HOUSTON DYNAMO 1, D.C. UNITED 0
HOUSTON DYNAMO HEAD COACH DOMINIC KINNEAR
On the game:
"It was a tough game for a couple reasons I think. We had a game on Thursday, it was hot. I think the defense was great tonight. Pat [Onstad] made a great save on [Luciano] Emilio, and we scored two minutes later, so that shows you that the goalkeeper can keep you in the game."
On the defense:
"When you say 'defense' everyone thinks defenders and goalkeeper. I think you have to look at guys like Brian Ching and Joseph Ngwenya who come back and mark guys on set pieces. They're the first line of pressure, and then it's the next four. I think we're a difficult team to break down. We have guys like Brian Mullan who find energy out of nowhere at very important times."
On fatigue:
"They were tired. We sat in behind, so they couldn't really get behind us. The passing in the last 20 minutes was a little off, and I think that's due to fatigue. It's a tough schedule. It's tough playing Thursday-Sunday."
HOUSTON DYNAMO FORWARD BRIAN CHING
On the win:
"It's a huge win for us against a good team I think. There one of the best teams in the league. To come in and avenge a loss that we got earlier in the season feels good. This win puts us back at the top of the table where we want to be."
On scoring with his feet:
"Scoring with my feet is something I want to get better at, and hopefully I can continue to do better at it."
On the game being physical:
"I don't really feel that this one was as physical as the last couple. I think the one against Dallas was very physical. The team played well, and hopefully we can carry it over to the next couple games."
HOUSTON DYNAMO DEFENDER WADE BARRETT
On the game:
"When you don't give any goals up you always give yourself a chance to win. We didn't score four goals tonight, but we did score one. When you keep the '0' at the back it's good enough for the win. It was obviously that we got the goal, but equally important that we kept the '0' at the back."
On playing many games in few days:
"I think you've seen in the last stretch of games we've used a lot of different guys. It seems like whatever guys we put out there are performing. We've got confidence that everyone in the group is going to get playing time in the [U.S.] Open Cup or in other games to come."
On the physicality of the game:
"It seems like every game we play in is physical. I don't think that tonight was any worse than usual. We've got some big bodies on the field. In the second half we've got Nate [Jaqua] and Brian Ching up top, and Pat Ianni and Eddie Robinson at the other end. We've got big boys where we need them."
D.C. UNITED HEAD COACH TOM SOEHN
On the Dynamo goal:
"I thought Nick [Addlery] had a chance to come out and land something out of the block. These tight games are about one or two plays. We had our chances early, we didn't finish it. And then you give them an opportunity and it's kind of a half chance, but that's what these games are about, and they converted."
On Addlery's missed block of the Dynamo goal:
"He jumped up. Maybe he thought it was going high, but at that point he's got to lay himself out and make sure it doesn't come in [the box]. That's where forwards like to make a living, inside the box."
On the Dynamo defense:
"They're disciplined, they get back fast. We had a couple of chances early over the top, and when you get a team like that out of their zone, you need to score on those chances. We didn't."
On the United defense:
"Defensively, I thought we were pretty solid. We didn't give them a ton of chances, nor did they give us. It's the time of game you expect it to be between two good teams. Like I said, unfortunately we didn't hit that first opportunity."
On missed opportunities:
"In these matches, you're going to get one, two or three chances. The good teams finish those and go back to work."
On both team's long success streaks prior to tonight:
"Both teams put a lot of work into it. You knew there were going to be some tired legs towards the end, and we had to push it at that point so we took some risks where they were able to counter on us a little bit.
D.C. UNITED MIDFIELDER CHRISTIAN GOMEZ
On the match:
"Right from the beginning, we went to look for the game. We made a mistake on the corner kick, Brian Ching took advantage of the deflection and they scored the goal. I think that the game was even. There were clear goal opportunities for Luciano Emilio in the first half, and if he would've scored, it would've been a different game."
On his free kick attempt:
"We practiced lobbing the ball in the ball so the defenders and midfielders can look for the ball. It hit the crossbar and unfortunately didn't go in and bounced out to one of their players and they cleared it."
D.C. UNITED GOALKEEPER TROY PERKINS
On Houston's goal:
"The ball was cleared out, and we didn't clear it out very well, so he gets a free shot from 18 out. It's going in, and Ching gets a leg on it and gets a deflection to it."
On Houston's new players:
"It was the same team. They've got almost 90 percent of the players that they had in San Jose, and they just play well. They play well together, they play well at home."
On his team's offense:
"We didn't do much in the attack."
