D.C. United HeadCoach Ben Olsen
On the result:
“We talked all week about teams earning goals against us andnot just giving them goals. They earned one there at the end. He hit a bomb andit was a tough one to take for a group that I thought did enough to wintonight. The first half, they were probably a little sharper, but mostly inpossession. We had nine shots in the first half. We had a lot of looks and theyhad a little bit more of possession – they were a little better throughout thegame with the ball but we were dangerous. We did enough to win and it’s a toughone to take.”
On the standings:
“A point is OK. We still continue to do an OK job at home.It’s a tough one right now but we don’t have a lot of time to feel sorry forourselves. If you want to look at the bright side – it was there, we got apoint. We should have got that one.”
On the matchup withReal Salt Lake:
“We go to a very tough place to play in Salt Lake and nowthat game means even more. We will regroup, we’ll cry about it tonight, and getback to work tomorrow and move on with the season because its still there.”
On Nick DeLeon’seffort after being sick:
“I don’t know how long he had it, but we’re all thin outthere right now. He pushed himself pretty hard. I thought the second half inparticular, we revved it up. We were, I think, the better team.”
On De Rosario’s 100goal milestone:
“I’m upset we couldn’t get a win on the day he gets his100th, but he lead by example today and I thought it was a good performancefrom him.”
On Lionard Pajoy’sperformance:
“I thought he was great. We’re very lucky we have him. Theamount of ground he cover is pretty impressive. He’s played more minutes thisweek than anybody and he just keeps going. He holds the ball up well and he’s ahandful for defenders. I thought he was great.”
D.C. United ForwardDwayne De Rosario
On the play that ledto his 100th MLS goal:
“I pulled near and made the run towards the back post tocreate a little space for myself. Nick [DeLeon] timed it perfectly – a greatball over the top. The ball is in the air and I figured I’m either going towake up tomorrow and wonder what happened or I’ll put it in the back of thenet. It was a [risk] that I was willing to take. I’ve seen a lot of players geton the wrong side of it, but I was able to put my head under it and score thatgoal and get my 100th off my back.”
On the pressure ofgetting his 100th tally:
“That’s pressure that I never try to put on myself. I knowthe media has been putting it out there – ‘when is Dero going to score his100th?’ – but I just try to focus on working hard for my team and getting awin. I knew it was going to come; you don’t get to a hundred [goals] by havingluck. I knew the goals would come; it was just a matter of time. Thankfully, Iwas able to get it tonight and help my team get a point.”
On Wilman Conde’sequalizer:
“Disappointing. It was a great finish but when you give aguy that opportunity at the top of the box, another set piece… I think the lastfive or six games we’ve been giving up goals on set pieces. We really have tolimit that. Someone has to commit himself, dive in front of the ball, jump infront of the ball, whatever the case is. In all fairness, it was a greatfinish. But I can’t lie – I’m very disappointed.”
On the importance ofreaching 100 MLS goals:
“Not a lot of people get to a 100. I look at guys thatplayed for this club, like Jaime Moreno, a guy that I’ve always admired in thisleague. Hopefully, I can get to where he is at and continue to score goals.It’s a great feeling, a huge honor, but getting 100 goals, I couldn’t do it allby myself. I [would like to] congratulate my teammates that helped me and putme in good positions to score, like Nick [DeLeon] did tonight with a greatservice. You just have to be at the right place, at the right time and equalizeon your chances. I’ve been able to do that throughout my career – some specialgoals – and hopefully I can continue to create special moments for thisleague.”
On playing alongsideLionard Pajoy:
“It’s his fourth game, so it’s going to take time. It’s atough position to be in, to come halfway through the season and have to gelwith new players. But I think he’s done very well. He’s really played the rolequite nicely, held the ball up top and got himself in good positions. So wejust have to continue to serve him in the right areas. He works hard, he’shumble, and he goes to the ball and does his job in the right manner. He wantsto improve, he wants to learn, and I’m glad that we have him on this teambecause he is definitely going to help us as we make that push towards theplayoffs.”
D.C. UnitedGoalkeeper Bill Hamid
On the Conde goal:
“There’s not much you can say. It was tough and it wasthrough traffic as well. Maybe if I had a clearer vision I could have gottenthere. It was a great hit.”
On the timing of Conde’s goal:
“It stinks a lot, especially when we needed this win. Wewere hungry for this win and at the same time, we had an added incentive to doit for DeRo [Dwayne De Rosario], but it was unfortunate. There’s not much youcan do besides tip your hat to it.”
New York Red BullsHead Coach Hans Backe
On Conde’s goal:
“He was great, and not only at the end of the game. He wasprobably one of our best players today and it’s great how he has adapted tobeing left back after playing as a center back for most of his life. He is alsoleft-footed so he deserves a lot of praise for that right-footed goal.”
On Tim Cahill’s firsttwo back-to-back full games in just four days:
“He will be a massive signing for us. He’s all over theplace, and has great work ethic. The way he creates chances has been great. Hereads the game very well. He could die for the cause wherever he plays, whichis a phenomenal attitude.”
On the game’s result:
“In the second half we totally controlled it and were waitingto score the winning goal. Unfortunately, two mistakes cost us the win. We didbounce from a 2-1 deficit, so at the end of the day I’m quite pleased we pickedup points on the road.
New York Red BullsMidfielder Tim Cahill
On his twoback-to-back full 90 minutes games:
“I feel really positive with the last two results. There isa sense of disappointment amongst the lads that we didn’t get the win tonightbecause I thought we dominated the play and we created a lot of chances. I feelwe have given away the last three goals that have been scored against us, but Ican only look at the positive; I feel great, enjoy playing with the Red Bulls,and my teammates are great.”
On the result:
“We should have really won this game and I feel anyone whowatched it will probably agree. I’m really happy about playing the way we didaway from home, especially when playing two games in a week. This is the way togo, this is the way forward, and we need to back it up. The good thing is thatthe lads are disappointed with drawing and with the way we gave away the goals,but we’re going to put it right in the future.”
On the level of playin the MLS:
“I’m not bothered by what people say about the league. Thething is, I’m here and I’m going to enjoy it regardless of the scenario. I’veplayed two 90-minute games in a week and I feel good. I have an internationalmatch coming up and I want to make sure I play well with Australia but alsothat I come back fit because the Red Bulls are my priority; this is my team andI really want to succeed.”
New York Red BullsStriker Thierry Henry
On having Tim Cahillas a teammate:
“I’m not surprised about what he can bring to the team. Heis a very physical player and sometimes he gets unjust calls against him byreferees who might not be accustomed to the physicality of the Premier League.He is a competitor and will improve as we are going forward.”
On the game’s result:
“At first I thought that they were going to rob three pointsfrom us. In my liking, we played well better than them, but somehow they cameback into the game. They’re second goal was impossible-- it was a 60 yard passwith a header at the edge of the box-- especially with the way we were playing.We weren’t in any danger, were creating chances, had the ball, crossing a lot,etc. At the end of the day, however, this shows that D.C. are a great teambecause even though they did not have a good game today they came out and wentup 2-1.
On Conde’s goal:
“I guess it was his birthday and something was going to gowell for him today. Thankfully for us we got back into the game. I’m not veryhappy about the way we tied. I mean, don’t get me wrong, the goal was amazingbut we shouldn’t have been 2-1 down.”
