Steven Birnbaum
On the formation…
"Obviously not the way you want to start the game. We were still figuring out spacing and we gave up a quick goal like that. It’s one of those things where we need to play ourselves into the game. A little unlucky on the second one but I thought we responded really well in the second half. To get that late goal at the end of the first half kind of saved us and kept us in the game."
On dropping points at home…
"We knew this was a big game, especially when you’re about to go on the road for two games. So yeah it’s a blow, we are not really happy about it. Obviously, one point is better than zero but we expect to get three at home."
Quincy Amarikwa
On if dropping points at home is a concern…
"In the short term yes, in the long term it’s always important for teams to not lose points. So in MLS a draw especially toward the end of the season is almost as valuable as a win. Though you’re not happy to not get your wins at home, in the big picture making sure you don’t lose points is the most important."
On getting points in the middle of the season...
"Most people who are not familiar with MLS don’t understand the importance of grinding the season. The teams who overextend themselves pay the price towards the end of the summer. So like I said looking at the big picture getting points is most important but those points are meaningless if we don’t win when we do break to the other side."
Leonardo Jara
On the goal...
“We practiced this play before. They were closing us down aggressively but I was looking for that second post and Mora and I were ready for that type of cross, which was placed in the right spot."
On his position...
“Yes, I really like to play with a four back, but with this five back line, it feels more supportive."
On Donovan Pines providing cover for him to go forward...
“Yes, it frees me up more allowing me more towards the lateral right side and pressure their left back."
On the result...
“I feel sad because the truth is that this was a game that we should have won and unfortunately I had two opportunities while they scored two goals on us early. So they dedicated themselves to defending for most of the game and we just couldn’t get the win that we really wanted."
New England Head Coach Bruce Arena
On the challenges this game…
“It’s a disappointing result, but I’m not disappointed in the effort of the group. This is a difficult game today with the travel, the officiating, what else can I complain about? Travel, officiating, heat-- 90 degrees. I’m bewildered sometimes with the officiating but that’s all part of it and we can’t use that as an excuse.”
On the adjustments after the red card…
“We put in some fresh players, certainly tried to be strong down the middle of the field, try to take Rooney out of the game as much as possible-- for sure, I think we were able to do that. It’s just a grind. That’s all it was: a grind… We need to do a little bit better in both halves and if we do that, I think we’re walking away with a win today. But having said that, a lot of issues we had to overcome so we hung in there and got a point.”
On the improving performance...
“We have good players and they train hard, they get better every day as a team. And they’re a good group to coach. They’re a good group. They probably underachieved a little bit in the first half of the season.”
On the performance tonight…
“The guys continue to give a great effort, they do. Day in and day out, they really do.”
On Gustavo Bou…
“It’s good for him to be here and we’re hopeful that he’ll be eligible to play on Wednesday.”
On Teal Bunbury…
“He’s put in a great effort technically, he’s been good. He’s very fit. What can you say when a guy has scored six goals in seven games?... That’s pretty good.”
On the goal of making the playoffs…
“We’re keeping our heads above water right now and it’s still good to have a point on the road. We would have liked to have done better but we didn’t so we gotta respect the fact that we made some mistakes tonight. But in general, over the last month or so, the team has played well.”
New England Defender Andrew Farrell
On the overall performance…
“A little disappointing just cause we were up one point 2-0 at one point in the game. I’ll keep on harping about how good it is to have our good forwards and Teal scoring. He keeps on doing well for us. And Juan, their linkup play up top is great. So, we got off to a great start. Teal got the goal and then Carles got the goal and we were looking pretty solid. Obviously, disappointing to give that goal up but yeah. Obviously coming out with a point in a tough game against one of the better teams in the East is a good result, especially after what we’ve been through. But obviously we wish we had three.”
On overcoming those challenges…
“It’s tough. I think once we got here, Bruce [Arena] talked to us, he said we’re mentally strong and we can deal with these things. It’s part of the process. It’s gonna feel good after all that happened and throughout the game to come out and put on a good performance, and I think we did for most of the game. Unfortunate not to come out with three points.”
On going down to ten players…
“We tried to just limit their crosses, although they had some good crosses in there, and just put bodies on guys in the box and make it hard for them to get shots off. I think we did a good job for the most part. Obviously the goal came off a set piece… but we also had some chances of our own, even down a man. Obviously frustrating but we’ll take the point and get ready for Vancouver on Wednesday.”
On Gustavo Bou…
“He’s a great guy. He’s funny. He’s got a lot of personality and it’s so good to have him here. I’m excited to see what he can do. I’ve seen his highlight tapes so I know he can score some goals and he has good linkup play. So just having him around the guys and getting him incorporated with the team has been awesome. He’s a guy who I think has a good caliber about him and I think you can tell that about him and I think he’s excited to get on the field with us and play for this team with what we’ve been doing the past eight games.”
On the improving performance…
“The guys put in a lot of work. I think we knew we could beat this team and we came out and showed it being up 2-0. That goal before halftime was tough. Got them back in the game and they’re a good team. But yeah, I think we’ve grown a lot as a group and each person has grown into their role on this team. And we’re fighting a lot more for each other. If someone makes a mistake, someone steps up and takes over for them. A year ago, we’d probably lose this game. A couple of months ago, we’d probably lose this game. But now it’s a different team.”
On the coaching change…
“He brings a lot of fresh ideas… But it’s the same players that were here two months ago. So, I think credit goes to Bruce [Arena] for getting the most out of each guy, but also the guys for putting in the work and getting that confidence back and showing that we can be a team that can compete to be in the playoffs. In each game, we can show that we’re getting better and better in the system Bruce [Arena] puts us in.”
On making the playoffs…
“We want to win every game and we take it game by game. This game we wish we could have won, we have a game against a good Vancouver team, they got to travel to us on the midweek so just hopefully win that game and keep going from there.”
New England Midfielder Juan Agudelo
On the overall performance…
“I think it was underestimated, the situation us players were in. Stuff happens but it didn’t look like it affected us at the beginning of the game but towards the ends of the halves obviously we gave up some goals. Most of it was mentally so we fixed that and we could have climbed the table a bit today.”
On going down to ten players…
“The adjustments were just change the formation to keep everything tight centrally and everybody get back to defend.”
On the conflicting feelings from the results…
“Coach said it best: the mentality needs to be better to finish out the halves. But besides that everyone should be proud of their effort after the circumstances that were put on our plate today.”
On Gustavo Bou traveling with the team…
“A lot of Spanish guys are here so he’s getting comfortable faster and faster. It’s a lot easier. And he’s even trying to speak English, so it’s good.”
On first impression of Gustavo Bou…
“He seems like he’s just here to work, here to score goals. That’s just the mentality that I got so far from him so I’m excited to see that.”
On the impact of the coaching change…
“We have been getting some results but I think it’s good that we’re a bit disappointed. Because we knew that if it was eleven against eleven we would have won the game. So we’re confident, we’re a confident team right now and I think all the credit goes to the staff that’s come in and just flipped everyone’s mentality around and gotten the best out of every player.”
