D.C. United head coach Ben Olsen
On the overall performance...
“I love a group effort, and everybody played a part in this. All the guys played up to their standard and gave everything they had. We knew we were going to have to score more than one goal to get the points we needed, and we did.”
On the tactical matchup...
“The first 20 minutes were pretty good. The final third was lacking, and then they switched to a three-man attack, which gave us a lot of trouble with numbers centrally. We made some adjustments at half time to curb the central penetration, and then they shifted it out wide, which is when they got a bunch of crosses off. But, we defended the box well and came out with three points.”
On March’s loss to NYCFC and that result’s effect on the game...
“The loss was pretty fresh in our minds, but these guys are motivated, and they didn’t need any extra motivation for tonight. The team was up for the challenge and stuck together.”
On the significance of back-to-back wins...
“Historically, it usually takes us a while to put together back-to-back wins, but now, we want to keep going. We play another New York team next week, and we’re ready to get back to it and keep improving.”
On Ian Harkes’ development...
“Ian is growing before our eyes, and that’s a lot of fun for a coach to watch. He takes information very well and he’ll fix what needs to be fixed.”
D.C. United midfielder Lloyd Sam
On his goal...
“I was thinking, ‘let me just run this down and see what happens.’ The rest was history. We weren’t creating many chances, so sometimes you have to try and make something happen in other ways. I was glad to see the goal happen.”
On going on the road for the three matches...
“We’re on the road for the next three matches, which is why it was so important to get this win. Now we have to keep it going, we have to show fight like we did today. Showing this same sort of fight when we go to Red Bull Arena next week will help us earn a good result.”
D.C. United midfielder Ian Harkes
On what it’s like to be on the field with people you used to watch on TV…
“It’s really nice. Obviously, it's a dream come true to play against guys like Pirlo and Villa. Just getting on the field, helping out my team and being a part of this organization is a great achievement. But it’s really humbling to see all the great players out there. So, I’m just trying to hold my own and try to get better each game and learn.”
On what he thought of Lucho’s goal and what led up to it…
“It was fantastic. He was picking up the ball in great spots and really relieving a lot of pressure for us. The fact that he followed that play out and got the rebound was great for us to go up.”
D.C. United midfielder Luciano Acosta
On how important it is to keep the winning streak going…
“We have to get used to winning and even more-so at home.”
On keeping the winning streak alive for the three games on the road…
“It’s important, now that we have confidence going in. We just have to keep winning, keep being confident and just keep up that attitude.”
On how the midfield performed against an experienced NYC midfield…
“I think we obviously felt very comfortable during the game. Ian is a really good player. He’s pretty young, and has a lot of potential. Jared, as well, is a great player. We are just three young guys who want to keep playing and want to play in every game. We have to keep doing well so that the coach keeps believing in us and wants to put us on the field. We don’t really pay attention to the rival, or their experience, but we want to do well and focus on us first.”
New York City FC head coach Patrick Vieira
On first half pressure not resulting in a lead...
"We had the possession of the ball, but I’m not sure we created enough chances to really say we should have taken the lead. I think in the first fifteen, twenty minutes of the half they put us under pressure and they created the best chances. Going back to the dressing room at halftime with it being nil-nil was a fair result."
On playing D.C. so soon after the 4-0 result at NYC...
"We knew what to expect. We knew that they would be tough, that they would be physical and would put a lot of pressure on us…I’m a little disappointed because...we were a little passive, especially in the first half. The way we went into the game wasn’t the right way and at the end we get punished."
On Acosta’s influence...
"He’s a good player, especially when you let him play. When you let him dictate the game he can hurt any team…You can say they’re a different team with Acosta."
