KANSAS CITY WIZARDS 4, COLUMBUS CREW 0
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS HEAD COACH BRIAN BLISS
Thoughts on the win:
"The goal scoring was the most important thing tonight. I think we have defended well over the past three or four games and that is indicative of the two shutouts or the games where we only allowed one goal. Tonight's goal explosion was the most important confidence-wise, to show the rest of us that we can still win games and win them by putting the ball in the back of the net. On the psychological end it was good, on the standings end it was good, but there is still a lot of work to get done here. It gives you a boost of confidence.
On the Wizards' upcoming schedule:
"With two games in the next four days, the guys are going to get some minutes. Plus, we have an injury or two with Jimmy [Conrad] and [Alex] Zotinca, but some guys are going to have to pull their weight and when guys are asked to play, they are supposed to go out there and perform. We'll try to divvy the minutes up and try to divvy the roster up somehow that it makes sense for both games."
"Not to play down the Open Cup, but right now the league is the most important thing. I wish I could put more into that Open Cup game, but the reality is that the league has got to be our focus at this point. Not to say we aren't going to try and win Monday's game because we will. I'll put a group out there that will fight and they'll win or give an effort to win."
On earning his first win as head coach:
"It feels good because [assistant coach John Cone and former head coach Bob Gansler] and I joked about it. There were a couple of times during my assistant coaching tenure that I had to take the reins for whatever reasons, coach [Gansler] was absent two or three times. We laughed about it because there were a couple of occasions that we had a couple of goofy things happen that didn't allow the win to come. Tonight was great though. It was at home in front of our fans and in the manner that we did it, it was exciting and it was a great feeling."
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS FORWARD DAVY ARNAUD
On sparking the offense:
"It felt great, especially not only to go up early like we did in the first five minutes, but tonight was a big game for us. We're about ready to go on the road to Chicago which is a big game, and for us to come out tonight and get three points was really important because we're trying to get in the playoffs."
On the changes in the offensive lineup:
"We changed it up a little bit and went to more of a 4-3-3 tonight. It was maybe taking a little more risk but it obviously worked for us. We got four goals and we got a lot of chances."
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS DEFENDER NICK GARCIA
On the game:
"I think we started off well. We had a game plan that we implemented and we had a few changes in personnel for whatever reasons and it worked to our advantage. We had a plan, we stuck with it, everybody was well organized and we made the most out of our opportunities. In our past games we haven't put the ball in the back of the net; this time we did. When you get up, when you have that confidence in scoring the first goal, when you can have that confidence to possess the ball, the game tends to go your way more so than not. It was good from the get-go."
On the play of the defense:
"We talked here at the beginning of the week that everybody is responsible for their own job. Some guys are responsible for carrying the ball up top and scoring. Some guys are responsible in the midfield for helping create. And we in the back are responsible for putting out fires making sure guys don't get a good look at goal. I think for the most part we've been doing that. That's been a good thing for us, and we just limited their opportunities and it's been a lot easier for us to have confidence, especially when the other teams don't put goals in the back of our net."
COLUMBUS CREW DEFENDER RITCHIE KOTSCHAU
Thoughts on the game:
"The main thing is they got away the first 20 minutes. If you look at all the goals we gave them, whether it was bad passes or bad decisions on the ball, they capitalized on those mistakes that we gave them. It was our fault for everything. We are always so close but that is not what it is going to take it in this league. If it doesn't go between the posts then it's nothing."
On the Crew's best scoring opportunity:
"Obviously it was the goal that was taken away. Chad (Marshall) is a big boy and he was up in the air prior to whoever was marking him and he heads it in over him but the referee saw something different. A lot of things didn't go our way in terms of fouls and things like that but we have to be strong on the ball and play through everything."
On needing to come out of the losing slump:
"You have to show your real character. It is not every day that you have to go through this, struggle like this. You can tell the true character of somebody by how they get out of it, but we haven't gotten out of it."
