CHIVAS USA 3, D.C. UNITED 1
CHIVAS USA HEAD COACH PREKI:
On Chivas USA's performance
"We changed the system to 3-4-3, and at half time we shuffled a little bit and went back 4-4-2. I felt it was too much for some of the younger guys to figure out -- how do we go back, how do we play, how do we put the ball on the ground and the way to pass the ball, the way I wanted them to pass the ball. But in the second half we changed it. I felt that just in any moment we were going to create an opportunity or two and we would put it away. I thought Atiba Harris did a pretty good job on all three goals and the rest of the guys that came in the field in the second half helped us get the three points."
On Jesse Marsch's performance
I wasn't sure who was going to play in the back, so I thought he did a solid job in the first half. Obviously he has never played there in the past, and the way we were playing in the first half I thought, 'OK, I'm going to put him back in his normal spot." But I thought Jesse was OK -- obviously he got himself in a good spot to score the first goal. He was pretty solid."
On Jorge Flores' performance and goal
"I thought Flores came in and did a pretty decent job. You can tell the kid is brave. The kid wants it. Ever since he came here last year I've always said he has a good mentality, now can he get tactically a little bit better, can he find ways to play a little bit more than just staying in a very wide spot. That's a skill that we still need to work with him, but the kid is brave. As you can see, he had one chance and he put it away very nicely."
CHIVAS USA MIDFIELDER JESSE MARSCH:
On his game-tying goal:
"I felt like that was the break that we'd been waiting for a little bit. It popped out and just sat there for me and all I had to do was pass it in. At that point I was glad to be a part of us getting back in the game after I made the mistake in the first half. Overall it gave us some momentum and I think our team felt good about getting back into the game."
On coming from behind to get the win:
"As much as we can talk about the stat of us never coming [from behind to win], this year we've come back from three deficits and two of them we gave away. But I feel like we're getting over the hump with that kind of stuff. I feel like we've got some fight in us."
On what the win could do for the team:
"Hopefully it gives us more confidence and makes us play a little less tight and get after it a little bit more. That's the important thing to do. Hopefully this is the one break to get us going."
D.C. UNITED HEAD COACH TOM SOEHN
On the change in the game in the second half:
"I think we came out in the second half and we weren't good enough with the ball, so that was disappointing. We gave away the ball too much and then we gave them a lot of confidence to put pressure on us. But the first half I thought we had a game plan and we stuck to it, we were hard to play against, we got our goal. In the second half they came out with a bit more intensity and I don't think we handled it well."
On how difficult the loss is:
"It's very emotionally draining. We put a lot of work into making sure we were doing the things we talked about all week; being harder to play against. And then we threw caution to the wind after they scored and started taking chances and taking risks, and they punished us."
On if there are specific solutions:
"Well, we're going to go back and hopefully we get a couple guys back but everybody's still got to dig deeper. Games aren't won over 60 minutes, it's 90 minutes, and I thought we had about 60 minutes in us and that's not good enough in this league."
D.C. UNITED FORWARD JAIME MORENO
On the loss:
"It's another disappointment. It's sad that we worked so hard for 65 minutes and then we gave everything away. It's only us; we've got to fix it."
On if the confidence is dropping in the team:
"Not really. It's just we make mistakes, it's very simple. You can't make mistakes and that's what we've got to eliminate."
On the team's effort:
"I liked our effort for 65 minutes and after that, the game changed and really we gave the game away. Nothing can have a positive when you lose. We've got to play for 90 minutes, it's very simple. "
