CHICAGO FIRE 2, LOS ANGELES GALAXY 1
CHICAGO FIRE HEAD COACH DAVE SARACHAN
On the game and qualifying for the MLS Cup Playoffs:
"We were obviously thrilled with the result that puts us into the playoffs. This was a hard game. It is a hard game when you play an opponent that we know needs to win the game. They were going to throw a lot a numbers forward. They came at us with a little different alignment on a heavy field, where there's a lot of dirty running. Getting that early goal was huge. Overall, everybody dug in and withstood a little bit of a barrage at times, and [Fire goalkeeper] Matt Pickens, I thought, came up big tonight. It was just a great team effort. And I couldn't be more proud of our team. Hopefully we can keep this thing going."
On starting Matt Pickens or Zach Thornton:
"Zach has been training lately. After Wednesday, he should be clear to play full out. Like I've said all along, we don't have a controversy. Matt's been a hot goalie right now, and we'll take it one day at a time."
On heading into the playoffs:
"It says a lot from the standpoint that now at the end of the season, going into the playoffs, where one play's going to make a difference, you have to be clear in the head, seeing things early, and knowing that everyone has to do their part. We knew tonight wasn't going to be an easy game. It wasn't going to be a wide-open game, and I think these are important games going into the playoffs."
On how he will approach the game against the Galaxy in the 2006 U.S. Open Cup Championship match on Wednesday:
"I don't know. Obviously, we have to see how everyone manages through tonight -- for us and for them. The game on Wednesday is a tournament. There's going to be a winner. Will it be as wide-open? Will it be as aggressive? I don't know. I guess we use this as a platform. We have to be prepared. Again, we haven't been shy about using other players. We've got to see how guys have gotten through this, so we hoping to follow the same form as we had gotten before."
CHICAGO FIRE FORWARD ANDY HERRON
On his game-winning penalty kick goal:
"They guess that I may change it ... I will change it in time. It's just a sequence, that's my sequence. This is work. This is confidence. When you have confidence, your teammates are behind you."
CHICAGO FIRE GOALKEEPER MATT PICKENS
On posting a career game:
"I'm not sure. It's not something I can really describe. It was a little frustrating at times but I've learned a lot from guys like Chris Armas, and you can see how mellow they are. When I'm feeling kind of antsy, I look at them and their body language calms me down."
On Landon Donovan's goal:
"I think it was a turnover and it came down and when he shot it, I didn't see the ball and by the time I did see it, you really can't do that with him. He's going to a corner and put it in the net. He's not going to miss too many shots."
On Wednesday's U.S. Open Cup Championship match versus the Galaxy:
"It's going to be a battle. You saw tonight; guess what, Wednesday's going to be twice as intense. It's going to be great. I'm expecting a great atmosphere."
CHICAGO FIRE CAPTAIN CHRIS ARMAS
On the Fire making the playoffs for the eight time in nine seasons:
"It's the first step towards our goal. We want to raise the MLS Cup and the Open Cup trophies. We're in one final and getting to the playoffs is one step. You know it's going to be a rat race all year and teams are equally stacked and it comes down to some little things and as of late, we've got the results and it means a lot to the club because it's a tradition of playoffs and winning."
LOS ANGELES GALAXY HEAD COACH FRANK YALLOP
On Rolfe's goal in the first minute and the penalty kick in the 84th minute:
"I'm not over that moment. It's frustrating because I felt that we played very well most of the game. When it comes to football, you have to take chances when the come along. We had enough to score more than one goal, and we give up two goals right when we didn't need to -- right at the beginning of the game and right at the end. I said to the guys, 'We only have ourselves to blame for this result.' If you look at general play, I thought we played great. We dominated play, created some chances, but the result is a loss. That's disappointing."
LOS ANGELES GALAXY CAPTAIN LANDON DONOVAN
On the loss:
"It's frustrating. We're fighting for our lives, then you give up a goal in the first minute and it puts you behind the 8-ball. It was an uphill climb from there."
On how the loss will affect the Open Cup game:
"It doesn't matter. We'll be ready to play. I think we played really well tonight. We just didn't make the plays we needed to make."
LOS ANGELES GALAXY GOALKEEPER KEVIN HARTMAN
On the game:
"There were no surprises. We know that Justin Mapp is a great player and [Chicago] has offensive weapons. If you give them the opportunity to counter, they'll be successful. To give up the goal so early in the game is disappointing because you're trying to put your stamp on the game and to give [a goal] up in the 1st minute, you know you're playing catch up a lot of the game. It's frustrating, but at the same time the year as a whole has been frustrating."
