United head coach Ben Olsen
On tonight’s performance…
“I like that we scored a few goals and got the win. I also like that when we went down a goal in the match, we fought back. It would have been an easy game to get frustrated early but by and large, it was a good game from us and a step in the right direction.”
United midfielder Ian Harkes
On the match...
“Before the game we had a set checklist of everything and I think we checked all the boxes and we were very smart defensively and worried about some mistakes, but obviously to get those goals and break a drought a little bit that’s great.”
On the chances...
“I think it was great tonight because we never stopped believing, even when it was down by one we all stayed positive and we were able to get back in the game early and we were really able to use that positive energy.”
On breaking out of the scoring slump...
“It’s hard to say [how it happened] sometimes…things just go your way. We definitely set ourselves up for chances and put ourselves up for good spots. It was a great team buildup tonight and we took our chances well.”
On the quick turnaround to Philadelphia...
“We want to carry our confidence over, Philly is a good team, but we have to be smart and not get too hype with this win and keep working hard and apply the same kind of game plan to the game.”
United forward Deshorn Brown
On getting playing time...
“Yesterday coach asked me if I’m ready for some minutes and I said, 'yeah.' After playing [tonight], I see it’s very fast paced but I know that’s how MLS is. Once I get my match fitness and minutes up I think I’ll be doing really well.”
On adapting to entering a team as soon as they hit their groove...
“That’s the team you know, you have your ups and downs and you go into a drought and now come out, hopefully you stay mentally well and keep working on that and keep moving forward.”
On his first experience in RFK Stadium...
“It’s a good environment, I like how the fans they really cheer us on and I think it’s great. We just have to continue to work hard as a team and keep going.”
United midfielder Patrick Nyarko
On his goal…
“I just positioned myself in the box like I’d been doing all game. … It set up well for me [and] I hit through it. Luckily it went in.”
On breaking out after a slump…
“It feels good. The guys played really well today, they should enjoy this. But, there’s no way we should be satisfied. We gotta go get more. … This feeling we’re feeling today, we wanna feel it more.”
On going down early…
“I wasn’t concerned at that point because of the way we were playing. I think we were playing really well at that time, turning them over, creating chances. …For a creative player like I am, I get concerned if we’re not creating chances. I’m not worried if we’re not scoring. If we’re not creating, I’ll be worried.”
Atlanta United FC head coach Tata Martino
On the outcome of tonight’s game…
“We made many mistakes tonight, especially individual marking mistakes and against D.C., it’s obvious that those mistakes have cost us in both games. They were individual mistakes and I think you’ve seen in the games we’ve played that we dominated possession again, but D.C. is able to take advantage of the errors.”
On missing marks on crosses…
“They were good crosses, but not all crosses are the same, so they played in some good balls and we missed our individual marks on those crosses.”
On making errors against D.C…
“I like to recognize the opponents we play, but I think in these two individual games against D.C., our errors are what cost us. It’s true we’re a new team, but I think teams should raise their level of play for teams like Toronto and New York City because they’re top teams and we’re just a new team.”
On attributing mistakes to marking…
“Tonight we didn’t lose because of a lack of height on any of those crosses, they were just marking mistakes, so we can’t attribute our mistakes today to height. We have two practices to get ready for the game on Saturday.”
On correcting mistakes to prepare for the next game…
“Sometimes you can correct mistakes and sometimes you can’t—after the game in Chicago and in between the game against Columbus, we made the same errors, but we were able to beat Columbus. Sometimes you make mistakes, but you still win. Over the course of the season, we’re a team that’s made a lot of mistakes, so we still have some things to correct.”
Atlanta United FC midfielder Jeff Larentowicz
On making mistakes against D.C…
“I’m not sure there’s anything specific to them. We’ve seemed to make mistakes, they break into spaces pretty well when the ball turns over and they took their chances tonight. I don’t think we did as well as they did, taking the chances.”
On D.C.’s second goal…
“They’re good crosses on the ball, the ball gets thrown up and it’s a 50-50 ball and the guy goes up and wins it, but I don’t think it’s anything that we can’t handle and it’s something that they do well and if we see them again, obviously we’ll have to handle it better.”
On Acosta’s goal…
“I think the first goal is just a pass that gets cut out—we make those passes 100 times a week, so sometimes it gets cut off. In the second half, they just take their chances and I think we have chances in the first half. I don’t think it’s some great theme, it’s just the way soccer is and sometimes you win the game and sometimes you don’t.”
