NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION 2, TORONTO FC 1
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION HEAD COACH STEVE NICOL
On the game:
"It was certainly a long last 11 minutes, but if we can pass the ball like that and make chances the way we did tonight on a regular basis then we will be happy."
On the difference between the Revs' last two performances:
"Houston and tonight were more complete performances -- two of the most complete we've had. Between those two, we've had a lot of changes and a lot of things disrupting us but we've managed to get it done. Tonight we passed the ball as well as we've done all season, but we did make it hard at the end. It is a rotten goal to lose; they never looked like scoring before that but obviously with 10 minutes to go when a team gets a goal it is always going to be backs to the wall. We would rather have kept a clean sheet and made it easier at the end, but we got three points."
On Steve Ralston's game:
"(Steve Ralston) just shows all the experience that he has the two goals in particular where he follows up. You talk to your strikers about following up and they don't all do it. He's not even a striker but he reads it well; he doesn't just take for granted that it is going to go in the net or go wide and he follows it up. That is just experience. The second one was just again experience -- cool head -- people diving in he stays calm and puts it away."
On the play of his team:
"Shalrie (Joseph) and Jeff (Larentowicz) did a great job for the majority of the evening either winning the challenge or getting the second ball and getting the ball wide early. We have real pace wide on the right and obviously (Mauricio) Castro has a great brain on the left and you don't want to play against that so getting it wide early is always good."
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION DEFENDER MICHAEL PARKHURST
On the team's preparations:
"We had a good week of training -- a full week off (from games) -- and I think all that helped. We wanted to come out here and prove to our fans that we could come out here and put in a good performance in front of them. We wanted to get off to a good start and play for 90 minutes. It was encouraging we did that."
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION MIDFIELDER JEFF LARENTOWICZ
On the game:
"We knew this was a team that wanted to play and it wasn't going to be a kick-and-run type game. We knew that if we came out well in the first few minutes that we could settle into our passing. ... It was a team performance. There were guys that stood out and were stopping goals. I think that everybody was on the same page tonight and it was something that we had been looking for out of a home game for a while."
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION MIDFIELDER STEVE RALSTON
On the game:
"As long as these guys keep hitting the ball at the post I will be there. It's just an asset. Three goals I have gotten were rebounds off the post. (I) Just try to get in good place and good spots, follow up the play and if I can get into something that's great. I was pretty fortunate and was trying to be in a dangerous place and those guys did a great job. Kheli (Dube) had a great shot and it would have been a great goal, but it hit the upper corner on the post and ran right at my feet."
TORONTO FC HEAD COACH JOHN CARVER
On the game:
"We were down 2-0 but we stayed with it and we had the right goal. In the end, I thought we deserved something from the game. I changed the system, I went 3-5-2, I got more offensive players in the right areas and we started creating chances. At the end there, Jimmy Brennan got in on the left-hand side, the keeper made a good save, but (Jarrod) Smith has to put it over the line, be more aggressive. And then we had another chance just after that when Jim got in again. We not only could have gotten the leveler, but the winner as well; that's why I'm disappointed."
On playing New England:
"New England is a good side, that's why they're at the top of the league and have been in the playoffs the last couple of years. I said to the guys before we went out there, 'Today is about a benchmark -- today is the benchmark of how far we have come," and I'm standing here now really disappointed because I thought we could have gotten something out of the game, and deserved something from the game. But I'm not going to fault my guys because they have given everything for their coach today and they've shown me some good signs. I think we've come a long way. If you ask any coach in the league how far Toronto FC has come, they'll probably say we're probably the most improved team in the league, but we won't settle for that."
TORONTO FC DEFENDER JIM BRENNAN
On the late clearance that prevented a tying goal:
"That was a world-class save. When I got in there, I just tried to get it across goal and hope for the best; maybe it was going to bounce back out in front of the goal, which it did. (Jarrod) Smith was just unfortunate not to stick it in the back of the net there."
On keeping the faith:
"We thought we could have got something; we didn't think we deserved to lose today. That's why we fought back when we were down 2-0; we didn't think we deserved to be down 2-0. The way the game was going back and forth, we just kept on pushing and we knew we were going to get a goal. We could feel it and we were unfortunate not to get that second one."
On how the team played:
"I thought we played well today: we were energetic and we were all over the pitch. You could play another game where you had the same chances and stick five in the back of the net. It was just one of those games where we couldn't get it in. It's just the way the game went. But we'll be looking forward to playing them again because we want to get back at them."
