D.C. United Defender Sean Franklin
On thoughts on the game
This isn’t the only thing we want to win. We want to be successful in the playoffs and, you know, we set ourselves up with the home field. I am proud of the way the team played tonight.
On the game’s scene with a sell-out crowd
Yeah, we owe it to the fans. You know, they have been riding with us all year and to have their support tonight and for them to be the 12th man was huge for us. And even though we let that goal in, we still fought, fans stood there cheering us on and, you know, tonight was all about them. We had to put on a performance tonight for them and we did.
On importance of having home field advantage during playoffs
Yeah, having the second leg at home is going to be nice. This year, with away goals, it is going to be tough. We have to make sure that when we go on the road that first leg that we are smart, and when we come on the second leg we have to take care of business. But it is nice to have the second leg at home.
D.C. United Goalkeeper Bill Hamid
On team’s overall performance
We started off a little slow. You know, we were a little hesitant, but once we got our groove they couldn’t handle us. We got some good goals. Credit to Eddie, he had a piece in both goals and credit to the rest of the team. But the backline, they defended the box really well, put out fires really well. Amarikwa was a handful and we dealt with him well, so it was a great all around performance.
On how the team is feeling after completing a turnaround season
It feels amazing, honestly. Last year was hell, but coming into this year, you know, we gained that experience. We knew that we weren’t going to allow that to happen to us anymore, so game by game we just focused in and week by week we focused in on each team that we had coming up. We didn’t look to the future, we just looked at the present and we dealt with teams every week. It was honestly a great regular season. Now going into the playoffs, we need to continue that confidence and that rhythm and get as many wins as possible.
Chicago Fire Coach Frank Yallop
On if he was happy on how they finished
Yeah, it's the story of our season. We've played, you know, pretty well. We've just made mistakes at the wrong times, and teams seem to get the second goal and from there it's an uphill battle. I will say we didn't give up, our guys were in the game, and we tried hard to come back in the game. We give a lot of goals away to the opposition, rather than earning it. I'm not saying that DC didn't earn the victory, but you know what I'm saying.
On Kyle Reynish's performance
Pleased for Kyle. You know he probably deserved the chance before this, but Sean's been excellent for us all year and I just wanted to give him a chance.
Chicago Fire Midfielder Harry Shipp
On the overall thoughts of the game
We made a couple of mistakes, and the second goal cost us. Normally, we've been sort of slacking in the last 30-40 minutes and giving possession to other teams, but tonight we played them close and easily could have gotten an equalizer - so that's a positive. And we got to take a positive because the season result wise has been pretty bad so far. You just got to look at little things to build off for next year and you know was one of them tonight.
