Head Coach Ben Olsen
Overall thoughts…
“I think they [New York Red Bulls] had the better of it in the second half, but that’s what they do... they wear you down. It was a good exercise in trying to stay at a high level of focus and intensity. But overall, it was still a game where we had a few chances to get something out of it. They made the play that mattered but it was back-and-forth. I’m proud of the effort and we’ll get back to it quickly against Philadelphia midweek. That’s a huge game for us then we play Atlanta next weekend. We don’t have a lot of time to dwell on this. We need to focus on recovering and preparing for Wednesday.”
On subbing Wayne Rooney and Luciano Acosta…
“Having a game on Wednesday is part of it. Wayne [Rooney] traveled a lot this week. He went back home to handle some family business so he was still getting his legs back a little bit... but I thought he was great.”
“It was two-fold. We wanted to get them a few minutes off their legs but it was also putting some energy into the game. Darren [Mattocks] and Ulises [Segura] did a very good job when they came on.”
On the positives from the game…
“We came in and our mentality was good and for the most part, it was a good performance.”
On the Yamil Asad injury…
“He tweaked his ankle. We gave him a chance to run it off but it was significant enough that we changed him.”
On how the team will respond…
“The rest of the season is going to be a challenge. We’re ready for that part and we understand the significance of each game now. We’re at that junction where every point matters and we have to take care of our home games. We need to respond against Philadelphia.”
Forward Wayne Rooney
On chances in the first half...
"Yeah, I think we knew the way Red Bulls wanted to play. We kept them quiet for a little bit. We created some good chances, didn’t take them. I think all I’d like to say is, the referee told me, just before they scored that is wasn’t a free kick but he needs the time to see the guys so that’s why he gave the free kick, which is extremely disappointing in a game like this, in a derby game, to give a free kick when he admitted it wasn’t a free kick. It’s not acceptable."
On the referee’s explanation...
"He clearly said to me “It wasn’t a free kick,” because he needed the time for the guy to get treatment so yeah, that stopped the game and asked for a bounce ball but instead he gave them a free kick when he clearly admitted it wasn’t so in my opinion it’s not acceptable."
On Rooney’s chance in the second half that struck the crossbar...
"Yeah, no I think absolutely disappointed. I should’ve scored it. I think I did a bit too much, obviously got too much height on it. Obviously, they’re second in the league and we’ve come here and gave them a good game, we’ve created chances... probably created the best chances of the 90 minutes."
On the quick turnaround against Philadelphia midweek...
"Yeah, I think our principal is the same, to try and play football and create chances and try to nullify the opponent, to give the least chances as possible. So obviously, we know it’s a big game for us. I’m sure that was in the thinking, well I know it was in the thinking of the manager, in taking myself and Luciano [Acosta] off to try and keep us a little fresh for Wednesday."
Midfielder Paul Arriola
On being unlucky with the result…
"Yeah, it was obviously a tough game, we knew it was going to be a tough game. You know last time we played them, I think we were caught a bit by surprise about how serious their style of play is. This game I thought we came in really prepared, we were on the front foot early on. Tough place to play, obviously, against a tough team. They know what they’re doing, obviously, it’s not the prettiest type of football here in the league, but it works for them and credit to them for executing what they always plan out to do. But for us, it’s tough, I think obviously, we should have put at least one away and, you know, if you put one away, even early on in the first half or early on in the second half, who knows how the game goes."
On what to take from this game looking ahead to the Union…
"All I can say is obviously we’re confident in what we’re doing. It was just a matter of getting our legs back, taking care of our bodies so we can be ready to go. Obviously, we know we can play a midweek game–no problem–, especially at home with our fans who provide a good energy for us, so Philly’s (Union) obviously coming in hot with their winning streak, but for us its extremely important, like you said, to get three points against a team we’re chasing because in the end it could be a deciding factor for us whether we make the playoffs or not."
