next one.”
On if he saw anything on the Portland set piece…
“No. I mean we always try to defend very well, to clear, knowing that they are dangerous, knowing the set pieces. They’re big guys and that’s their strength and that’s what they did. Knowing that and defending bad it’s very frustrating of course as a defender.”
On how big the home game against Chicago is…
“Of course, the next one is very important. We are flying back and starting the week very well and keeping in mind that it’s a big game against Chicago at home.”
