COLUMBUS CREW 2, COLORADO RAPIDS 0
COLORADO RAPIDS HEAD COACH FERNANDO CLAVIJO
On the game:
"I'm very disappointed, because we did everything tonight. We threw people forward, we created, and we held (Columbus) to just three shots on goal. We created chances, but could not finish, and if you don't finish, you're never going to win games. When we did break through, the goalkeeper made great saves. Great saves. What are you going to do? It's impossible to describe, because it's not a game I thought we were going to lose."
On the halftime talk:
"We were a little bit slow going forward in the first half, and we had too many passes in the back. I said to be more direct and try to create chances, and we needed to be quicker going forward. And we did. We created chances on the left and right sides, but I thought we were very timid in taking shots outside. They had 10 guys on the top of the 18-yard box defending, and we didn't take enough shots. Instead, we tried to make the perfect pass, and it didn't work. They had too many guys back there."
On momentum gained from Columbus red card:
"The momentum was there from the beginning. Conor (Casey) had three really good chances, (Terry) Cooke was making good crosses, and guys were making runs. In the end, I thought we were too cautious, and we paid because we didn't take enough shots."
On confidence of goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul:
"He's a young goalkeeper still with a lot of room for improvement, and we have to keep working with him in improving his confidence and development."
On fitness of midfielder Christian Gomez:
"I don't feel that Christian is 100 percent fit. It's very clear that he has been nurturing an injury that happened 3-4 weeks ago. Then he goes to the All-Star Game and starts, and of course this was something I was not looking for. But it is what it is, and we have to deal with it."
COLORADO RAPIDS FORWARD CONOR CASEY
On the game:
"It's frustrating, and it's not just the saves, we had a lot of chances to score and we didn't. They were defending with ten guys, and not giving us a whole lot of space in the second half. We were trying to create something, and had some chances, but he (Columbus goalkeeper William Hesmer) made some saves and we obviously didn't finish well enough to score."
COLORADO RAPIDS DEFENDER PABLO MASTROENI
On the game:
"Words can't even describe what went on in the field. We felt like we had full control of the game, and not for a second did we feel like we were out of it. And then they go down a man, and all the powers that be are conspiring to help us get a result. And yet, we were putting balls across, hitting the bar, it's just one of those things you can't really explain. Our effort wasn't bad, we had two defensive errors and they did well with their finishing. It's one of the strangest games I've ever been apart of, you're left completely disappointed yet don't know what to get mad at. The effort was there, the attitude was there, the attacking was there, the possession was there."
On play of goalkeeper William Hesmer:
"Their goalie played some inspired soccer tonight; he played a lot bigger than his size. He looked like he covered half the goal, and came out well on corner kicks. And you have to credit them for playing an absolute flawless defensive game."
COLUMBUS CREW HEAD COACH SIGI SCHMID
On the game:
"Obviously I thought Colorado was the aggressor. We came into tonight saying that we were going to sit back and then look for situations to counter, which, early in the game, I thought happened. Our first goal came off of a good counter, and then we had some other chances off the counter early on. We did not do a good job of when we won the ball holding on to it. We gave the ball away too early, and as a result we kept absorbing pressure. Once the red card happened, we were down to 10 men and were confined to absorb the pressure. At the start of the game we were in a 3-5-2, and then at halftime we switched to a 4-4-1 because of the red card. We left Guillermo up on the top alone and told him to work for 15-20 minutes and then we brought (Jason) Garey on and let him work. We told our guys to stay in, make sure that they step to the ball, and restrict Colorado to crosses and shots outside of the 18-yard box as much as possible. We talked a lot about defense this week. To be a championship team we need to learn to defend better. Then to come up here tonight and a get clean sheet tonight with all the pressure we did receive. Will Hesmer was phenomenal tonight and came up with some big saves. I was happy with the effort because we talked about better defending throughout the week. Soccer is a funny game. Today we got dominated and came out with a win. That is just the way it goes."
COLUMBUS CREW GOALKEEPER WILLIAM HESMER
On the game:
"We switched formations tonight and we are still learning the 3-5-2. So they were able to come at us a little bit. I think that we were late in the midfield and in the challenge, but for the most part they were not that dangerous. (Conor) Casey had a couple come to his feet in the box and he had some chances. Luckily he did not put any of them away. The work that these guys put in tonight was incredible. Down a man, the altitude, running on a big field, chasing the game the second half, defending, and then to make a couple saves, that gives you a chance to find that one counter attack to put the game away. When we scored the second goal it took a lot of wind out of their sails. With that second goal they were not pressing us as hard; they started getting exhausted and frustrated. That second goal was key."
COLUMBUS CREW FORWARD JASON GAREY
On the game:
"It was a physical game. But I am no stranger to physical play, guys were banging around in there. It was pretty quick-paced game."
On his goal:
"It feels good. Finally got a chance to get on the field and I was able to finish one. I almost had another one. I wish I would have finished that one too because that would have given us a little more breathing room."
On the play of teammates:
"I can't say enough about the guys in the back. What I did was really very small compared to what those guys did tonight. Especially Will (Hesmer). I have been to a lot of soccer games but that was the best goalkeeping that I have seen in person. He had an unbelievable game."
