D.C. United Head Coach Ben Olsen
On his overall thoughts and impressions after another draw at home:
It’s a game of two halves and in the first half they looked hungry and surprised us a little bit with their tactics. We prepared for them to be much more aggressive, in their usual manner, but credit to them for slowing the game down and making it tough for us to break them down. I think it took a little bit of our energy and hunger away, but a lot of that [their tactics] didn’t change in the second half. We just looked more alive in the second half. The running off the ball was much better, our composure and quality of passing was better, just every little aspect got better in the second half. I feel if we are a little sharper in the final third we come away with a win, but they also could have had two or three goals in the first half. We got a goal in a half that wasn’t great and then we pissed it away three minutes later.
On when he had an idea that Fabian Espindola wouldn’t be able to play:
When he walked in Tuesday he had a pretty severe quad contusion, and it’s been black and blue all week. We thought it was just day to day but it continued to stay around, and we will continue to work on it and see if he can help us out Wednesday.
On Jairo Arrieta’s performance:
He did a good job. It’s not an ideal game for him when teams just sit like that, but he does great on the goal and I thought he put in a good shift.
On why Markus Halsti didn’t make the 18 tonight:
It was between Steve Birnbaum and Halsti. I chatted with both of them and I decided that Steve was a little bit ahead of Halsti and that he would probably benefit from another week of hard training.
On Chris Pontius’s performance:
He was very dangerous when we put him up top and his ability to run the channels helped us out and was something we wanted to exploit in the second half. He looks like he is getting his speed back which is good.
D.C. United Midfielder Davy Arnaud
On Sporting Kansas City’s Strategy:
I think if you watch how Kansas City plays home/away they have a certain style they play. They’re a high-pressure, high-press team, and they do it very well. It was a little different for them to come in and sit; it was a little wrinkle for us. I don’t know if we solved it completely in the first half, we could have done a little bit better of a job kind of solving that the way that they were playing but you know, we get the goal. We created the chance to get the goal and it’s disappointing we can’t come in at one zero, but I thought the second half was better in terms of the way we figured out how to take advantage of that but we just couldn’t get that goal.
D.C. United Defender Bobby Boswell
On the press:
They just packed it in you know? As a defender I know how it is. When you pack it in when, you put guys behind the ball, it’s a very tough thing to break down. It’s so much easier to destroy than to create. We didn’t play very well. We weren’t expecting that. Like I said we haven’t had a team come in here and do that all year and we didn’t think Kansas City would. I think the goal changes everything. If we go into the half 1-0 I think it changes the whole game but when they score like that so quick it’s just right back to the way they were playing. I though we figured it out a little bit better in the second half, just like I said we weren’t able to finish our chances.
D.C. United Midfielder Chris Pontius
On momentum swing before halftime:
Just giving up the goal five minutes after that is tough; you figure at that point you will go in to halftime 1-0 up. It was a weird first half. I have never seen Kansas City sit back like that. Then in the second half I think the game opened up a bit more and we had more chances, but we just weren’t able to put them away.
On improved pace and getting into game-shape:
Yeah I feel like I’m able to run past people again whereas before, you know just after a year off, it doesn’t just come back in a month. As much as you would like for it to, it just doesn’t do that. So confidence is everything, running off the ball, how you read the game- everything is just a bit slow. I think I’m getting there but I think I still got a ways to go.
Sporting Kansas City Head Coach Peter Vermes
On the response after conceding a goal:
It was a great response to be able to get back even as quickly as we did. I thought we were a little unlucky in the first half because I thought we should have had at least one or two more [goals]. It was a little bit deflating at first, but I thought the response by the team was good and it has been like that most games. We find a way to get back in it when we give something up, so that mentality is pretty good.
On the overall result:
In the first half, we were maybe a little unlucky to not get the two or maybe three [goals]. In the second half, I do not think we had as many attacking options going forward or clear-cut opportunities. Other than a few opportunities that they had down the left side in the second half, we were pretty good.
On subbing in Krisztian Nemeth for Dom Dwyer:
He was like a lone striker up there today where a lot of the times the wingers are a little bit tighter to him. He did a lot of work by himself and he got beat up quite a bit, so we wanted to get some fresh legs on those last few minutes of the game.
On Erik Palmer-Brown:
I think he did well. Obviously, there are still things he can be better at but he was pretty good today. There are some tactical things we could change or help him read the situations a bit better, but for a kid who has just turned 18 not too long ago, it was definitely a big step in the right direction. He has an incredible career ahead of him. For him, he is not having to deal with finishing high school anymore. In a lot of respects, he has been somewhat of a hybrid of a college-professional player, but he did a great job managing his school. Starting on May 11 he becomes a full professional as far as I’m concerned.
On Palmer-Brown playing in the U-20s:
As I tell all of the guys on our team who represent their country, it is always an incredible opportunity. He is actually eligible again for the U-20s, so it is a tremendous accomplishment, but obviously he still has to go play in the tournament.
Sporting Kansas City Defender Erik Palmer-Brown
On playing the full 90 minutes:
It feels good. Obviously, it was not the result we wanted. We wanted to win, but it was good to get 90 minutes in before the U-20 World Cup and it was great to get my first full-90 this season.
On playing at the professional level:
It is a learning experience. For me, right now, I am young and learning. It is just going to take some time to get used to so getting these little minutes here and there is all great experience for me. You just learn and soak it up as a great experience. You just learn a lot.
On coming back from an injury:
It was hard because I had broken a wrist before, but nothing that caused me to be out for over three months. I was in a boot, not walking, so it was really tough for me. It was during a break too, so for me it was hard, but it was a good learning experience to come back from an injury like that. If it happens again, I am ready.”
