D.C. UNITED HEAD COACH BEN OLSEN
On Luis Silva:
“He worked very hard in the first half. We asked him to be more involved. In the last two games, he just wasn’t touching the ball enough, and to get the ball, you need to work hard, pick up second balls, be constantly on the move, and he did a better job of that tonight. Obviously, he capped it off with a very good goal.”
On Bill Hamid:
“He’s been very good all year long. It’s always fun to watch these guys grow over the years. Bill is one of those guys on and off the field who has continually grown in front of our eyes. He's a homegrown guy who we are very proud of. I know he’s happy to be here and happy to help out his teammates tonight.”
D.C. UNITED MIDFIELDER LEWIS NEAL
On game:
“I thought for the first 25 minutes we were brilliant; I thought we played really well. I thought we knocked the ball around, got the two goals and kept control of the match. After that, Wondo gets the goal and that gave San Jose a little momentum. In the second half, we had to defend for our lives at times, but overall, there were a lot of people putting their bodies on the line.”
On defensive effort:
“When they have Lenhart, Gordon, Wondolowski and Goodson, there’s always going to be a battle. Those guys are always so hard to deal with. They had their chances, but there was always someone in the way preventing them from getting the second goal. That was the key to our second half performance: we were there for each other to bail each other out.”
D.C. UNITED DEFENDER STEVEN BIRNBAUM
On returning to the Bay Area:
“It was great to be back. I had a bunch of my fans out here, so I was lucky enough to have them come out. I played at Santa Clara before with Cal, so it was a familiar place and I feel comfortable playing out here. It was just nice to come back and play here again.”
On first half goals:
“I think that was huge for us. By getting those first two goals, we showed them that we’re ready to play here on the road and we’re here for a reason. After we got our goals, I though we sat in a little more. They nicked a goal in the first half - which was a little unlucky for us - but I thought in the second half we just battled and did well to get three points.”
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH MARK WATSON
On Shea Salinas’ return:
“Shea has been struggling with an injury for a long time and we tried to get it right with the break. The situation presented itself for him to get some minutes tonight and I thought he looked lively. He’s someone who thrives on going at defenders and putting balls in the box and I thought for his first minutes in a long time, he did well.”
On result:
“It’s disappointing to lose anytime, especially at home. For once, we were healthy and had good availability. Maybe it’s a bit more disappointing, but to put yourself in a two-goal hole is difficult in any place. You try to take the positives out of a game, but it’s tough when you lose. We created a lot of chances and we just need to do a bit better putting those away.”
On Chris Wondolowski’s return:
“Wondo always gives you a boost. He looked good and had a couple moments to put another one or two away. Chris would be the first to tell you he would rather have the victory [than the goal], but it’s good to have him back. Wondo is a big piece of this team moving forward.”
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES FORWARD CHRIS WONDOLOWSKI
On return to club:
“It’s good to be back. The fans were so welcoming. I truly love them and I love playing in front of them. Unfortunately, we did not get the result we all wanted. I thought we played very well at times. We had a couple of let downs, granted D.C. United is a very good team. We did not capitalize on our chances and we got punished at the end for it.”
On D.C. United goalkeeper Bill Hamid:
“I thought he was very good. He does a great job of coming out and cutting off angles. He makes himself very big and forced us into having to make a perfect shot to beat him. We couldn’t find that shot. He was on top of his game tonight.”
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES DEFENDER CLARENCE GOODSON
On result:
“It was a bad start to the game. We came out slow from the gate and we gave up two bad goals. The second goal was my fault. I apologized to my team, but sorry doesn’t cut it. It needs to be earned back with your play. The second half was much better, but it’s taking us too long to come into a game like this. There is no excuse for us to be dropping points at home like we have been doing lately.”
On second half of the season:
“We find ourselves in a hole again just like last year. You look at our matches this year and there have been stretches when we’ve played well. Then we hit those poor spells and that’s how we give up bad goals. To be fair, we haven’t given up too many goals this year. In regards to a second half resurgence, I think it’s all there for us. We need to find ways to be better for longer stretches. When we are struggling, get back to a better shape and that will minimize goals. If we do that, you will see games like this fall our way.”
