COLORADO RAPIDS 1, CHICAGO FIRE 0
COLORADO RAPIDS HEAD COACH FERNANDO CLAVIJO
On the game:
"[In ] the second half we dropped the pace a little bit but we created so many chances in the first half. We just take it one game at a time. We have five more to go. If we do our job then we should be okay. To see (Terry) Cooke, Alain (Nkong) and (Matt) Crawford was great. We created the chances and it was not for lack of effort or opportunities. We have to finish it and at times we haven't been able to. There were games when we weren't able to finish it and we had to pay the price for it. I think today, for me, it was good to see some of the guys back for the last five games of the season and hopefully the playoffs.
"I don't mind creating the chances as long as we find a way to finish later in the season and in the playoffs. We need to find a better way of finishing it, there is no question about that."
COLORADO RAPIDS MIDFIELDER PABLO MASTROENI
On the game:
"It could get ugly, (Chicago) is cautious because they are in a good spot in the East. We are battling everyday and we have to make it as competitive as possible. (Breaking up the attack) is my role in the midfield, especially when you have guys like Kyle (Beckerman) that have been doing great offensively this year. My role is to go out there and bring out plays. Everyone needs to fill there role on this team and that's my role so I will try and continue to do it well."
COLORADO RAPIDS MIDFIELDER MATT CRAWFORD
On the game:
"I tried to be smart about it and not make too many runs forward or strike too many balls. I basically just wanted to make it through that obstacle of my first game back. Certainly a lot of improvements can be made but the team won the game most importantly. For me it was just playing with a bunch of new players. It is going to take some time to get used to. But we got the result most importantly. The muscles all around my hip tightened up and so I had some problems striking the ball. My legs felt okay so I thought I could do some more running."
CHICAGO FIRE HEAD COACH DAVE SARACHAN
On the game:
"Well, you never like losing for sure and Colorado traditionally is not an easy place to play. If it weren't for the own goal maybe we would of gotten out of here with a point."
On the own goal:
"They put a lot of pressure on early. Giving up a goal two minutes in puts you behind the eight ball. I thought our second half was a little bit better. We tried to create a few chances and didn't get many tonight. It's a loss and I'm not happy about that but we get to go home on the weekend. When you're down a goal that early, you are forced to try and equalize. You have to be patient. After the first 20-25 minutes we did well underneath their pressure. We weren't getting around the ball in the middle of the field. We needed to add another guy in the middle and that's why we moved Tony (Sanneh) there to get more numbers in our favor."
CHICAGO FIRE MIDFIELDER DIEGO GUTIERREZ
On the game:
"We knew they were going to come out with a lot of energy and they certainly did. I think they made it hard for us to play in the first 30 minutes. We found some gaps and spaces and were able to get it going forward a bit. Not our best night soccer-wise but we just have to go for Sunday."
