NEW YORK RED BULLS 3, FC DALLAS 0
NEW YORK RED BULLS SPORTING DIRECTOR AND HEAD COACH BRUCE ARENA
On the team's overall performance, especially considering the conditions:
"I thought it was very good. It thought we had a very good approach to the game. Opening game at home, you want to be excited and you want everything to work out right, but the soccer cloud over Giants Stadium is still there and instead of a nice, sunny April day we got the middle of December in Iceland or whatever.
"You can take an approach where life is cruel and nothing is going to work for us, but our guys had a good approach, a good attitude and went out and got the early goal and the second goal was important. And actually, we had a couple of chances for the third goal at the end of the first half. And then Dallas came out and we literally weathered the storm there in a lot of ways. They came at us in the second half and did a better job pressuring us, did a better job in possession than we did."
On what a game like this does for Clint Mathis's confidence:
"Well, I do think you need to ask Clint that question, but I don't think Clint has ever lacked in confidence. Clint can play in this league, he knows that. I think he had a good day today, especially with the loss of Claudio - we needed a little more leadership and creativity in the midfield and a guy that can hold the ball a little bit better, and he did that for large parts of the game. And obviously the second goal was a big goal in the game.
"Before I answer any more questions I just want to make this point: Obviously a very difficult day for players on both teams, and I give Dallas a lot of credit. Three games in eight days, they didn't complain at all and they went out there and in the second half I thought they played quite well. My hat's off to those guys, I think they're going to have a pretty good year -- that's a good team."
On how difficult it was to play in the conditions:
"Well I didn't play, but it looked pretty difficult. I think the second half, the players started getting really cold. You could see a bunch of guys' feet and hands weren't in the best of shape -- pretty numb and everything else.
"We had a problem with the weather conditions; our goalkeeper (Ronald) Waterreus suffered a little hypothermia. Jozy was sick to start the second half and we thought we were going to have to take him out. We didn't make any changes because we thought putting a player in the game, it would be very hard for them to get into the game, get warm, and actually be able to help, so we just kept our 10 players out there and asked them to hang in there and deal with the conditions. It was a tough game today."
On if the current team is better than last year:
"I don't know ... I think we have a better team, but I think we need to play it out a little bit. I'm confident we have a better team this year than last year. That doesn't mean we're going to get any more points or do any better, but I think we have a better team. Again, over time we'll be able to answer those questions a little bit better, but I think we're a little bit better in all areas. And we need to improve, we know that."
On how important this game was to the organization and fan base:
"I've been away from the league for a long time. I don't even count last year, that was kind of like a blur. But I think there's such a concerted effort on the part of our ownership to do things right in management. They're dedicated to the soccer end and to make it right, and I don't think they're receiving appreciation. It's pretty remarkable some of the things we've accomplished and it remarkably goes unnoticed. The whole organization is headed in the right direction. However, you need to see something on the field to help keep everyone's confidence, not only the players but our entire organization, because these people work so hard, you want them to be rewarded."
NEW YORK RED BULLS FORWARD JOZY ALTIDORE
On chemistry between him and Clint Mathis:
"I think Clint is a great player, so it's easy to play off of him. He has a great nose for the game and ... he's a great player to play with underneath a striker."
On his goal:
"That's a play we've practiced during the week. Bruce [Arena] told me stay in front of there and try to get my head on that and fortunately, that's what happened."
On not feeling well in second half:
"Yeah, in the second half I just kind of got the chills. I was feeling pretty queasy but I just tried to keep going for the last 45."
On if he's looking forward to next week's weather:
"Yeah, I hope so. Maybe a little sunshine. Just a little bit for the first 10 minutes, that's all I ask."
NEW YORK RED BULLS MIDFIELDER CLINT MATHIS
On his return to Giants Stadium as a New York player:
"It was great, I thought the guys did well, especially with the conditions we were playing under. It was a great result for us ... I think there's just a lot of character with this team. I'm trying to create more, but also play more defensively and help the team get the win."
On whether he'd do any crazy goal celebrations:
"Everybody knows I love New York. Once you hit 30, you get too old for that stuff."
On the fans' welcome:
"It was great. Everybody brought some signs out saying "Welcome Back" and from what I've seen they're glad to have me back."
On the importance of this game for building his confidence:
"It was great. To come in somewhere that I used to call home at the home opener, to get a 3-0 win and to be a part of that as far as netting one and getting an assist, I couldn't ask for anything else."
On teaming up with Jozy Altidore:
"We've only been together right on two weeks now. We played one game in Charleston against Houston and I thought we played really well together. At practice, we've been working well together. He's a great soccer player, a great athlete. He's continuing to listen and learn and ask questions. A kid like that that has such an athletic build and has so much skill, for him to ask questions and want to get better, that makes it the best of both worlds."
NEW YORK RED BULLS DEFENDER HUNTER FREEMAN
On his debut and first start with the Red Bulls:
"It's always good to get out there in your first game with a new team, especially so early. I thought with the conditions, it's always a matter of which team is going to make a mistake. For us in the back, we just played it out, put it down the field and kept it simple."
On limiting the FC Dallas offense:
"Obviously Carlos (Ruiz) is one of the best forwards, if not the best forward, in the league, so he's going to be more central and that was more Parkey (Jeff Parke) and 'Los' (Carlos Mendes) role. I thought they did a tremendous job. We had (Kenny) Cooper and (Arturo) Alvarez out wide and we had Nunez drift wide that Duni (Todd Dunivant) and I had to deal with and I thought we dealt well with them. I thought for the most part, we kept everything in front of us and that was our key to our success."
On the rainy and windy conditions:
"Anytime you play on turf, the game's going to be faster and with the rain, it makes it even faster. We knew that going in. Obviously, we're a little more adept to it than they are but with conditions like today's, I don't think any team really had an advantage. It's just a matter of being the team that makes the least amount of mistakes."
NEW YORK RED BULLS MIDFIELDER DAVE VAN DEN BERGH
On the rainy and windy conditions:
"It was so cold. I could not stop shaking when we came on for the second half. We had dry clothes on but once you got soaked again, it was miserable out there. But both teams had to deal with it and we coped with the circumstances a little better than they did and we got a well-deserved three points."
On Clint Mathis:
"I thought he was really good. Obviously with the goal and the assist, he had a huge impact on the game. But besides that, he was good on the ball, didn't lose too many of them and the ones he did lose, it was all in the final third with shots and that's where you're supposed to lose them."
FC DALLAS HEAD COACH STEVE MORROW
On the team's schedule:
"We could use all of that as excuses, but we're not going to do that. Preparation wasn't ideal with the schedule, conditions were bad, but that doesn't affect the end result in my eyes. We just had a very frustrating day with the ball -- I thought it was a very soft defeat for us. The goals we gave up were very soft and could have been prevented. And I can only sum it up as being very frustrated. We didn't create enough chances, the ball didn't bounce anywhere for us, the passing wasn't good enough. It's one that we've got to take on the chin and just move on."
On whether the loss puts a bad taste in his mouth:
"It's a bad way to end the road trip. We thought we could come here and get a good result and we're disappointed that we didn't do that and finish the road trip on a high."
On whether anything the Red Bulls were doing on offense was giving them trouble:
"I don't think there was anything in particular. I think (Clint) Mathis probably had a little bit more space and time on the ball than I would have liked. Again, I just felt that that was a lack of intensity on our part to pressure the ball hard enough."
FC DALLAS DEFENDER DREW MOOR
On the end of the road trip:
"It was a tough way to end the road trip. We felt we were a team that matched up well against the Red Bulls, that we'd at least be able to come here and get a point of out it, but we gave up two soft goals in the first half. That's something that we've preached ever since preseason. We've got to be hard in the back and not give up any soft goals like that ... in possession, I thought we were good, but we didn't create enough chances."
On FC Dallas' upcoming home opener against the Colorado Rapids:
"I think we're all looking forward to getting home. We looked on the schedule before the season started and we knew this was going to be a tough road trip for us. But four points is not bad from three games on the road that were other teams' home openers."
