MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER QUOTE SHEET
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION HEAD COACH STEVE NICOL
SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2005 - NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION 3, FC DALLAS 2
On the match:
"That was probably as good a game as you'll see all season. They pass the
ball well. O'Brien and Ruiz are huge for them. We couldn't have started any
better. The first goal they got was a lucky break off a bounce. From there,
we were really chasing the game. It's tough to do that against team like
that. Matt Reis had a lot more saves than we'd like tonight. We were forcing
the issue most of the time, we left holes for them, which made it easier for
them. Again, some heart some skill, a never-say-die attitude, and we pulled
the game out."
On the return of Pat Noonan and Clint Dempsey:
"As soon as the U.S. put their last substitute in the game, we had a feeling
we were going to get at least one of the boys. Neither of them took part in
the U.S. game. We've been speaking to them. Obviously, having four guys on
the U.S. team is hard on us. I accept that's the way things are and there's
no point in crying and moaning about it."
On Taylor Twellman's fitness:
"He had some stretching after he had a chance that the goalie saved.
Obviously, straight away I was thinking it was his hamstring. He didn't want
to come off, and fortunately we made the right decision."
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION MIDFIELDER CLINT DEMPSEY
On whether the victory was "a statement game":
"Definitely, it's a big game for us. We started out slow, letting them get
some goals on us. To lose at home, that would just be terrible. We've done
well at home and we wanted to continue that streak - let everyone else in the
league know that when you come to our house, it's going to be tough to beat
us. And you've got to give hats off to the boys - we fought hard, showed a lot
of heart, and just stuck it out, just like we did in New York. I think when
we look back at the season, we'll look at this game as a really big game for
us, especially after a loss."
On returning to the Revs:
"It's a weird feeling. There's a lot of ups and downs. I was down after not
getting to play in the national team game. It's obviously a big deal to play
for your country. But you've got to look the positives. I got to play with
my club and I wouldn't be on the national team if it wasn't for them. And I
felt like I contributed to the win tonight."
On the tying goal:
"I don't know. It got all congested in there. The ball went in the air. I
just wanted to make sure I could get a head on it and get it in there.
Luckily enough, I did that. I think it might have touched a little bit of
Taylor's hair, but I don't know."
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION GOALKEEPER MATT REIS
On the comeback:
"If the game is close, we're definitely in the hunt in getting goals. We did
it in L.A., we did it in New York, we did it here tonight. I guess it's in true Revolution fashion that we finished strong."
On getting three points:
"With it coming down in the last three games, we just haven't been as solid.
It's just been ties and losses. Being able to pull this one out in the 11th
hour, it's just great for us. It's a great confidence boost. It just shows
the kind of class and character this team has."
On the Revs' current form:
"Still, it's not good enough. We weren't as sharp as we needed to be over 90
minutes. At times we just gave the ball away needlessly. With a good team
like Dallas, they're going to get chances. If we give them enough chances,
they're going to score. We've got to get sharper, we've got to be better,
we've got to be more dangerous in the final third."
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION FORWARD PAT NOONAN
On starting for the Revs after being in the U.S. national team squad:
"After the third sub was made, I was just kind of waiting to see what
happens. It worked out that I didn't get any time with them. So I was able
to play with the Revs, and I'm sure happy I was able to be here for the
win."
On his fitness level:
"I had to find a way to get the legs going. Toward the end of this game, I
realized that my legs were getting kind of heavy. You fight through that kind of stuff. I felt fine out there for the most part of the game."
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION FORWARD TAYLOR TWELLMAN
On scoring 12 goals in eight career games versus Dallas:
"It's no different than any team. Fortunately, tonight I did. This team
never gives up. It's a pleasure being the forward for this team."
On his hamstring injury:
"I'm not all the way back from the injury. That's the frustrating part. I'm
not able to do the little things off the ball that I usually can do. But at
the end of the day, I'm surrounded by a great team. At the end of the game,
I don't have to be 100 percent for this team to win."
On the tying goal:
"I grazed it with my head. It hit my shinguard."
On playing with Pat Noonan:
"It's an absolute pleasure playing with Pat up front. He does the little things really well. He tells me before any game, "Get open, and I'll find
you." It's fun to play with everyone."
On the game-winning goal:
"I hit it with my foot. The credit for that goal goes to Andy Dorman. He made a great run up the field."
FC DALLAS HEAD COACH COLIN CLARKE
On the loss:
"It's a tough one. Obviously, what happened there in the last minute or
so ... two bad goals."
On the third goal:
"We should have had the game won: dead and buried by then. We were by far
the better team for the first 85 minutes. Reis kept them in it. We didn't
take our chances. We got sucker punched at the end. We were one player down
injured, we were trying to get the ball out of play and they play on. The
ref didn't do a good job there stopping the game. He was down a minute and a
half. It wasn't very good mentally. I'm very disappointed; we played so well
for most of the goal. We dominated them in their own house to come away with
nothing. We'll bounce back."
On Dallas's missed chances:
"Obviously I wasn't too happy about it. Their second goal came from us
trying to get the ball out of play for an injured player. They ended up a
player, under no pressure, they turned and ran it up the field."
On Arturo Alvarez:
"He's done very well. He's lively and created a lot of good chances. It was
a good play by him on the goal to get forward in the right spot. I thought
he was dangerous all night long, giving them fits and giving them lots of
problems. We just couldn't get a third one."
FC DALLAS MIDFIELDER ARTURO ALVAREZ
On his goal:
"I was going at him and I took a shot trying to go to the side of him. He
got it, and it rebounded on me. It hit me hard enough to just go in. It's a
lucky goal, but I made a good run. I got lucky to get it inside."
On the match:
"Every time we play a team that plays three at the back we have good
attacking players and we get a lot of opportunities going behind players. We
need to work on our finishing. We had a lot of chances to put this game
away. We could have been up by two or three goals at the end of the first
half."
On the result:
"It's pretty hard, coming in at halftime up 2-1, and finishing up losing 3-2. It's something we have to put away and not let happen again next
weekend."
