KANSAS CITY WIZARDS HEAD COACH BOB GANSLER
On the game:
"This was a fair result. Two good teams went at each other
after the butterflies dissipated. Maybe they lost theirs earlier
than we did, but we created a few more opportunities than they did.
For the initial game it was certainly a good effort and performance."
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS GOALKEEPER TONY MEOLA
On the team's defensive efforts:
"This was a pretty good offensive team that we shutout so we have
to be happy about that. (The defense) looked good all preseason.
I'm not a big fan of counting preseason, but when you have new guys
and a new system it is the only thing you have going. For the most
part there was only one game when we looked disorganized and that
was the game when we lost Preki."
On playing without Chris Klein:
"I thought when we went down to 10, they would have the advantage because Kleiny was out and that gave (DaMarcus Beasley the run of that side of the park. I think with him playing mid-week (with the U.S. national team) I think his legs started to wear out a little bit."
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS DEFENDER JIMMY CONRAD
On the getting a shutout:
"I think we did a good job of keeping the play in front of us tonight.
I think when we are going to get in trouble is if we let the ball
get in behind us. Tonight we kept the ball in front of us and made
them beat us that way and we were able to cut down their options.
If we keep playing like this, we can put ourselves in a good position
to get a lot of shutouts this season."
On playing alongside Shavar Thomas:
"I think it makes the most impact on offense during free kicks. Somebody has to pay attention to him as well, so that helps me clear some space and he and create his own opportunities as well. Each day we are going to get better and better as we get to understand each other better and tonight was a good example of that."
CHICAGO FIRE HEAD COACH DAVE SARACHAN
On the result:
"The old adage is if you're on the road and you get points that's
good. It's never easy when you come into a building in someone's
home opener because those teams play with a lot of emotion and energy.
I thought that our guys competed very well tonight, which you have
to do on the road."
On whether he was disappointed with the lack of goals:
"If we leave here 3-3 or 0-0, it's still a point. It wasn't for a lack of chances because we had a few. We know that part will come.
On the incident in the second half:
"For me it was an easy one. You just talk to them, maybe issue a yellow (card). In the heat of the moment things got out of hand, but no punches were thrown. It was one of those typical types of scuffles that two competitive athletes went after.
On the performance of goalkeeper Henry Ring:
"I thought Henry did well. He had to make a pretty important save in the first half, tipping it over the bar. I don't think he was challenged too much, but keeping a zero is always important for goalkeepers. It's always good to get a game under your belt and I'm sure as minutes get logged he'll gain in confidence."
On the return of Ante Razov:
"We knew he could give us 35 or 40 minutes, and it was a good time of the game to get him on. We're bringing him back slowly, but we're hoping he'll be really raring to go by next weekend."
CHICAGO FIRE CAPTAIN CHRIS ARMAS
On the result:
"We very pleased with it. You come on the road, you tie or win and
we did that. The pressure was on them because it was their home
opener. Overall it was a good 90-minute effort tonight."
On the scuffle between the two sides:
"You can't expect that; it was all in good competition. I think maybe the referee saw something we didn't. It's a man's game and the tensions rise. It's opening day and everyone's looking to get a result. Both teams will deal with it."
CHICAGO FIRE GOALKEEPER HENRY RING
On his match as the No. 1 goalkeeper:
"I thought it ended up good. Zeros are always good. The
guys in front of me were a big reason for that. I didn't have to
see many shots between the play of C.J. (Brown), Jimmy (Curtin)
and Evan (Whitfield) - those guys tore it up tonight."
On whether he was nervous entering the match:
"There's always nerves, especially when that first game is coming up. It was nice to get that first touch on the ball and get that first cross and get comfortable. Nerves are good as long as you can keep them under control.
CHICAGO FIRE DEFENDER C.J. BROWN
On his scuffle with Kansas City's Chris Klein:
"I went to grab the ball and I knew it was my throw-in. I went to
take the throw in and I had two Kansas City players in my face.
I saw one of them go after Beasley so I got him out of the way and
we ended up holding on to each other. That was the end of the deal.
Nobody threw punches, it was just us holding onto each other. I
guess the referee saw something different."
