HOUSTON DYNAMO 3, CHICAGO FIRE 2
HOUSTON DYNAMO HEAD COACH DOMINIC KINNEAR
On the game:
"A win is a win. Any time you can win, you're happy with that. We jump back into first overall, so we're pretty pleased with that. It was mission accomplished there, but obviously some things we need to look at and work out for the next game."
On the first-half goals
"Kei's goal was just a great hit. He caught it solid after he caught them napping on a throw-in. Then Rico just makes a great run, and Brian with a nice pass, and Rico got there before Jon Busch did. Two great finishes. Kei's was a little bit more of an electric finish, because he just smashes it, but I think Rico's run and his willingness in the last five yards to get onto the ball was excellent."
On his team's fatigue
"Even though we won, there were a lot of long faces in there, and I just think they're physically spent. [A one-week break between games] is welcome for everybody, because I think you also get a bit of a mental break. The games just keep piling up, and you can't get a chance to rest and get away from the games, and I think sometimes you need that. We played three games in a week, and all three games were up in the 90s temperature-wise. That takes a toll on you physically and mentally."
On the importance of the win in the standings
"It's a huge win. We've been up by ourselves for a while, and then Columbus jumped over us last night with a good win and LA is on a bit of a roll. To open up a gap on some teams again, was maybe a little bit of a letdown for them. For us to come out with a win is huge because it pushes us a little farther away. It's a huge win for us."
On his team's defending
"I think the one thing we spoke about at halftime is we need to recognize trouble. If you don't recognize trouble, you're going to find yourself in trouble. I don't think our attitude and our being aware of dangerous situations was where it should have been. [The early goals are] a concern, because it's happened now twice at home. I don't think being tired should be the excuse, because we've just come out of the locker room. ... I don't know if it's a trend -- it's only happened twice -- but we need to make sure we address it, because we can't just let it slide."
HOUSTON DYNAMO MIDFIELDER COREY ASHE
On the foul that resulted in a penalty kick
"I got the ball from Ching and wanted to do what I'm good at doing, which is run at people. I hit it by him, felt the contact, and obviously he impeded my progress, so I went down, and Stu converted the PK."
HOUSTON DYNAMO GOALKEEPER PAT ONSTAD
On the team's defending
"Not many positive ones, but ultimately the bottom line is about getting three points, and we came out with three points. But that's two home games in a row where it's been a bittersweet victory."
HOUSTON DYNAMO DEFENDER JULIUS JAMES
On his team's defensive adjustments after Chicago tied the game
"We started to play a lot sharper. We were on our game. We closed them down really quickly. We're at home, so we wanted to win very much. All we had to do was stop them from scoring, and we had the confidence our offense would score a goal."
On Chicago's second goal
"[Blanco] fouled me, and the referee was a bit far away. It was definitely a foul or else I wouldn't have fallen over."
CHICAGO FIRE HEAD COACH DENIS HAMLETT
On the game
"It's disappointing, obviously, to give up that penalty kick. I thought there was a lot of grabbing and pushing in the box all night. It's disappointing. It was our third game in a week, and at the end we pushed it and took it to the limit, especially with the fact that we had to make two substitutions because of injuries. We will go back home to regroup and get ready for games to come."
On refereeing affecting score
"There were a couple of plays that I thought were bad. I lost two players due to injuries that I thought were really hard fouls. These are tough plays where you are forced to make two substitutions. The penalty, for me, wasn't a penalty kick. For me, there was a light push, and as soon as he felt it, he fell down. I thought they made fouls on us too where the referee didn't blow the whistle. This is how the referees are in this league."
CHICAGO FIRE GOALKEEPER JON BUSCH
On the game
"It was a battle. To be honest, it should've ended 2-2. If that's a penalty kick for them, then the one for us on the other end when Patrick gets rugby-tackled. It should have been one for one at that point. Two good teams battling it out. Credit to our boys. Everybody came in and did a good job. They're a good team, but I think we matched them step for step today and were just a little unfortunate."
On giving up three goals
"The only important thing is wins and losses. We'll look at the mistakes we made at the back and go from there. The bottom line is we should've tied the game 2-2. Everybody out there knows it should've ended 2-2 no matter what team they're on, and it's very disappointing on our end that it didn't end 2-2."
CHICAGO FIRE MIDFIELDER PETERY LOWRY
On his first career goal
"It was kind of a wild game. Definitely it was an exciting game. Blanco did a great job on the [second] goal. It was just a dream, and the first goal for me. It was all Blanco on the goal on that great cross, and all credit goes to him."
On the game
"I thought we did well. We battled back. We were definitely in it for most of the game. We get one unlucky call. We can be proud that we were ready for battle. We are extremely disappointed that we didn't come up with at least something tonight. We can definitely take some positives from a good fight."
CHICAGO FIRE FORWARD CHRIS ROLFE
On the game
"It was a competitive game. There were two good teams with a lot at stake. We could have come away with a point if it wasn't for the referee. It was a very competitive game."
On the loss
"It's never easy. It took a lot out of us. It was hot. Getting zero points is a little disappointing. But at the same time, we put up a good second half."
