especially at Spartan when it is so easy to get into the box. I credit them for working their butts off in the second half after I thought we really took it to them in the first half. I thought at times, we had the wrong guy pressuring the ball in the wrong part of the field, and at times we got caught too deep."
"But, while it is disappointing that there were two points we dropped at home, some of the stuff we did on the field, you can't teach. The stuff that we did wrong is all stuff that we can correct on the field. We can sit down and diagram it and it should be corrected. That is an easy part of fixing things."
"I also think the way the game was officiated took us out of our pressure a little bit. It was frustrating, and of course the red card also has a bit to play in it as well. Although we still weren't commanding the game like we were in the first half, I still like our chances with 11 rather than 10. Especially because I think Eddie [Robinson] is a strong presence back there. It has been a good week though, because we watched the film and we were able to see the reasons we were being successful and the reasons why we were breaking down."
What do you have the team working on in practice this week to correct some of the problems from the opening game?
DK: "We are working on pressuring the ball and staying compact. Watching the film, you could see that at one point during the game we counter-attacked very well, but then the ball gets played the other way, and the whole team is at one half of the field, and it is difficult for us to play through that."
"However, even in the second half, I know we didn't play particularly well, but we still created four or five good scoring opportunities. We still were dangerous going forward. What I didn't like was the fact that I think we were trying to score every time we got the ball. It was almost like score or bust for us. I want us to possess the ball more. I felt that at times we were trying to attack too much, and that is why we were getting exposed. Even though by the dimensions it is a small field, if you play a risky game it still opens the field up too much."
How did you feel the Earthquakes young central midfield of Ricardo Clark and Danny O'Rourke did in their San Jose debut?
DK: "I thought they did very well, especially in the first half. I thought the lead-up to the penalty kick was just a fantastic play and both of them were involved. At times, they really want to get a hold of the ball all the time instead of sometimes sitting back and letting the game come to them. I think not only them, but our whole midfield was looking to make such an impact attacking-wise that we should have been thinking of sitting back because we have a 2-0 lead. At times we did it, and at times we didn't. Still, I thought both of them had a good debut."
The addition of Wade Barrett to the defense gave the Quakes four experienced defenders on Saturday night. How do you feel the defense can improve for the next game against Chivas USA?
DK: "It is all communication. We have a lot of experience in our back four and I think it is also their job as experienced players and leaders of this team to make sure that we're not chasing the game. At 2-0 the game should really come to you. I just think it was a lack of communication for us to give up some of those goals. If you have a lack of communication, then you can never really pressure together, that is what I put it down to. Lack of communication all over the field is probably the biggest thing that hurt us on Saturday night."
Chivas USA is obviously a new team with only one game under their belt. What have you seen from them and how do you plan on playing against the MLS expansion team?
DK: "I saw them play in their opener. That is a good D.C. team they were playing against. Any team that boasts Jaime Moreno is going to be dangerous. Obviously, a lot of things can be said about their preseason, but we are going to approach them like they are the best team in the league. We haven't won a game yet either this year, and we are at home, so we want to get the points. They are going to be thoroughly analyzed, so when we play on Saturday there are going to be no surprises on their positions and set pieces. Like we always try to do, we are going to make sure our guys on the field on Saturday afternoon are 100 percent prepared for what we should do and what we are looking for the other team to do."
