SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES 1, COLORADO RAPIDS 1
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH DOMINIC KINNEAR
On the game:
"It was just one of those nights. We weren't as sharp as we needed to be,
but we have been playing so well that we just expect great things every time
out. I think we held the ball a
little bit too long at times and our runs were off because of that."
On the start of the second half:
"We came out of the locker really well and I thought that we scored a great
goal. It was a nice pass and an excellent finish, but we needed to play
better and create more chances. The game was a bit frustrating tonight."
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES MIDFIELDER RICARDO CLARK
On his goal:
"Dwayne [De Rosario] got the ball in midfield and I saw an opening to make a
run. Dwayne just played a ball into the space and it was pretty much simple
from there. I took a couple touches, got into the box and just blasted it
into the goal."
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES FORWARD ALEJANDRO MORENO
On the game:
"We couldn't get a break or establish a rhythm. Anytime we seemed to get
something going or a lot of possession, they seemed to get a foul and stop
the rhythm of the play and that hindered us tonight. We have to keep playing
through that. At times we were able to string some passes together and that
is how the goal came about. The more we are able to do that and exploit the
spaces out wide, the better we are. It seemed like tonight when we got the
ball out wide our crosses weren't there. When the crosses were there, we
couldn't get on the end of it. It was just one of those nights."
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES DEFENDER WADE BARRETT
On the Quakes' performance:
"We kind of feel like we weren't as sharp as we normally are. I think that
was the difference tonight. Dom [Dominic Kinnear] said at halftime that
maybe if each one of us could play just a little bit better and be a little
bit sharper, that would be the difference. We missed a few crosses; I missed
a great chance in the second half to hit a ball across, little mistakes like
that really hurt us. We created things tonight, but we were just a little
bit off. That was kind of the story all around the park tonight."
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES DEFENDER KELLY GRAY
On the Colorado goal:
"It was just unlucky, Danny [Califf] got his foot on the ball and it took a
bounce and got over Pat [Onstad]. It was unlucky again; the last three goals
we have given up here at Spartan have just been something that didn't bounce
quite our way. There isn't much you can do about that."
COLORADO RAPIDS HEAD COACH FERNANDO CLAVIJO
On the game:
"We came here realistically to look for three points, every game we play we
are looking for that. [The Earthquakes] are one of the hottest teams in the
league, and I thought especially in the first half we did extremely well, we
had chances to score. But, we are satisfied with the result
against a very good team right now that everybody is having problems
beating. So, we are satisfied with the result tonight."
On the Rapids' push toward the playoffs:
"There are still a lot of games left until we reach the playoffs. We have to
look at every game like it is a final and I think we did that tonight. There
is no question about it that we are playing better now than we did at the
beginning of the season, but there are still a lot of games and points that
we are aiming for. Right now, our concern is the next game that we are going
to play, that game is going to be the most important one of our season. We
will concentrate on the playoffs when it comes, but right now we have to
focus on our next game."
COLORADO RAPIDS FORWARD JEFF CUNNINGHAM
On playing against the Quakes defense:
"I think [Danny] Califf and [Eddie] Robinson play solid, they didn't give me
a chance tonight.
Every time I got the ball they made sure I played it away quickly.
Basically, they shut me down tonight. I am thankful that my teammates
stepped up tonight and we were able to get a good result."
On the Rapids' game plan against San Jose:
"It is a small pitch and they have very good technical players, so we came
out tonight to try and disrupt their solid play and the way you do that is
to play them physical. We just wanted to come out and match their intensity
and play them physical and not give them time on the ball. We were able to
do that tonight and I thought the result was deserved for both teams."
