CHICAGO FIRE 2, LOS ANGELES GALAXY 1
CHICAGO FIRE HEAD COACH DAVE SARACHAN
On the game:
"I was very pleased with the beginning of the game and the end of the game. There were moments in the middle where we a little sloppy, but we put a big emphasis tonight on discipline and the shape of the team. For the most part, those were good for us. When you start a game and you end a game well, that's very encouraging."
On Justin Mapp's performance:
"He is a special player, when you have him on the field things can happen as we saw at the end of the game. He found a burst of energy and stuck a great goal. So I want to thank Bruce (Arena) for letting him come back (from national team duty.)"
On the combination of Chris Rolfe and Chad Barrett:
"I think Chad had a shaky start to be honest, but I think the combination of the two started to click as the match progressed. They are starting to understand each other and I think it will only get better."
CHICAGO FIRE MIDFIELDER JUSTIN MAPP
On his game-winning goal:
"I saw a couple of couple of defenders, but they weren't trying to close me down. Initially I thought about taking a shot, but I saw a small hole and I tried to accelerate into it. Then, I got a shot off and, luckily, it went in."
On the last lapse by the Galaxy defense:
"It was the 92nd minute and people were tired. There were a lot of tired bodies out there and the pressure was not always tight and immediate. I just saw an opening and I was able to get through."
On beating Galaxy at their home:
"It feels good to win in any game, especially on the road against a tough team like the Galaxy, to help my team win. We're just lucky we got the three points.
CHICAGO FIRE FORWARD CHRIS ROLFE
On the impact of his goal:
"It's always good to get a goal when you're a forward; it's your job. As soon as that happened, we started to play better and we started flowing. To get that goal obviously made a big difference in the end. For the team this was a good win; we probably would've been happy with a point, but we'll take three points over one any day."
On the intensity of the game:
"It was intense, they did well attacking us from the flanks. They had a lot of good services in the box and they were finding their guys, so we had to mark them. We battled, they had four corner straight kicks at one point, and so we fought to keep the ball out of the net. To keep those out it speaks a lot about the team's effort."
On his goal:
"I'm not really sure what happened, I saw Chad (Barrett) checking the ball, so I checked right behind him and he turned and found me ... I took a touch in the middle and put the ball on goal."
LOS ANGELES GALAXY HEAD COACH STEVE SAMPSON
On the game:
"Overall, I was very disappointed with the end, but not disappointed with everything we saw tonight. I thought we put on a good enough performance to win if we just finish our chances."
On the last-minute loss:
"I think we have to respect the game and respect the opponent a bit more in these kinds of situations. Obviously, they're going for the win and we have to keep our shape and keep our balance in behind the ball even when we attack. We have to make key decisions like fouling a player at a key time. That would've been a moment to foul someone, even at the expense of taking a yellow, even at the expense of taking a red card in that moment."
On not finishing chances:
"The only thing a coach can do is to continue to train, build players' confidence, continue to believe in them, or make personnel changes. Players with the kind of experience that we have should be finishing their opportunities ... that's what they're on the field for."
LOS ANGELES GALAXY DEFENDER TODD DUNIVANT
On the last-minute loss:
"I'm disappointed. We deserved that win. We had countless chances, but couldn't put them away. They got one in the 90th minute, not too dissimilar to the one against D.C. United. It's frustrating. That game was ours."
On facing Colorado next week:
"It's a big match because Colorado is right on our tail. We have to take it to them here at home. Those are three points we have to have next week."
On the Western Conference playoff race:
"It's crunch time. It's time to start getting hot. We've been playing well, and to be honest, we didn't play that badly tonight. We just have to put away our chances. If we can keep playing this way and be a little bit more lethal around the goal then we'll be a tough team in the playoffs."
LOS ANGELES GALAXY DEFENDER TYRONE MARSHALL
On the game:
"It was very difficult. In the first half, we had a lot of opportunities. And the way the game was going, nobody could put away a second goal. We kept leaving them in the game and letting them hang around. They came back and bit us with that goal from Justin Mapp. It's a hard one to take.
"We had at least a point. We need to focus on that and take away the positive. We played well and created a lot of opportunities. We have to put away chances when we have them. Joseph (Ngwenya) and Herculez (Gomez) played well tonight, but we have to make sure to put away the easy ones."
On losing two consecutive home games:
"We played well tonight. The ball just didn't bounce our way. We definitely could've beaten them easily, three or four to one. We have to learn. We put a team out there with guys that have played together for a while, we have to take a point if we can. We have to realize what time it is and take a foul if we have to. But you know it's one of those things that happens. Justin Mapp came through brilliant at the end. It's just one of those things."
On preparing for the next match:
"We just have to go back to the drawing board and work out the little kinks in our game. They got two goals today from the run of play. In the last few games, we've been very good in the run of play. We've been worrying about our set plays. I thought we did well on the set plays tonight. Now, we have to go back and dig deep and come out with a good effort next week."
