COLUMBUS CREW 3, KANSAS CITY WIZARDS 0
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS HEAD COACH CURT ONALFO
On the game:
"We just shot ourselves in the foot. We lost the game in the first 20 minutes against a very good, opportunistic Columbus team. Teams in MLS are too good to give up what I would call "soft" goals. You want the storyline to write 'you're coming home, you haven't been home for six games and you want it to be a perfect scenario where you get off to a good start, get the fans behind you and everything else.' But we shot ourselves in the foot. Having said that, I've been through a lot worse in my life. We're going to get through it and we'll be better for it."
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS GOALKEEPER KEVIN HARTMAN
On the game and sellout crowd:
"We just need to work hard and make sure we're better next time. You have to put faith in someone and we put faith in coach Onalfo and we know he's going to get us on the right track. The game was a huge letdown. Coming home after two months on the road we thought we would play a lot better. It was disappointing for the guys out there and for the whole organization. The crowd was fantastic and we look forward to playing in front of them again in two weeks."
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS MIDFIELDER RYAN PORE
On the game:
"We're just in one of those funks right now. Coming home, we should have had a lot more energy the first 15 minutes. We're had trouble scoring goals lately and we're going to figure out a way to get that fixed."
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS MIDFIELDER KERRY ZAVAGNIN
On the game:
"We were ready to come back and play in front of our fans. We were energized, we were ready to go coming into the game. Unfortunately when you give up an early goal you start chasing the game. I thought Columbus did a better job with their gameplan adjusting to the size of the field and the way the game is played."
On reaching 20,000 minutes played for Kansas City:
"It will be nice to reflect on at the end of the year when it is all said and done. Right now it is a disappointing time because the primary purpose is to win games. Any personal accolades are definitely way secondary."
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS MIDFIELDER SASHA VICTORINE
On the game and crowd:
"Obviously a disappointing performance. We wanted to come here in our first game back on a big night, the fans, everybody was here to support us. I think we were just struggling. We gave up an early goal and I think a team like Columbus is very good defensively and always has good shape. They are very tough to break down."
COLUMBUS CREW GOALKEEPER WILLIAM HESMER
On the match:
"I thought our team played really well tonight, and it's a good feeling right now. We're clean at winning our one-on-one battles, playing as a team, and putting out fires as soon as they start. That was what it took to come out on top tonight."
COLUMBUS CREW FORWARD ALEJANDRO MORENO
On his first goal:
"Out of the corner of my eye I saw him (Kevin Hartman) coming and I decided I was going to take the chance to see if I could put it over his head."
On his second goal:
"I was following the play and I think it was getting behind the defenders. As I followed the play the ball deflected back to me and I decided to have a go, and it went pretty well and I was able to put it in the back of the net."
On the differences between this season and last season:
"I think we believe in what we're doing a little bit more. I think we're a little more consistent in the way we are playing. We're more organized in the back. The team believes we are capable of getting results whether it is at home or on the road. It's good to start out the season the way we did. It gave us confidence. We hit a patch there that last month or so but we're back on it with a good result tonight I'm looking forward to next week."
