D.C. United Head Coach Ben Olsen
On the result:
Yeah, certainly disappointed with not getting all three. The other side of that, I’m happy to get one. They had their chances and we had ours. It just seems like we’re not taking our chances to kill off teams. If you let teams hang around in this League, or any league, teams will find ways to get results.
On Dykstra’s performance in goal:
I’m extremely happy for Andrew. I think he’s been excited to get back out there and prove to everyone that he’s the goalkeeper that we know he can be. Again, I’ve talked about it before: we set him up to fail in Costa Rica. It shows his character to come out tonight and have a very good performance.
On Hamid’s injury:
He was dealing with something from the New York game. He went to the U.S. and it continued to bother him, so we decided to make sure that gets right.
On the success of set pieces so far this season:
We need that because we haven’t been clinical out of the run of play, and that part needs to get better. Set pieces are big part of successful teams in any league and we are fortunate to have guys on this team that can capitalize on them. It’s another result, however you want to put it. We’re certainly disappointed in the last two weeks with not coming away with more than we have. But we’re finding out about ourselves as we go, and we’ll get Markus, Steve and Fabi back in the mix soon. I thought Aguilar did well tonight coming on. I’m excited about the group. We’ve just got to tweak some things and figure out who the best group is right now for us to start winning games.
On Espindola’s return:
We have a long week of training to decide a lot of things, on the lineup for Vancouver. But, we know Fabi’s qualities, and we know what he brings to this team. I think he’s excited to get back out there, whether it’s starting or coming off the bench.
On frontloaded home schedule:
We always feel that we need to win our home games and treat our fans to wins. That’s our goal. We’ll continue to go about it in that way. Hopefully, moving forward, we can get all of them here and then go away and get some as well.
On the differences between facing this Houston team and previous ones:
They are, and always have been, a tough team to play; in particular with their set pieces and physicality. Bruin and Barnes up top together are a lot to handle and they are going to get their looks.
D.C. United Defender Bobby Boswell:
On the overall result:
I think tonight the score was accurate. I don’t think we necessarily played them off of the field. When we play at home we really want to take it to teams. I need to go back and watch it before I say too much, but I just feel that with New York [Redbulls] we had such a sense of urgency and tonight it was almost like there was no bad blood between anyone on the field. It was like ‘oh I am not going to kick you and you are not going to kick me.’ It was almost like ‘who really wants it tonight?’ which is a weird feeling.
On Chris Rolfe’s free kick goal:
We talk about things in practice and he was saying that he can usually hook it to the other corner pretty well. I think we have a lot of guys that want to take those and we just walked up, said he would hit it and he did that. I give credit to him and he is capable of some special things.
On the depth of the team:
I think if you hear the guys around the locker room, we feel like the last two games were losses. We feel like we should have five wins and I just hope that does not come back later down the line. Points are at a premium in this league and it does not matter how you get them at the end of the year, it just matters that you have them. We feel like at home we should take three points away. Fabian [Espindola] does some great things for us, so getting him back is only going to make our lives better on the field. It is going to make the coach’s life a little bit harder, but that is what you want. You want everyone to be healthy and able to play. I feel like we are a good enough group of guys that can manage any game against any team. You can tell by the reaction of the guys tonight, that it is just not good enough. We need to watch more video and figure out a way to get it done on the field.
D.C. United Goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra:
On starting the game in the net:
It is about trying to break the game down and make it as simple as I can one play at a time. It was more of a game-time decision. So I came in the locker room, saw Bill [Hamid] and that is when I knew. I had no idea. I always prepare like I am going to play, that is just the way I go about my business, but it was a game-time decision.
On starting for the first time since Costa Rica:
I’m a goalkeeper so I don’t even remember what I had for dinner last night. You just have to put things behind you and I knew I was better than that and the team knew it too. I was out for eight months and had two weeks of training, but things happen. In terms of coming back, this is great for me. Just like forwards, it is about having confidence that drives you.
On tonight’s result:
Personally, for me, it shows that all of my training has been working. For the team, we need to get results. I am obviously trying to do my part and there are some things that we need to work on out on the field. It is still early in the year and there is no reason to worry.
Houston Dynamo Head Coach Owen Coyle:
On the overall game and result:
We were outstanding tonight. We came in against a team that was 14 games unbeaten at home and a team that were the Conference Champions. Even in the first half we felt that we had clear-cut chances in the game. I will say that [Chris] Rolfe is an outstanding player and we have to give credit where credit is due. He scored that wonder free kick and it would be very easy for an opposing team to crumble at that point, but we came out and were positive in the second half. We were dominate throughout the second half. We scored a great goal even though the keeper made an outstanding save. My honest assessment is that I think D.C. will be delighted to have gotten a point tonight. We have set standards and we have to keep attaining to those standards in tough places like this.
On switching to the 4-4-2:
I just felt we had to take the game by the scuff of the neck. I felt that we could win the game after the goal and that we did not have to tie. That is why we made the substitutions that we made and everything we did tonight was positive. Rob Lovejoy came on again and we were very happy with getting a point. [D.C.] is a very good side. We showed that Houston Dynamo are starting to build on something and we will stick together to become even better.
On Will Bruin:
Will [Bruin] is a proven goal scorer in this league and I have to say that tonight I thought he was outstanding. He led the line and I think he brought a lot to the team tonight. I told him after the game that I was so pleased for him and that is the standard he has to bring to the team every week and if he does, then I have a real hard decision to make. I told him to make it difficult for me to make a decision because that shows I have a lot of good players. He was limping for the last five minutes and it was important that we finished the game at full throttle. We were just trying to win the game so that is why we put Chandler Hoffman on.
On goalkeeper Tyler Deric:
He is an outstanding goalkeeper and is a good talent. We know he can get better, but he dealt with his crosses. [Andrew] Dykstra came in and made some good saves so I think Ben [Olsen] will be pleased with that. Goalkeepers can give a team the platform to win the game.
On having to coach a new team:
Myself and the front office know exactly what we want to put in place for the Dynamo. We are just trying to implement different steps. We know that we are improving and working hard, but there is so much more to come and that is the exciting part that we are looking forward to.
Houston Dynamo Midfielder Ricardo Clark:
On scoring a goal:
The ball was crossed in and we just tried to get bodies in the box. Will [Bruin] made a great run and I thought for sure he was going to score. I wanted to be there just in case there was a rebound. The keeper made a really good save and thankfully I was just in the right place at the right time. I just wanted to be in there and thankfully I was able to capitalize.
On switching to the 4-4-2:
We matched up a little bit better, especially in the midfield. They were finding some gaps, especially with [Michael] Farfan in the middle. I think even with the 4-4-2 we still had some good spots, but it made us better and created more chances.
On the halftime motivation:
We still had belief that we could come back and it showed in our play. Everybody stepped up that much more and it was a little disappointing that we did not finish some of our chances, but that is the way the game goes. We should be thankful that we got a point on the road.
On Will Bruin:
He has been great. He has a great attitude and he is showing a lot of resilience. After not starting a couple of games and coming in on point like that I hope he can continue being great for us.
