HOUSTON DYNAMO 4, CHICAGO FIRE 0
CHICAGO FIRE HEAD COACH JUAN CARLOS OSORIO
On the game:
"They had two good chances on long balls over the top. On the other hand, we had two good chances that we didn't score because the final touch, whether it was a pass or a shot on goal, was very weak. In other words, I thought we had pretty good chances on goal. In the second half, we started taking the ball at them and took some chances defensively speaking. I can't deny the fact that I think we didn't defend the goals very well. There is a lot of work to do. This is a game that I have learned a lot from and hopefully we can start putting things in place. At the end, we cannot just get into the attacking third and not even have a shot on goal."
On scouting Houston:
"I have seen plenty in the last three days. I think unfortunately for us, we didn't have C.J. [Brown] or Chris Rolfe. But I am optimistic. Once we get them back and Cuauhtémoc [Blanco], we'll have more alternatives defensively and offensively."
On team trying too hard to find the perfect shot:
"I would think so. Remember the shot inside the box that Chris [Armas] had that he put across the goalmouth. It has to be a shot whether is accurate or not. It has to be an attempt. The same thing in the second half, if I'm mistaken before they had scored their second goal, Ivan [Guerrero] has a perfect shot with his left foot and he just decided to pass it. Probably passing the responsibility to the next guy. That is something that we will keep working on, and we'll start working very hard on finishing. That's something that I intend to improve on this team."
CHICAGO FIRE DEFENDER DIEGO GUTIERREZ
On the match:
"I don't think we played poorly. We had small chances in the first half. We didn't finish. They basically came down the field four or five times and scored four goals. It's as simple as that. We had some breakdowns, and that was that. I think the mentality was good tonight. The effort was good, but we have to make plays on both ends of the fields and we didn't do that tonight."
HOUSTON DYNAMO HEAD COACH DOMINIC KINNEAR
On his team's performance:
"Yes, it was good. You look at the streak that we've had a couple of these wins, both been at home, so that makes a little more difficult when you're playing away from home. Pat [Onstad] made some good saves early on that kept the game at zero and I think that's important. The way we are playing, the weather was perfect for the game tonight and we told the guys that from the beginning, you knew from the new setting what was going on, they wanted to come out and try to get on top of us and we said right from the get-go 'let's try to play in their half of the field if we can.' I thought we did. Coming in 1-0, good goal by us, great play by with Wade [Barrett] going through. I think in the second half, Joe [Ngweyna] and Nate [Jaqua] were excellent tonight. Holding the ball up, running into spaces. You're always happy when you win and your forwards play well and they score. It was a good homecoming for Nate and Joe continues to impress his teammates."
HOUSTON DYNAMO FORWARD NATE JAQUA
On settling into his new team:
"It's good. I've only been there for four days, I'm adjusting and playing with these guys are great, so I'm enjoying it. Being back in Chicago is great, seeing all my buddies from the team, all the fans here, I loved playing here. It's great to be back here."
On his goal:
"I saw the ball come across, just checked to the near post and didn't want to take another touch because I didn't know what was coming up behind me, so I just hit it first time and tried to curl it in near post and was able to go high over [Matt] Pickens."
HOUSTON DYNAMO GOALKEEPER PAT ONSTAD
On his team's ninth consecutive result:
"We're playing well and we're scoring goals at the right time, but most importantly I think the energy is there when we get the ball. We keep it, and we don't give it away in bad areas, and guys have been fantastic, especially tonight."
