New England Revolution head coach Jay Heaps
On his team fighting for the win at home:
“Well I think that’s the word, you said it. It’s a fight. It was a fight from the opening whistle, two teams that were desperately trying to leave their mark on the game. It was almost more of a fight than a football match, and that happens, because you’ve got two teams that play very similar styles and they don’t want to give away anything. I don’t think there was one player on the field, for both teams, that didn’t work as hard as they possibly could to try to get the result tonight. So I thought it was kind of a throwback game it felt like, to be honest with you. I was really proud of our guys cause we were able to rotate our roster enough to make sure that we had some legs. In a game like that, we only had two days of rest, and they had four days of rest, we needed to insert some life into our lineup. I thought the guys did an awesome job. Juan (Agudelo) was great. Kelyn (Rowe), you know we rested him last week so he could be ready for this game. London (Woodberry) and Kevin (Alston), they were awesome, Daigo (Kobayashi), they were really good. So really happy with the way we were able to inject life into a fight.”
On the difference in the second half that allowed the Revs to take the lead:
“To be honest with you it was almost very similar. I think if you look at the stats and went through it, I thought it was the same type of thing. You knew it was going to come down to a set piece or some type of situation, because the two teams weren’t giving up much. I thought as the game opened up we were even getting more chances to really get through them, and I thought when Teal (Bunbury) came into the game, and when Charlie (Davies) came into the game, it was starting to open up. I thought we could get that third goal, and that’s what we were pushing for, because for us getting that third goal would’ve been nice. I thought, I got to look at it on film, but it looked like Teal had created enough space and got taken down, that would’ve been nice.”
On Scott Caldwell’s role changing without Jermaine Jones in the midfield:
“Scott’s role doesn’t change a ton. You know he sits when Jermaine’s in there, and he holds, and protects, and plays really well. I think Daigo’s (Kobayashi) role is a little bit more offensive if Scotty’s in there with him – he knows he can find a little bit. But if it’s Jermaine and Daigo, then Daigo’s the one who sits a little bit more. We really like the way we have that midfield balanced, and each one has a little different role when they’re around. I thought tonight was really good, especially against an excellent midfield. I really respect the way that New York’s midfield moves. I mean Dax McCarty and Felipe, and Sasha (Kljestan) has a lot of freedom, and those guys, they’re a good midfield, as good as it gets in this league.”
On Juan Agudelo’s inclusion in starting lineup:
“He was physical, and I think that it showed. You play against two guys that are physical. And Juan, I take my hat off to Juan because he’s put in the work. Since his little bit of an injury he had and fell out of form a little bit in terms of fitness and not getting on the field as much as he’d like. He battled tonight, he really led the charge tonight. I thought his overall, not just getting the assist on the first goal, but just the way he was able to extend plays for us and get us up the field.”
On being able to rely on stability of his center backs:
“Again, Jose (Gonacalves) and Andrew (Farrell), they were awesome. It was really, for me, the two of them, the way that they’ve been playing, not just this week but the last few weeks. They’re alert, they’re aggressive, they’re winning everything, they’re getting second balls, but their positioning has been what’s been important. So yeah I felt very comfortable putting Kevin in there, who’s going to add a little bit of a speed factor and a real shut down defender. And London (Woodberry) who has been itching to get back in because he’s had minutes taken away from him, and so he’s been really good in training. I was excited about getting this opportunity to get these guys in, especially with that pairing of Jose and Farrell.”
On slowing down the Red Bulls attack:
“I think it was the backline, and midfield, and our shape. I thought we were much better and shielded the entire field really well. I thought Kelyn (Rowe) and Diego (Kobayashi) again, finding good spots whether it’s up the field or pinching in. I think that they’re starting to be real seamless in that kind-of finding the right spot of the balance of how far away they are from Scotty (Caldwell) or Lee (Nguyen). Those two guys have really been for me, they scored the goals tonight I know, but it was more about where they were defensively that I find is strengthening what we’re doing and being able to slow down other teams.”
On his team’s performance so far in the final third of the season:
“I think it’s staying the course. I’ve always said, and I’ve said to a lot of you guys in here, that every season I’ve ever been a part of there’s going to be ups, there’s going to be downs. It’s not about pointing fingers, it’s not about saying ‘it’s your fault, it’s all on you’. It’s about working through it and saying ‘what can I do to fix it’. We have a lot of guys that said ‘alright what can we do to be better, and what can we do to do that,’ so at the end of the year when teams are starting to point fingers, we’re trying to make sure that we’re looking at ourselves and how can we be better as a group, rather than ‘it’s your fault, or your fault’.”
On what changed between the 4-1 loss at Red Bull Arena on July 11 and tonight:
“I think a lot’s changed and, like I’ve talked about, how we’re protecting areas of the field. I think our shape has been really good and it’s allowed guys like Kelyn (Rowe) and Diego (Fagundez) to find the game. When I say our shape it also puts us in a much better position to attack. So those two guys, where Charlie (Davies) has been playing, where Juan (Agudelo) has been playing, where Lee (Nguyen) has been picking up spots, has been a lot better than it was during the summer. I think we had it a little bit earlier in the year, and then we hit the summer and our positioning was just, whether it’s five or ten yards here or there, that’s a big difference in a game, especially when teams can hurt you. New York hurt us last time we played.”
New England Revolution midfielder Kelyn Rowe
On the importance of his goal and the three points:
“I think it was good that we were able to battle through. It wasn’t the prettiest game, there were obviously spots where we looked really good, held some possession, but it was a hard fought game and especially through that midfield. Scotty (Caldwell) and Daigo (Kobayashi) and Lee (Nguyen) really controlled that midfield and I think Farrell and Jose (Goncalves) stepped when they needed to and obviously it was a good goal and a good win.”
On his goal:
“It was actually two balls back in and the first one I saw that everyone was kind of dropped off, Scotty (Caldwell), I just kept in line with that and Scotty I knew was either going to put that in the box again or try to have a hit. It was kind of an in-betweener and it was able to find my foot and it was one of those where you’re checking the sideline the whole time going ‘okay please don’t call me off, please don’t call me off.’”
On bringing the rowing celebration back:
“Yeah it was one of those decisions, it was a big game and it was a big goal. I just wanted to bring it back.”
On the fight and having moments to score at the right time:
“I think it’s good, this time of the year because it’s the end of the year and you have to fight for points. This one especially because it does bump us up to first place, but I think we’re on a streak right now, we can get wins and as long as we can keep the streak going – especially right now towards the end of the season (and) towards when playoffs come into play. For us, if we keep the streak going, there’s not many people that will stop us.”
On the celebration continuing:
“We’re hoping that it keeps going. We don’t want to let down now and there’s obviously chances where we can get better. We want to get that fight still there, but we want to be able to play a little more and more and be able to control more games.”
On avoiding the knockout round in the new Playoff format:
“I think it’s very important. You don’t want to play as, you try and play as (few) games as you can, right? You don’t want to kill yourself, you’ve already played 34 games in the season by that time, a couple more at the Open Cup, so for us it’s about getting those first two spots and hopefully get our legs back before the first game.”
New England Revolution forward Juan Agudelo
On the win:
“Yeah I thought the team did great fighting. This was a game we knew was going to be a battle. It was two top teams in the east and we’re very happy we won the battle today.”
On the physicality of the game early on:
“We were really well prepared. Jay (Heaps) told us that they were a high pressing team and we were going to be able to release pressure by hitting the long ball. I just tried to do my best to hold the ball for the team and maybe draw fouls and do things a point guy by himself would do.”
On making his first start since the 4-1 on July 11 at Red Bull Arena:
“I’ve been itching every single training session to get the start and I’ve been working as hard as I could. All the credit goes out to the coach. Not even just me starting, putting guys like London (Woodberry) and Kevin (Alston) and Daigo (Kobayashi). That everybody did a great job and knowing that we had three games this week. I think it was huge that the whole team played a part in this. It’s great for the chemistry and it’s awesome for the team.”
On his involvement in Fagundez’s goal early in the game:
“Yeah, it was good to get involved there and gave me a lot of confidence going on to continue the game.”
On winning with a slightly altered starting lineup:
“It’s a huge boost. Especially, because it’s not like we played a team that hasn’t been performing well this season. New York Red Bulls is a great team and they were number one in the east and it was just awesome to see guys that have been fighting, running their butts off in training to get a chance, to get a sniff. It felt great it felt like a whole team effort, 25 guys won the game today.”
On what it means to beat his former club:
“Yeah, I mean I know a lot of guys that were on the opposite team so in that case, not just because it was the New York Red Bulls just there was a lot of teammates that I could bring memories back from. Every time I see the jersey brings me back memories of how I grew up and things like that, my home, my family. Just gave me a little boost to try and win the game.”
On his role during the game:
“It was really tough. To go up against these two center backs, very tall, very aggressive. Most importantly the balls that were being played into me were lofted with good height and good air and credit goes to the people that were playing the balls. I was just trying to do my best to hold the ball for the team.”
New York Red Bulls head coach Jesse Marsch
On the result:
“It wasn’t a good performance for us, one of our worst of the year. So frustrating to know that this was a big game, with first place on the line and to come to a tough place and not be at our best. But we knew this wasn’t going to be easy down the stretch and we can’t let ourselves get too down. We’ve got to get over it and now move forward because we’ve got a big trip coming up here, in Portland.”
On his team’s possession during the second half:
“No. We weren’t really able to establish much of the rhythm of the game. I didn’t think our pressing was very good. I didn’t think that our build up out of the back was very good. We weren’t able to find many rotations and now find gaps in the midfield, so then we weren’t really able to settle into the game. It can be like that sometimes and then you’ve got to find a way to dig out a result, and the frustrating part is to go down in the first minute on a set piece, fight our way back in the game, end the first half in a good way, but then in the early stages of the second half, to give up another set piece. n the end, in a lot of different categories, we weren’t good enough tonight.
On New England’s defense:
“I mean, they were good in the back. They were organized. We didn’t do enough to put their backs on their heels, but it was a competitive, physical match and in the end New England did enough to gain a little bit of an edge on some of these plays, to come out ahead. But for us to not play our best at all, and to come to a tough place, and push the game at end and almost get a draw, it’s not the worst thing, but we can play so much better than this.”
On this weekend’s matchup in Portland with McCarty and Lade suspended for yellow card accumulation:
“We’ll have guys ready to go. I’m not concerned about that. We’ve got a deep group here. We’ve got a bunch of guys who understand their roles. So it’ll be a good opportunity for some different guys to step on the field and now show what they are about.”
New York Red Bulls midfielder Mike Grella
On the result:
“We came off second best after two set pieces and we shoot ourselves in the foot first minute of the game or second minute of the game. So, difficult one. It’s always a tough place to come but difficult that we didn’t preserve it.”
On his goal in the first half:
“We came right back in to the game which was good, we had a good reaction unlike the second goal. I felt the first goal we had plenty of energy and we came back into the game and it was a good ball across and I think Farrell put it off his own bar or something. I just figured at first that I could reach it to maybe take it down and keep it playing but when I got to it I realized that it was perfect for me to strike so I just guided it into the front post and it was a good ball.”
On his team finding it difficult to get in a rhythm:
“It was difficult, it was a tough pitch and they put us under a little bit of pressure so I felt like we played direct a lot of time and it was difficult. They were ready for it and it was a battle that we came off second best.”
New York Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles
On the result:
“We knew this was going to be a hard road. We’ve had some very difficult opponents especially the first two games in the back end of the final eight for the season. To go on the road to play New England and play poorly, we knew had a tough task ahead of us but nothing within us that didn’t think we could get all six points. So, since it didn’t work out today, we have to find a way to regroup, recuperate and find the sort of sharpness and energy that’s required for us to get full three points against Portland.”
On the difficulties a team faces on the road:
“We spoke a lot about mentality and understanding that there is going to be adversity on the road. There is going to be adversity on the road to greatness and we really feel like that we have the potential to do that but it’s in those moments of adversity and obstacles that we have to find a way through. So it didn’t work out for us tonight but maybe the next obstacle is mentally how can we get back on the right track, so that not only we can get a result in Portland but continue on the sort of a rhythm and play that we’ve had the last 10 to 11 games.”
