MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER QUOTE SHEET
SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2005 - NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION 3, COLUMBUS CREW 0
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION HEAD COACH STEVE NICOL
On the win:
"It feels great. The guys are hungry. The first half, I thought we knocked it about pretty well. We just went around a bit, one pace too many or the pass a half-yard off. But the second half, things came together. We didn't change anything at all. We just did everything better in the second half."
On the deciding factor for the win:
"It's kind of hard to point anything out. I think back, middle and top, everybody did their bit. I think it's kind of unfair. Clint [Dempsey] scored a great header. The first goal is important. It means they have to open up a wee bit. It gives us a kick to try to kill the game and also to be solid. We did both things, we didn't let them in at all and we pushed forward."
On the difference between the first and second halves:
"At halftime coming in, the one thing we said is make sure we start the game as quickly as we did the first half. And we did that. We didn't change a thing. We just did things with a bit of quality."
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION MIDFIELDER CLINT DEMPSEY
On his goal:
"It was like ping pong. It kept getting hit back across the box and finally we were able to settle it down and get a decent cross into the middle. Jay Heaps put the ball perfectly into an area where I could head the ball. I just got my head on it and it went into the back of the net."
On his confidence level:
"My confidence is pretty high right now, because of the preseason training with the national team. And coming into the season having that experience under my belt, just makes you more comfortable. And the more comfortable you are, the better you play. I just try to go out there and do what I can to help the team win."
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION FORWARD PAT NOONAN
On the win:
"That was a big one for us. We came out from the opening whistle and I thought we had a solid 90 minutes. Against San Jose we didn't, we played 45, and you see what kind of result we got. Tonight, we played 90 minutes and you could see it in the scoring and the way we played."
On the Revs' approach after halftime:
"We said, 'We are going out and doing the same thing.' The careless giveaways, especially from up top, when we were trying to lay balls off, instead of holding them - myself in particular - those were the giveaways that were giving them counterattacks. In the second half, we possessed the ball and we had most of the possession. So I think that was the only adjustment we made and we went out and got some goals."
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION DEFENDER JOE FRANCHINO
On the win:
"It was a good night for us."
On being back in the lineup after his father's cancer surgery:
"It was good to be out there with the boys and playing again. It wasn't even on my mind when I went out there. Before I stepped on the field, he was on my mind. Just going out there and playing, with the way the guys played in front of us, it was pretty easy."
On the Revs' attitude:
"We are a team. Everybody goes out there and plays for the same thing, and that's the win. Everybody in this locker room is for the team and nobody is bigger than the team."
COLUMBUS CREW HEAD COACH GREG ANDRULIS
On the match:
"We were off in a lot of different areas tonight. It was our inability to pass the ball and to consistently establish any rhythm. We had too many easy turnovers. The effort is not something we should have to worry about. We had to take some risks after falling behind and to New England's credit they were able to capitalize."
COLUMBUS CREW GOALKEEPER JON BUSCH
On moving on from Saturday's match:
"We have 30 more games in the season and hopefully we will learn from tonight and move on. We didn't play well and we know that."
