NEW YORK RED BULLS 2, KANSAS CITY WIZARDS 1
NEW YORK RED BULLS HEAD COACH BRUCE ARENA
On the game:
"I was actually surprised at how composed Kansas City was and they came out and did a great job early in the game. As always the first goal is important, yet we certainly managed to let that disappear real quickly, which has been a characteristic of our team that is disappointing. The second goal we obviously capitalized on a mistake and then the penalty kick that they had in the early part of the second half was a very good save by Jon [Conway]. Kansas City came at us and we had the opportunity to get the third goal, but we didn't and probably sustained a lot of pressure for the last 20 minutes of the game."
On lineup changes:
"I'm not sure if everything is fixed, but it was good to see some of these guys fit back in. Since the last game, we had quite a few changes and with Conway in goal. With [Hunter] Freeman, I have been waiting a few weeks to pick an opportunity to let him play, along with [Carlos] Mendes. Those are three changes since last game."
On starting Jon Conway:
"I don't think any of our first 11, with a few exceptions, have merited starts each and every game. We haven't really had a good run over the past few weeks and defensively we haven't played well enough. I thought it was a good opportunity to start Jon and I thought he performed well."
On Juan Pablo Angel dropping back to midfield:
"He typically does and when Francis [Doe] plays alongside him. Francis holds the ball very well and it's a good combination because they play well off of each other."
On improvements Dane Richards can make:
"With Dane, it's about decision making with the ball in the last third of the field because he does a fantastic job of getting behind other teams and getting himself isolated. Having said that, Dane slipped a good ball to Juan for the second goal. He is going to be a much improved player next year."
On facing New England in the first round of the playoffs:
"I haven't given it a whole lot of thought, but they are obviously a great team and I'm not sure the last time we've beat them. The game we played in New England, we played well and the game we played here was also a game we played well. The game we lost 1-0, they were certainly the better team that day. They are a good team and we will roll the dice."
NEW YORK RED BULLS GOALKEEPER JON CONWAY
On stopping Eddie Johnson's penalty kick:
"I haven't stopped one since I have been here before. In San Jose I stopped a few, but since I got here I hadn't stopped one. I got a little bit of a read on Johnson was trying to do."
On the win:
"Obviously, it's a good result for the team. We haven't gotten a win in a while and it's always good to get a win at home, and it's good to get a result."
On seeing more time the rest of the way:
"It's up to him, he's the coach. He makes the decisions around here. I just go in and play, and do the best that I can do, and then the rest is out of my hands."
On his year:
"I think so far, I have had a pretty productive year. If I get another chance it will be great."
On the close call on the goal line:
"It was a broken play, (Jeff) Parkie slid in and got a piece of it, and it hit me and landed spot down where (Scott) Sealy was, I jumped down on it and a lot of feet were bouncing around. It just kind of popped up and someone came in and cleared it out. Everything really slowed down and at that point the ball was just sitting there, and someone just came in and cleared out. At that point, I was trying to get any hand I could or get something near it because I knew someone was coming."
NEW YORK RED BULLS DEFENDER DAVE VAN DEN BERGH
On playing with the Red Bulls:
"It's been a real pleasure. I am having a lot of fun everyday on the practice field and fortunately in some games, it carries on the field as well. I am happy to be a part of this team and organization at this point in time. This organization is on the rise and hopefully I can be a part of it."
On the Red Bulls' penalty kick:
"I think the PK was the call that the ref had to make. (Jose Burciaga Jr.) deflected it so much that it went in a completely different direction. I mean, his hand was up, it was not close to his body anymore. You know there was a discussion hand to ball or ball to hand, but I think his hand was not next to his body so it was a good call. Fortunately Juan (Pablo Angel) converted that one."
NEW YORK RED BULLS JUAN PABLO ANGEL
On the importance of the win:
"It was very important today after what happened last week against Toronto. We let ourselves down against Toronto, and it was an unacceptable performance. Today was about building up for the playoffs and getting the team in good shape and getting confidence in what is to come. Overall, I thought it was a very good performance from everyone today."
On what the Red Bulls did to beat Kansas City:
"We were very efficient today. They had to come after us because they needed the result. I think we were more clever; we kept position when we needed to."
On playing New England in the playoffs:
"We've played games a few times already, the last couple of meetings we have played well but in the playoffs it's a completely different story. We have another game at hand and we have to get it right here, get some injured players back. We are looking forward to it. It's going to be my first experience in the playoffs and hopefully, we get it right."
On guys stepping into the lineup:
"Today was better. I think we got to give credit to the guys that haven't played for a long time, Hunter (Freeman), Carlos (Mendes), and Jon (Conway). They were outstanding today and looked solid against a good side. We think we were in control during the night."
On playing out of his comfort zone:
"In different situations of the game, we were playing literally with three or four forwards, and one of us have to drop to the middle to get the ball, otherwise it was going to be a big gap between the midfielders and the strikers. It's not my strength, it's not what I like to do, but for the circumstances, you have to do it. "
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS HEAD COACH CURT ONALFO
On halftime adjustments:
"At halftime we emphasized holding the ball and having the bulk of the possession. We did create chances and put them on their heels and had opportunities to score. We need to go to Dallas now and get a result. That's all there is to it. We didn't play well in the first half but played better in the second."
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS GOALKEEPER KEVIN HARTMAN
On the game:
"We certainly did not make it easy on ourselves giving up two goals early in the game. That being said, I thought we created enough opportunities to take at least one point in New York. Now we have our work cut out for ourselves next week at Dallas, but we are all definitely up for the challenge."
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS DEFENDER JACK JEWSBURY
On his goal:
"Davy (Arnaud) played a great ball. I tried to flick it and found the near post. It was good to get back in the game right after they scored their first goal."
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS MIDFIELDER DAVY ARNAUD
On the playoff race:
"We control our own destiny; the playoffs are still in our hands, and we determine our own fate. We will continue to work hard and push ourselves for 90 minutes during games and in training."
