New England Revolution head coach Jay Heaps
On the buildup play leading Lee Nguyen’s goal:

“The things that we try to do, and we haven’t done it for a couple of weeks, where we really play and we’re fluid and the movement is there. That was the reason why I thought we went with Daigo (Kobayashi) in this game to really see if we could be aggressive going forward and obviously we’ve had a tough couple of weeks and so getting that first goal was really good especially from that type of play but then I thought as the game went on we had more chances and that we didn’t do enough to finish the game.”

On the back four and on Brad Knighton getting the shutout:

“I was really happy with the attitude going in. We knew we were going to be out Jose (Goncalves), we took a tough loss with Bobby (Shuttleworth) this week midweek and so I thought that the attitude and the mindset of the guys going in was really good. We worked really hard this week on our shape and on our back four and the overall commitment between the lines. We wanted to make sure that Teal (Bunbury) and Diego (Fagundez) and when Juan (Agudelo) and Kelyn (Rowe) went in that they were connected really well to our midfield.”

On the overall performance of Diego Fagundez:

“I thought Diego (Fagundez) was very good tonight. I thought he brought the right mindset and it was an aggressive plan on our end because we want Diego to be in those attacking positions and what we ask of him is to really put that effort in defensively and tonight I thought that he was really good on both sides of the ball.”

On what a creative player like Fagundez brings to the team:

“Well, we’re built to play. Obviously when you hit a rough patch and when teams are really battling and making it really difficult on you, you start to lose that little bit of confidence and ability to move the ball the way you want to do it and that’s why I think tonight for us was getting back to what we were really good at and what we are built to do, but at the same time I don’t think we did it enough tonight. I think that if we were really on all cylinders we would have had a much more fluid night and I think we had that one chance that was that way along with some other opportunities in there but we can get into our midrange break and turn it on. I thought tonight we started to get back to that, we were sound defensively and we were able to use our speed and get into their half and play some good balls to each other and score some goals.”

On if having a lot of space was anticipated going into the match:

“Well I thought they pressured high, but they really didn’t give us any ability to build out of the back they really wanted to put guys on Farrell and London (Woodberry) so Mullins and Villa were right up five or ten yards away from those guys so inviting a pass in would have been a little bit risky. We wanted to get more of that as the game went on when we had quick plays out of the back so I thought that they were really tight defensively. We did know that they were going to play that diamond so if we get our game going which is our strength to go from one sideline to the next, using Scotty (Caldwell), Daigo (Kobayashi), Lee (Nguyen) and get it to Chris (Tierney) or get it to Jeremy (Hall) in this game we were going to get some chances and we have to pull the team this way and we want Charlie (Davies) to pull the team that way and I thought we did a good job tonight of doing that.”

On goalkeeper Brad Knighton’s performance tonight:

“I thought he was very good. He was thrust into it Thursday, so he knew on Thursday that he was going to be playing and I think he really took the challenge. He was good in the air, he made some good saves and I think he communicated really well. It’s good to have him, and I think we know having him on our roster is really good.”

On Brad Knighton’s save in the first two minutes of the game:

“That one wasn’t a difficult save, but it was a good save for him to get. I think the crowd was right behind him and that’s the kind of save that gets a player going. It’s like for a midfielder getting your first tackle in. I didn’t think it was an overly excellent effort, but it was a good feeling to make sure he had the ball in his hands and the crowd was behind him and that’s a good feeling.”

On what Chris Tierney brings to the team and what it means for him to be named as an MLS All-Star:

“I think it says a lot about him. When I first saw Chris come in to the league, he was a young kid. He had just finished up at UVA and a lot of the time he was just working his way into the squad and making the bench was a good accomplishment for him. That was something that I loved seeing back then was him constantly working and no matter what he worked. I think it’s a great testament to him, he has really honed his craft and he has made himself one of the better left backs in the league not just defensively but also when he attacks offensively he really is a danger and that started when he first made our team. He always played different positions in college, he played more as a winger and played in the middle so when he got here he realized he had to work at that position and he worked hard and I love that example that is set in that locker room for the young guys. You say, hey look, here’s a guy that didn’t make the bench for the first six, eight, nine months of his first year and it didn’t faze him. He came back his second year and didn’t play a ton either then but he continued to work and then the progress started to show and all that work started to be something.”

New England Revolution midfielder Diego Fagundez
On if he was surprised by space available in game:

“No the game opened up at certain minutes. I think once you get the space you can take the attack one-on-one’s with them. That’s what we said at halftime, we tried to come in here and open the spaces for us. But the most important thing was Scotty (Caldwell) needed someone else to pass the ball instead of going backwards, and I think in the second half we definitely went forward more.”

On the play leading up to Lee Nguyen’s goal:

“If I remember, it was probably like 12 passes before we attacked, but we were going side to side. I was just trying to get the ball as much as possible. I remember Jeremy (Hall) passing me the ball, and I did a one-two with Daigo (Kobayashi) and saw Lee at the back post, so I just gave him the ball and he did the rest.”

On his pass to Nguyen for the goal:

“It’s one of those things, you have to play him no matter what, no matter what player is in there. He’s one-on-one with the goalkeeper so you have to give him the chance to try to score. I was just trying to get it in front of him and make sure that he had the best chance to try and put that in.”

On the play between Lee Nguyen, Daigo Kobayashi and himself in midfield:

“I think it kind of just happens in the game. You start playing the ball with someone and you feel comfortable so you try to look for them more. I think we were just trying to combine in the middle with all the players we have. We have such great talent in the middle that it’s easy to just combine with someone. Us three were trying to do everything we can to make plays happen.”

On if he plays his best at home:

“It’s amazing, look at the crowd that we had today, you can feel it. I think everyone in this locker room would agree with me, especially scoring that one goal, we didn’t want to give anything back. We worked as hard as we can to make sure that they didn’t get anything and we’re leaving here with three points and a shutout.”

On if he gets more freedom in midfield:

“I was trying to get open and trying to get the ball as much as possible. I try to do everything I can to help out the team. When there’s space and I can help out, then I try to slip in there and hopefully no one’s in there.”

On if he was defending more than usual today:

“I think we were all working on defense. We knew that every time we got a goal they were going to attack. But I think we definitely did well to stop the players they have. We just have to keep moving forward now and do everything we can to keep getting shutouts and keep getting three points.”

On gaining confidence after this performance:

“Hopefully it just keeps going forward now. The confidence is going higher and higher. But it’s one thing starting and it’s another thing going in. Now we just have to make sure that you stay where you are and keep doing everything you can in training so that you are in the starting lineup.”

On getting the win after a tough stretch:

“I think it was great. I think we all knew how hard this game was going to be and how important it was. We definitely showed that we wanted it more, but we have to thank the fans too. They came out here after not doing so well, but the stadium was kind of full and the passion was there. We just wanted to give them three points.”

New England Revolution goalkeeper Brad Knighton
On making his second start of the season:

“It was huge. Obviously, you know Bobby (Shuttleworth) has done very well this season and he had a very good season last season so it’s tough to break into the lineup. You know it’s unfortunate what happened in training this week and you just got to wait for your opportunity to make the most of it. Credit to all the guys for today. It was a collective team effort. We’ve been looking for that effort over the last couple months and it wasn’t the prettiest at times but we got the result that we wanted and finally another win in the win column.”

On making saves early:

“Yeah, it was great. Obviously, we’ve conceded a lot of goals over the last couple of games and so we’ve really concentrated this week on being sound defensively and not giving anything away and managing the first part of the game. We’ve gone down early in the first part of the game in a hand full of games and for us to get that early goal and get that confidence in us was huge tonight.”

On the back four:

“Obviously, having Jose (Goncalves) out made it difficult but the guys that stepped in, everyone knows their role on this team and it’s the next up mentality. Whoever’s going to be in their needs to know their role and do it to their best ability. I felt like the back four tonight did a fantastic job of denying chances from them and we were able to keep a clean sheet.”

On making a few big saves:

“It’s nice. You know the type of players they have on their team and obviously you got to be accountable for David Villa at all times in the game. He’s finding pockets and seams and you know as the game went on I felt like we were more and more comfortable as a back four. The cohesion was there, the talking was there and everyone felt comfortable with everyone around them and that makes it a lot easier for everyone. So, for us as a team effort for tonight was fantastic.”

On feeling comfortable in the box:

“I think that’s a big part of my game is being able to control the box and I feel crosses and distributions are probably my key attributes so whenever I can come claim stuff off my line I’m looking to do that and I play a little bit higher a line than Bobby (Shuttleworth). But, that’s just my comfort zone and that’s where I like to be.”

On limiting David Villa’s chances:

“I thought London (Woodberry) and Farrell were fantastic. He (Villa) didn’t really have much of a sniff for much of tonight, where they could double team they did. Obviously, having to keep track of Mullins. We know Mulllins very well and we know he’s going to win a lot of first or second balls and he uses his body very, very well. So we just have to be aware of where Villa was and they did a fantastic job of doing that and the communication thru the back four was fantastic.”

New York City FC head coach Jason Kreis
On the effort shown by his side in the game:

“I’m really really pleased with the guys’ effort. They gave everything that they had, they stuck together, they gave us a chance in the end. To be down a man for as long as we were and to have a chance there at the end at something, I think that’s meaningful.”

On the team’s new look back line:

“I think everything was going really well until the very first chance they had to score and there’s a lot to review there because New England actually had quite a few passes and switched the ball on us twice, which is something that we don’t typically want to happen, and then I think there was, after that you’re chasing the game. So certainly in the second half we’re down a man, we’re down a goal, we’re going to take risks and that means you’re going to have some breakaways and some crazy stuff coming at you the other way. In the end, I’m still pleased with the guys effort, I think that’s probably the biggest point that we need to make this week is the guys worked really really hard and showed that they’re really together.”

On new signings coming in this week:

“We’ll see, I think we have to take it on a case by case basis. We probably still got Frank (Lampard) that should come back for us (into) training, we’ve got Andrea (Pirlo) and Jefferson Mena that should join us in training this week, so I think we take it case by case and see where they’re at fitness wise and see how much or how little we can integrate them for the weekend.”

New York City FC forward Patrick Mullins
On what there is to take away from the game:

“I think there’s a couple of positives, a couple of negatives to take out and obviously we didn’t get any points so that’s frustrating. I felt at times we had some good moments in the game, just not sustained enough and didn’t create a chance worthy enough to get a goal at the end of the day which was disappointing.”

On the red card:

“When you’re on the road in a tough place to play like this, if you go down a man it’s difficult.  I didn’t have a very good view of it. I trust the referee, I thought he made the right judgment on the call, obviously it’s a tough hill to climb after that.”

On the New York City FC fans:

“They were fantastic.  There’s never a doubt in my mind wherever, whenever we have a game they’re going to follow and they’re going to follow very loudly.”

On the team’s goals for next week:

“Three points. We need it now it’s against another conference opponent so those are big games that you can’t afford to drop points in, especially not two in a row.”