D.C. United head coach Ben Olsen
On the overall outcome…
“This one is a tough one to evaluate. We’ll have to go back and look at it, but the first half was pretty poor. It looked like we were just not up for it and they looked like they had a little bit more pulse to them…they looked like a team that wants to be in the playoffs. They bail us out with the red card and that obviously changes the game. But from then on the second half mentality was good and the guys went after it and got a bunch of goals…which is a big deal. That’s a good feeling that I think this team has been waiting for.
On Patrick Mullins…
“I thought he was great. It’s a tough one to judge, but up until the red card I didn’t think there were a lot of great performances from us. After that, it was up-a-man soccer and we did a very good job with that in the second half. If you look at his [Patrick’s] goals…they were very good goals. He’s in good spots, he’s predictable in the way he plays and he seems to be finding a relationship or two with some attacking players, in particular Lucho [Acosta] and that’s healthy.”
On Jared Jeffrey’s injury…
“He had a headache, so just to be safe, we pulled him. He took an elbow to the face that wasn’t called and later developed a headache.”
On closing out games in a strong manner…
“Seeing games out has been a little bit of an issue, so it’s nice any time you can close out games and actually distance yourself even more throughout the game. I think this result will go a long way with this team. You mention Patrick Mullins, but people set him up for these goals. Bobby and Steve weapons on set pieces. We just have to keep building and we have to get better because there are good teams coming.”
D.C. United captain and defender Bobby Boswell
On Patrick Mullins…
“I think he’s working pretty hard, he wants to score goals and I think he’s learning the tendencies of the guys around him. I think as he learns everyone’s timing, he’s pretty lethal with his left foot when he’s in there. It’s just about finding him in the right spots. He works hard, he’s got a bit of an edge to him, he’s not afraid [to make defenders'] night tough. I think he’s hard to game-plan against, because you’re not really sure what he’s going to do. He’s good in the air, but he’s not bad with his feet either, so he’s been doing well with us and hopefully it continues.”
On scoring six goals and the level of confidence…
“We’ve been saying for a long time that the goals were coming. Six is great, we’ve got to keep scoring goals and defensively we don’t want to give up those goals. I think if we don’t let them back in the half at 3-2, they’re just a dejected group coming out; it could have been even worse. Any time your [team] is scoring goals as a defender, you appreciate that. We have to work just as hard to keep them out of the back of the net. For some reason or another, we didn’t start out on the right foot. In the four games we played at home, with the exception of maybe one, we started the games very well and we had an idea that this was a must-win game, so for us to start the game the way we did was not really what we wanted, but at the end of the day, we’ll take the six goals and the three points and we’ll learn from what we did and get ready for a really tough game coming up.”
D.C. United forward Patrick Mullins
On what it is like when things are going well…
“I want to say that we expected a game like that, but I think that just with the kind of week it was with travel—three games for both teams—that if we kept the ball moving, we could create some chances. Obviously you don’t ever go into a game thinking six goals at the end of it, but our finishing was sharp tonight. That’s something to build on.”
On their ability to score…
“I think that’s been there for the past couple of games. I think it just all came together. It was a good performance obviously, front to back. I think we built up from the back well, and that’s a big part for our attacking players to get those chances. If we get in the right positions and build well, then we’ll be successful.”
On what was going through his mind when he got the hat trick…
“It’s tough to really say, honestly. A little bit of excitement. It’s been a long time since I’ve scored a hat trick. I honestly don’t even remember. It was an exciting moment that I want to take in. It was a special night for me and obviously for the team to get three points. It was a fun one to share with RFK. Like I said, not going to forget this one.”
On his dynamic with Acosta…
“It’s simple with him. He’s got so much talent that if you move, he’ll find you. I think you saw that in the second goal. It was just a little over-the-shoulder run. He’s going to find you whether it’s a flick or just a ball like the one tonight. It was a good performance tonight, but we need to keep re-performing that day in and day out and obviously on the weekends as well.”
On not getting many chances with New York, and getting more opportunities in D.C…
“I think I always knew what I was capable of. As I alluded to in the last question, I think that’s far from over. That’s something I’m still growing and mastering in my craft. I have belief in myself. I’m with a group of guys in here who believe in me. It’s been a long season for me, and nights like tonight make some of the tough times all worth it.”
D.C. United midfielder Patrick Nyarko
On the victory…
“It was good. We got the win. We got bailed out with the red card [in the first half]…We were up and down. Coach reminded us at halftime that to be a playoff team, we need to stay on top, not go up and down…We let them get back into the game right after we scored, and we need to have the killer instinct. We had that in the second half, but even so, we’ve got to keep that consistency. I’m happy that we got the win, but I still think that mentally we have some work to do.”
Chicago Fire head coach Veljko Paunović
On learning from this game and bouncing back...
“First I think it was a great effort from our team and our guys did their best and I want to congratulate them. I think it’s very important for us to give that message to our rivals that we are going to do our best even in a situation like it was today on the field. It’s a hard loss, but you know we learn from our mistakes. We believe that the team and the process of getting to be a champion has to lose games like this and it happens to everyone. So, the only thing would be we got to keep our approach that we’ve had especially in the last couple of months, so we will continue working hard and believing in each other and that’s it."
On the red card...
"Well obviously a lot. I think that was obvious on the field and it affected a lot, our guys game plan and everything. I think the response was good. After 3 to 1 we were able to score the second which gave us some hope for the second half. As you could see we played with three strikers. There is no beauty in defending 3-2 when you are losing so we maybe were too brave, but that’s our message. We keep on working hard. We want to win all our games and I am going to say that again because I was misinterpreted the last couple of times. We want to win all our games, so put it down, write it down."
Chicago Fire midfielder Răzvan Cociș
On scoring his fourth goal of the season…
“I found a spot in between the lines; I knew I was alone. Michael [de Leeuw] saw that, he gave me a good ball, I turned, made a few steps and I was able to take a shot. Fortunately, it was a deflection and it went in.”
On regrouping after the result in D.C. and the team’s last three games…
“We have to stay positive and we have to take the good things out of these three games. This one is a tough one. The one at home is harder to take because I think we had it and it was a good game. We were winning 2-1 and unfortunately, we tied that. This one, with the man down in the first half, it was tough. Also, this was the third game, so we had some pretty tired guys who played all of the games. Playing a man down for more than a half is tough.”
