D.C. United Head Coach Ben Olsen:
On the team’s performance in the both halves:
I thought the first 25 minutes they [New England] were very good. Their passing was just better than ours and on a hot day, if you start chasing the ball a little bit, and you don’t take care of it yourself to make sure they’re defending, you’re going to take some waves and you’re going to defend a lot. And again, with that heat out there, we had trouble getting out to guys; they always had an option. I think around the 30th minute we started to connect some passes and had some better ideas out there. We had more triangles, more connections, and then for the rest of the game I thought we were pretty good, always threatening from then on out. They are a good team. Their front four are a handful; the physicality they bring, Lee [Nguyen] exploiting your holes and Charlie [Davies] doing what he does in the box, it’s an impressive front four.
On his impressions of Fabián EspÃndola as a provider and passer:
There’s no question he has the ability to make plays. We obviously like when he’s scoring goals but the times he’s able to get in and around the box, and in particular on the end line, it’s pretty impressive. A lot of balls are floated back post or are cut back in to dangerous spots where some of our guys are lurking. He’s been great. He’s always been good drifting wide and adding an extra number out wide and it's tough to deal with. His 1 v 1 ability to get by someone is second to none in this league. He’s a huge part of what we’re about.
On Chris Rolfe’s performance:
He had a good night, the second half in particular. When we’re good with the ball and we’re pushing the game, he’s such a nice piece to have. He moves well in the box and we have talked about his finishing ability. It’s very good and he wasn’t going to miss that one. I’m happy he steps up and takes the PK. Overall a good night. I still want to get a little better and put that complete performance together, but it’s a courageous group and they know how to win games.
On Chris Pontius’s injury:
He was a late scratch and we will evaluate him. It seems like it’s a calf injury that we didn’t want to mess with so we took him out.
On the importance of the win before the team goes on the road for five straight games:
It was a key game for us because of the road ahead. We needed to get these points. It’s a quick turnaround. Two days rest, Chicago. Two days rest, Toronto. Two days rest, Philly. Two days rest, Seattle, in Seattle. It’s a challenge but it’s one I think we are looking forward to in the sense that it’s going to take everybody. And the guys in there know I will use everybody throughout this stretch in order for us to maximize the points we can get out of this. You can’t play the same team, you just can’t. I’ve tried it before and it usually ends in disaster.
D.C. United Forward Chris Rolfe:
On the overall outcome and style of play:
I think we have not been playing the best soccer lately, so I think at the beginning of this game we started dumping balls again. I think we deserve a lot of credit for being tough and strong mentally, and we kind of figured out the game to get the victory.
On getting a home win before a long road stretch:
It was very important, there was a lot of emphasis on that. I do not think we play at home again until the end of July, so it was a very important game for us to get a win, and I think it is going to be a great lead-in to the week for us.
On the penalty kick goal:
I think Fabi [EspÃndola] expected to get a chance to take it so we just went over there and talked about it. We decided I would take it today, and it worked out.
D.C. United Midfielder Davy Arnaud
On getting redemption after giving up an early goal:
Yeah, it’s become a little bit of a reoccurring theme for us, giving up first goals. The good thing is we’ve shown that we can come back a lot. I feel like we’ve said the same thing now two or three different times. It’s good that we come back, but we don’t want to be playing from behind too often because it’s not easy to do, but the response in the second half was great, and we got the important win.
On the importance of Chris Rolfe and Fabián EspÃndola in the second half:
Yeah, they were [important]. I think when Rolfe plays there, he finds really good spots underneath and in between the lines. He gives us – he almost plays as he’s like a withdrawn guy. He gives us another option to keep the ball in the midfield, and it allows Fabi to move where he wants to. You know when Fabi is on his game and he’s moving around, you see that he makes plays. They both made a big play for us. That first goal was a big time play from both of them.
On the importance of winning the last home game before being on the road for a month:
I don’t think we can say it enough how important this game was. I know we’re only half way through the year just about, but this is one of those games where we needed to win; especially considering the last two games. We don’t like to lose two games in a row. We don’t make a habit of that. Even if we would’ve got a tie we would have been a little bit disappointed, especially with five games on the road now. This gets us back on track and gives us confidence going into a pretty tough stretch.
New England Revolution Head Coach Jay Heaps:
On the timing of the Steve Neumann substitution:
I have to go back and look at the tape but you’re playing in 93 degrees and you have guys that we spoke to at halftime that were gassed. We had to make substitutions and unfortunately we didn’t get a lift from the changes and it cost us the game.
On giving up the two second-half goals:
I feel like it was definitely more mental. It wasn’t like we were under a lot of pressure. Obviously we weren’t good with the ball, and I think that’s what frustrates me the most. There was no real pressure and we kept giving the ball back, and I don’t know where that comes from and that’s a mental lapse. We can keep the ball when we want to keep it, but we didn’t, and we weren’t diligent enough to get open when our keeper had the ball and the next pass was going to be lumped up the field. I have to go back and look at the film specifically, but overall I was not thrilled with how we played in the second half.
New England Forward Charlie Davies:
On general thoughts on the match:
It’s disappointing. It’s deflating. Being up 1-0 for most of the match when we didn’t feel like they were very dangerous and to give up two goals in such a short span of time is tough to handle. Again, we have to move on and we have a big game Wednesday against Columbus so we have to shift focus to that now.
On not celebrating his goal:
I have a lot of respect for not only this organization but the fans here. Everything that they’ve given to me to build me back up and they gave me my first opportunity after my accident so I feel like I owe a lot to them. Especially when I score a goal here, I’m not going to celebrate because they deserve more than that and I still feel like they’ll always have a special place in my heart.
