D.C. United head coach Ben Olsen
Overall thoughts on the game…
"I thought we were great. It hurts that we only get a point out of playing great but I told the group afterwards…there’s a lot of good here. That was a good performance, the best I’ve seen the team play in quite awhile, front to back…but we missed a lot of chances."
On the team’s energy…
"I thought Bobby and Steve were ready for Drogba tonight…and the whole group was up for the task. Now the challenge to staff and players is to bring that [energy] every weekend and we'll be okay. You will make the playoffs in this league if you can perform like that…with that type of focus and effort over the course of the game. You will win more than you lose. But tonight, don’t get me wrong…I’m gutted. And those guys are gutted for not getting three points, but I’m extremely encouraged. I thought Patrick Mullins was very good, it was good to see Patrick Nyarko back out there, and we had to bring in Igboananike in more of a defensive role out of necessity. An unfortunate deflection off a set piece changed our outcome, but again, overall, very encouraged."
On taking Jeffrey off early and Marcelo being suspended next weekend…
"Jared came off because he had a tight hamstring. He tried to get back out there but he wasn’t 100%. So the substitution was for that reason, rather than thinking about next weekend."
On the foul on Acosta in the box…
"I don’t know, I haven’t seen it on video yet but it looked like a PK to me."
D.C. United defender Steve Birnbaum
On how the team played tonight and the tough result...
"Yeah, I think that’s the best we played all year. Everyone looked after each other, I thought we pressed well as a group, put them on their heels and were on the attack the whole time…a lot of positives from this game. Obviously, it’s tough giving up a late goal that ties the game when we felt like we controlled it but there are a lot of positives from the game."
On matching up with Drogba...
"We had a lot of possession today so we had to be a little bit more proactive and pick up the numbers. Bobby and I basically double-teamed him when we were in the attack…he’s a great player and you can’t let him have time on the ball."
On his level of frustration giving up a late goal...
"Yeah, it’s frustrating for sure. We felt like we needed to win this game to keep us going. But we had a lot of good pieces out there that played a big role and we just have to take the positives away from it."
D.C. United forward Patrick Mullins
On the first time in this formation...
"I felt pretty good; when you get traded to a new team, even if it’s somewhere you want to go, it takes a little while to work out some kinks and sometimes it’s hard and awkward in training but I think we saw some good results out there tonight between Patty [Nyarko] and I, Nicky and I and Lucho as well. I felt we deserved more than one goal, we all felt there was really good chemistry in the locker room and that we deserved more from the game."
On Kemp assisting on your first goal...
"Yeah, it’ll be cool if he does a couple more too. The performance of the goal, it’s one out of one, after tonight it means nothing but it was good for tonight. As we all know, we have to come back and do it again next week. It was nice being back on the same page as someone I’m familiar with."
On missing chances...
We’ve all watched enough soccer to know if you don’t finish your chances and put teams away, the game finds a way to punish you later on and I think that’s the story tonight. What we are taking from tonight is that overall, it was a very positive performance and yes we didn't get three points, but I felt really positive about how things went."
D.C. United forward Kennedy Igboananike
On his first game with D.C. United…
“It feels great. I think it’s just to keep playing, I’m still learning how to play with the boys. It’s my first time, I trained with them yesterday, so I just need a little bit of time to adopt to the system of how they are playing, but I think I will come into the team as quick as possible.”
Montreal Impact head coach Mauro Biello
On how pleased he was to get one point…
“I think if I look at the way we came out of there it obviously was a difficult game for us. You have to give D.C. credit. They pushed the game from the beginning, and created chances. We held in there, and in the end I was happy that we came back, even with a man down, to get that goal and come out of here with a point because it wasn’t our best game but overall I think it shows character on my team to bounce back and get points.”
On his opinion about the Drogba red card…
“I didn’t see it. I have to re-watch it. Obviously, he said he just leaned up against him. He didn’t stick up, or lift up, his leg or anything like that. He just leaned into him as he walked towards him. In the end, I have to re-watch it and see what it is but you know fans were screaming and sometimes they get influenced and they make a call like that.”
Montreal Impact midfielder Harry Shipp
On possible impacts on the game…
“I think it was the humidity. Especially in the first half, you’re going up and down and it was a fast-paced game and it’s tough to catch your breath. I think we could’ve done a better job of getting in their half and kind of resting with the ball instead of resting without the ball.”
On the overall result…
“I don’t think anyone would say we played well, you know? But we found a way to get a point at the end, which is important. A sign of a good team is not playing well and still finding a way to get a result on the road against a team that’s desperate to get points at this point in the season. We’ll build on it, take what we can and move onto the next game.”
On coming off of a big win last week…
“I don’t think anyone took [D.C. United] lightly or were complacent in any way. I think stuff changes, game-to-game. Last game, it seems so easy when everything is going right and I think we faced some challenges in this game; the way they lined up, playing with the three in the middle, they were able to break pressure, especially in the first half and we kind of had to adjust in the second half and did a little bit of a better job containing them in the second half.”
On the red card…
“I didn’t honestly see what happened on the red; it was blocked, but for us it was like alright, well now we have nothing to lose, we’re down a guy and goal on the road and let’s just see what we can salvage. Luckily, we were able to get a goal and hold on for a point.”
