MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER QUOTE SHEET
SATURDAY, JULY 23, 2005 - SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES 2, METROSTARS 1
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH DOMINIC KINNEAR
On the game:
"I thought we played some good football tonight. I think we could have scored some more goals, we kind of kept New York in the game with the chances we missed. But overall, the attacking play we played tonight was some of the most fun soccer we have played this year.
"I give credit to New York for not putting their heads down and making it difficult for us. I think we were a little bit sharper, and if we were a bit more deadly near the goal the game could have been over in about the 70th minute. But, I give full credit to our guys, I am happy for them for the way they have played over the first half of the season going into the All-Star break here. I hope a lot of people are taking notice, because I think we are a very good team."
On the Quakes defense:
"Overall, excellent again. [Abbe] Ibrahim and [Ante] Razov are difficult, they cause a lot of problems. I think we were a bit too casual at times, we might have given them a little more space, but overall, they were excellent tonight."
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES MIDFIELDER MARK CHUNG
On the game:
"I thought it was an exciting game. We had plenty of chances. They got an unfortunate goal, after that deflection it went over Pat's head. But, otherwise we had tons of chances. The team played well, we knocked the ball around well and it was a good win for us."
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES MIDFIELDER DWAYNE DE ROSARIO
On his goal:
"It was a great pass off a counterattack to me. I got the ball and saw the whole field in front of me. I saw [Tony] Meola on one side of the net, so I just put it to the other side."
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES FORWARD RONALD CERRITOS
On the game:
"In the end, we won and obviously we played great soccer. Everybody was involved. Everybody was fighting and talking, in the end maybe we could have scored three or four goals, but soccer is like that. I am just happy with these guys, we are all on the same page."
METROSTARS HEAD COACH BOB BRADLEY
On the game:
"We had stretches that were OK. But again, I think games here at Spartan Stadium are so much about fighting for loose balls and coming away with plays, and I think there were probably more stretches where they had an edge on us."
On giving up a lead early:
"It is frustrating because it is an area that we have talked about. Every player understands that those are key moments in terms of concentration, yet we gave a ball away. They were able to gain control and find somebody at the back post. We never again had the chance to find out what it was like to play with a lead."
On Ryan Suarez's first appearance:
"I thought that Ryan competed well, he tackles very hard. He plays with a great deal of commitment. I thought there were still some moments when the understanding between Ryan and Eddie Gaven wasn't as solid as we would like, but that is to be expected since that is their first game together."
METROSTARS GOALKEEPER TONY MEOLA
On surrendering the lead early:
"That has been the story in all the games I have been part of, whether on the bench or in the game. We've been tied or had the lead and we have given it away. Tonight was a little different story, they beat us and competed for 90 minutes and we had a little bit more possession of the ball in the second half, we gave a decent effort, but not enough. We didn't match their effort."
METROSTARS DEFENDER JEFF AGOOS
On returning to San Jose:
"I was happy to be back here. The fans were great here, they treated me great here. It was special to be back in this environment and a place where we had success for four years."
On the game:
"We were strapped for players here, missing Amado and Youri and Michael Bradley was out with suspension and a couple other injuries, so we were short on numbers, but every team deals with that and we tried to deal with that tonight and did a pretty good job until the second half. You just can't give up a goal 30 seconds after we scored. You just can't do that. We still have a long way to go to pull ourselves out of this hole that we are in, but that is what the second half of the season is for."
