NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION 2, FC DALLAS 1
FC DALLAS HEAD COACH COLIN CLARKE
On the first half:
"The first half was not one of our better halves. It started lively, but we
didn't move the ball quick enough. We didn't move the ball well nor quickly
enough in the first half. We were slow and lethargic, and that used to be
one of our strengths. Then they scored the first goal and set us back."
On second half adjustments:
"We were better. More people wanted it and got the tying goal. We wanted the
game winner and put them on their heels."
On recent results:
"Very disappointing; it was a bad result last week (2-2 tie with the
MetroStars), but at least we got a point out of it. It was something that we
could build on. Unfortunately, we gave up a late goal. We have to make sure
that we get it together and turn this thing around."
FC DALLAS GOALKEEPER JEFF CASSAR
On New England:
"They're pretty good, they move the ball around. They know where each other
is going to be on every play. They play it to the top; they play it back to
the middle. They're just a good, solid club. It's going to take a good game
to beat them and we didn't have a good game."
On FC Dallas' current slide:
"I just think we are not in it mentally. We're certainly not into the game
and you can't do that because when you do that, you get scored on. I don't
think we are getting complacent; things were going our way early on. Now, we
really have to dig deep and show more character"
FC DALLAS DEFENDER GREG VANNEY
On FC Dallas defense:
"Talking about team defending, we're finding ways to give up goals. That's
15 goals in six games and that's unacceptable. We had breakdowns in the
middle and in the back, not just one individual breakdown, we're giving away
the ball in bad spots and we are not covering for each other. We are not
making plays to prevent goals."
On tonight's game:
"Other teams are starting to figure out how to score goals on us, Shalrie
scores a goal that is only scored once a year and we gave away the game. We
can't give away those types of shots and we are finding ways to give up
goals and give away games. We have to pull together in order to turn this
thing around."
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION HEAD COACH STEVE NICOL
On playing FC Dallas:
"It's tough to win; they started strong and then we picked it up after about
20 minutes. I thought we ran the game in the first half through
halftime."
On the second half:
"In the second half, they pressed us hard and got the goal early on. But
once we got that second goal, we kept it tight and restricted them to few
real chances."
On Carlos Ruiz's goal:
"They're the home team and they're behind, so they had to press us and we
needed to change gears and start getting the ball up the field the other
way. Unfortunately, that didn't happen until we had already lost the
goal."
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION MIDFIELDER SHALRIE JOSEPH
On his goal:
"Andy played me a great ball. I noticed that they tried to clamp my down and
I tried to get it on my right foot and tried to get a good touch on the
ball. I got a shot and it went in the back of the net"
On the early portion of the match:
"It was key that we scored 20 minutes into the game. We were defending and
they were pressuring us. After we got the first goal, we kind of stood back
and defended as a team."
On winning tonight:
"It's huge. When you are playing any team that's at the top of the league,
it is always good to win. It's always a big contest and it helped that we
came out on top."
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION MIDFIELDER CLINT DEMPSEY
On Joseph's goal:
"He hits them like that in practice. It is about time that he hit it like
that in the game. He's a good player. It's going to give him more
confidence, take more chances, and he will score more goals."
On the match being an MLS Cup preview:
"That's too early to say, We're going to take it day by day."
On his goal:
"It's was a good ball into Taylor Twellman, Taylor made a good ball into Joe
Franchino, Joey cut it back against the goal. I tried to make a good run,
make myself available to him. Joey put it on my foot, and I put it in the
back of the net."
