D.C. United Head Coach Ben Olsen
On what Steve Birnbaum should’ve done on the last play
Steve, first off, has been great the last two months. Of course, he can do better on the play but he's the type of kid who will learn from his mistakes.
On the type of performance from the team
It was a gutsy performance from us, and we knew it was going to take that. We knew we were going to have to hold the fort at times. I thought we did that, and to end that way is tough to swallow. It doesn’t get any easier next week. Our focus is to learn from this, and move on like we’ve done this year.
On why Luis Silva came off
He looked like he was getting a little leggy. I don’t think the knock helped, but it was a physical game; credit Houston. They had more juice than us in most areas of the field. I thought we absorbed it, and the couple chances we had we weren’t that clean with the final stuff. Again we’ll learn from it and move on.
D.C. United defender Bobby Boswell
On the ending
Not the greatest way to end a game. We knew they were going to be hungry. It’s our third game in eight days, and it was hot. Kind of faded a little in the second half. I thought we played well enough to get a point. In these type of games, and I’ve been a part of a lot of them here in Houston. It’s one play that goes either way. One play can win it for you, and as we saw tonight one play can lose it for you. Good group of guys, our depth tested tonight. Not the result we wanted but we’ll move on, and learn from it. We have to come back down here later in the year, so obviously we need to learn from the experience.
On coming back to Houston
Yeah coming back, I mean they’re an opponent for me now. It’s obviously great to see some of the guys I’ve played with. Guys that are extended family members, and things like that. I’m here for a job though, I’m here to try and win, and we’re leaving a little empty handed. There’s a time and a place for friendships, and there’s a time for business. This trip was all about business for me.
Houston Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear
On the goal
Well it wasn’t drawn up. It was a good second effort by Omar (Cummings). The ball was bouncing, and he makes a play, and creates a little bit of panic. Will (Bruin) follows up on the play, and gets the tap in. Sometimes it comes down late, and a lot of times it comes down to a secondary effort, and I think we got that from the two goals on that goal.
On Will Bruin scoring late
You look at his last goal against Toronto; it’s a tap in that comes from pressure, but pressure leads to mistakes. I thought we were putting a lot of pressure on the back four a lot of the night. Sometimes they bend, and this time it broke enough for us. I thought Giles (Barnes) was good, and Will, then Omar coming in adding energy. He made the most of his appearance to help us get the win.
On how big of a win this was
I keep hearing the last time we won a game was in May. That’s two months without a win, and it gets frustrating. I will say the two games at home were ties so we’ve looked more dangerous. It’s just about keeping their goals out. We did a good job of eliminating their chances. It’s good to win, and it doesn’t matter how you win. You can play and win 5-0 you can play and win 2-1 off an own goal. When you walk off the field no matter what you’re happy, and you’re looking forward to the next training session. We haven’t had that feeling in a while.
On the defensive difference
I just thought overall our team defense was better. The gap between the forwards, and the midfield, and the midfield and the back were good. I thought Jermaine (Taylor) and David (Horst) were good tonight. Tally (Hall) made one save tonight where he had to extend himself. I thought we did a good job of putting numbers around the ball. When we lost the ball I thought we did a real good job of identifying and getting back. All that goes into having a good defensive night.
Houston Dynamo forward Will Bruin
On what was going through his mind during the final play
Get in front of the goal and whatever happens, happens. Just waiting there to poach, and waiting for the ball to bounce to me. Omar busted his ass to get there, and that’s a tap in. If I had missed that I would probably have to retire.
On how big this win was
Yeah we’ve been saying it’s time to go, and get three points. This was as much of a Dynamo win as it is at home. Grind them down control the game, and get a hustle goal. Hopefully it’s a start to get the ball rolling, but we’re not going to look to far ahead. We’re looking week by week to get three points, and the rest will take care of itself.
On beating a team at the top of the table giving you confidence
We know we can compete and beat any team in the league. Unfortunately the points in the standings don’t reflect, but we feel we can beat anybody on any given day. We don’t look at a team and say they’re at the top of table. We just look, and Dom gives us his thoughts and we execute.
Houston Dynamo goalkeeper Tally Hall
On the difference tonight in defense
Everything just finally came together. We’ve had it in bits, and pieces throughout the season. That was a 90 minute performance it’s taken us far too long to get that. Better late than never, and we have control of this season and we haven’t forgot that. Hopefully this will start a little bit of a roll. That’s what this means to us, and that's we’re looking for.
Thoughts on DaMarcus Beasley and Luis Garrido
Phenomenal. It was fun to see them step on the field without a transition period. It’s a difficult league to play in. DaMarcus has obviously played in the league before. It’s a difficult league to play, and difficult to succeed in. I thought they were both positive forces for us.
On the defensive effort from the team
It was a team effort, I know it’s a little bit of a cliché, but it was a total team effort tonight. The support and balance, the way we pressured high up the field is an indication of us working together well. Yeah I wasn’t very busy because they did a lot of cohesive work.
