D.C. United defender Bobby Boswell
On the first half...
"The longer the game went without a goal, the more frustrated they were getting. You could see that. They were [making bad choices] and we knew they were going to come out firing, so we just had to match it and surpass them, but we weren’t able to do that. We gave up an early goal in the second half and that changed the whole dynamic. When they get comfortable, they start doing what they want to do. It’s a tough place to come play, plus they're a rival. That’s not how we wanted to play and not a result we want in front of our fans that traveled, but we have to learn from it and start the second half the way we started the first half; we have to see it out."
On conceding the second goal...
"We’ll watch that. I think we had a little difference of opinion. I think he thought I was going to read the lane and I thought he would come across. You can’t let a guy like that get wide open. We talked about that during the week, I thought we did a pretty good job on [Wright-Phillips] but all he needs is a half-chance and that guy will burry you. It’s unfortunate what happened to Steve tonight, but when he’s healthy again we can talk about it and make sure it doesn’t happen again."
D.C. United midfielder Nick Deleon
On coming out of the game...
"[It was just] a little groin injury. I still could’ve went, but I just wasn’t 100 percent and it was just getting tighter and tighter. [The substitution] was more of a precautionary thing and we didn’t want it to get worse than it already is."
On the result...
"We had a pretty good first half, which we talked about at halftime, and we knew they were going to come at us the first ten minutes [of the second half] when they scored that goal. They had the momentum pretty much for the rest of the half. Having given up that early goal, we just gave them the momentum into the second half."
New York Red Bulls head coach Jesse Marsch
On Sacha Kljestan's performance...
"We know when we play D.C. that physically we have to be up for the challenge, and that is often the starting point for what these games are. I thought that Sacha covered a lot of ground. He sprinted. He counterpressed a lot. He pressed a lot. And that, I thought, helped set the tone for the team. You know, I mean, even in the first half we weren't able to really develop as much in the attacking part of the field with the ball, but sometimes when you play against D.C. and in these big games, that's how you have to meet the standard of that for maybe 45 minutes, maybe 60 minutes, maybe 90 minutes until the same settles down."
"I thought that Sacha did a great job on that tonight, and the other guy who put such a great performance in tonight was Alex Muyl. He won like every duel, every aerial ball, every footrace, every tackle, and it set the tone for the whole team."
On facing D.C. United...
"If you're not up for what the challenge is playing against D.C., Benny always does a very good job of making sure his team is prepared and motivated and ready to fight and battle and claw, and we all know that that's hallmark of often what Benny does with his teams, and I admire it. I always -- I will always want a team that competes every night, too."
"I think that that's a compliment to Ben. It's a compliment to what D.C. is, and we know that especially in these rivalry games, if we're not up for the challenge, we can just get cleaned up on the field. That's always the starting point for this match, and if we can do that well, then we feel like we can start to play the way we want to play and the game will settle down and we'll find our way."
New York Red Bulls captain Sacha Kljestan
On whether things started clicking tonight...
“Yeah, it felt a little good, we created some good chances tonight which was nice to have, to have some clear cut chances and have the guys bury them. Obviously getting the ball on the set piece helps. Alex Muyl made a great play so that was good, I think the most important thing for us is now three home games and three shut-outs.”
On changes in fortune tonight...
“I think it helps that we went back to our old formation and the guys feel a little more comfortable and an important aspect of our game is having our guys feel confident and comfortable. Obviously when I play in the middle I get the ball more often and hopefully I can settle the game down for us and try to make plays to make the guys around me better so I think I did that pretty good tonight.”
On playing a rivalry match...
“Yeah, we knew what we were going to get out of this game and even at halftime I walked past Ben Olsen and he was like “I love these games, I love the way it’s going,” and I was like yeah, it’s pretty fun. We knew what it was going to be like, we knew it was going to be a battle and I think, for the most part, we got the better of them and usually that’s what they’re good at, they’re good at winning 50/50s, they’re good at fouling, and they’re good at being physical and I think we matched that and then ultimately our soccer paid off.”
New York Red Bulls midfielder Alex Muyl
On his growing confidence in the final third...
“Yeah, we talked about it the other day. It’s taking a while for me to really get comfortable and be ready to risk things and not be afraid to make mistakes, I think that’s going to help. I’m still working on it, it’s still a process but for young players, obviously, it’s never easy. You don’t want to let the older guys down but once you get through that, it’s a learning curve and I think it just opens up the rest of it.”
On his development...
“I think it’s just going back to who I am. I’ve never been the kind of guy that was going to do the dirty work, I was never a blue-collar player. I came here and I think that’s something I was able to do. I think it got me on the field maybe before I was even ready sometimes. I think with me it’s just becoming who I am and I can do that part, and I love doing that part, and I love helping the team win. But, I also want to show that I can score goals, help set up goals, and hopefully continue to do that."
