D.C. UNITED HEAD COACH BEN OLSEN
On losing in the final minutes:
It was one of the toughest losses I have ever taken.
Overall thoughts on the match:
[I told the team] I was proud of them, it was a good effort.
Flying back from Vancouver after a tough loss, I thoughtthere were some heavy guys out there to push through it. The game plan was togrind it out, and we did it. [We] got a PK, and I thought there were a coupleof other ones. Give [Grazzini] credit, he scored a pretty good goal. He tookhis chance well. The second one, I have to look at and see what’s goingon.
The crazy thing about this [playoff race] is that we arestill not out of it. There’s still a scenario or two in which we can get intothe playoffs. So, we’ll move on. It’s just a tough [loss] – I’m not going tosugarcoat it.
On playing Dwayne De Rosario as a striker:
I think putting [De Rosario] up top was the right move. Ithought they put a lot of numbers in the midfield – it’s a lot of work inthere. That’s why we put some of the guys in early, to deal with that. We hadto push the game and I thought we put the right guys in to get the gamechanged. I think everything worked out, except the last couple of minutes.
D.C. UNITED FORWARD DWAYNE DE ROSARIO
Overall thoughts on the match:
This game was important for both teams. You have to have thementality that you’re going to win the ball every time and there’s going to bepressure, especially when it’s crunch time like this. This was our season in anutshell tonight – giving up bad goals at bad times. I would have liked to haveseen that [first Chicago goal] on the face or on the body instead of jumpingand turning, giving it to them at the top of the box.
On giving up the lead in stoppage time:
We can’t keep doing this to ourselves, we’re too good of ateam to get scored on and scored on again. It just isn’t worth it, especiallyin these games. I want to say that guys should be learning but it’sfrustrating, because every game it’s the same thing.
On United’s recent poor form:
I’m getting more gray hair that I can imagine right now.It’s frustrating because you want to see that commitment, you want to see thatpassion and desire to win every ball – to do whatever it takes to stop a shotor block a ball to stop a play – but that isn’t the case and I don’t see thatright now. In saying that, we can still make the playoffs. If New York losesand we win the next [match], then we’re in good position. But we have to take thisone step at a time, and Portland is coming in here and we need to play withpride.
D.C. UNITED MIDFIELDER SANTINO QUARANTA
Thoughts on the match:
What can you say? It’s mindboggling – it hurts. Everyone inthis locker room is hurting, you have to pick yourself up and move on. There’sstill two matches remaining and we’re going to take those one at a time.
On giving up the lead in stoppage time:
I’ve never been a part of anything like it – the ups anddowns of this game. It’s all kind of a blur, it happened so fast. To walk backin the locker room with no points when you have victory in your grasp, it’sdemoralizing. There’s not a whole lot more I can say.
On United’s remaining home fixtures:
It’s not good when you don’t have your destiny in your ownhands, and we’re looking for other teams to lose and win. This was a greatopportunity for us tonight, but we’ll battle on and continue to fight.
CHICAGO FIRE HEAD COACH FRANK KLOPAS
On the game:
I thought throughout the game we played well. We pushed thegame [and] we had opportunities. I think that overall if you look at the statsheet I think [D.C. United] had seven-to-one corners, but I think we had goodmoments in the game. We created some good chances. You kind of feel bad alittle bit for them, but that’s how the game is. For us it was a great comebackand a great feeling and I’m proud of our guys.
On his team’s resilience:
Sometimes you make some moves and things go your way, but Ithink just overall the whole game was pretty positive. I think it’s never overuntil it’s over. We pushed it and brought a couple subs in that had an impacton the game. I think in the end some special players made special plays and wewhen we had the chances, we finished them. I think Benny [Olsen] has done a greatjob with his team here. I’m really happy for our guys. They never gave up andplayed really well and it was a great comeback.”
CHICAGO FIRE FORWARDDIEGO CHAVES
On the game’s final moments:
It was an incredible five minutes, first for D.C. and thenfinally for us. It was really, really intense.
On his goal:
It was a great ball from Orr [Barouch] to Gonzalo [Segares].Gonzalo made a great run in the last minute and got the ball before it went outof bounds and I just had the open goal.
CHICAGO FIRE DEFENDER GONZALO SEGARES
On the game:
It was a very important win. I think it was a crazy lastfive minutes, but we’re pretty excited that we got the three points and now wefocus on Columbus next week.
On containing Dwayne De Rosario:
I think that we did pretty well the entire game [coveringDwayne De Rosario]. We tried to keep him away from the box and as far aspossible from the area. I think Josip [Mikulic] and Jalil [Anibaba] had a greatgame. They are pretty physical defenders and I think they made it pretty toughfor him. I think defensively we did well until the end.
