MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER QUOTE SHEET
SATURDAY, JULY 10, 2004 - KANSAS CITY WIZARDS 1, DC UNITED 0
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS HEAD COACH BOB GANSLER
On the win:
"It was a workmanlike win this evening. The last game we won it offensively, this time we won it defensively - but it's good that we can decide games in a variety of ways. We are confident because of these results and we're in a nice cycle right now. The confidence gets us success and the success gets us more confidence."
On the team:
"We had some young guys in there, some for the first, second and third time and they made contributions. We are finding out more and more good things about our team in terms of depth. (Goalkeeper Tony) Meola was very good, defensively we all contributed, offensively we know we needed to be a little sharper. One was good enough, we will take it and we deserve it."
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS FORWARD MATT TAYLOR
On his goal:
"We knew that there were going to be some openings and some counterattacks. We took advantage of an early one. Davy (Arnaud), all hats off to him. He pushed it by (Ryan) Nelsen and hit a shot, I don't know if it was rolling in or hit the post, I couldn't tell. So I just had to slide in and make sure it was going in. From there we could have countered a little better. The team defended like crazy and stepped out and we got the shutout."
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS MIDFIELDER CHRIS KLEIN
On what makes the team work:
"I think the biggest thing that makes this team work is that everyone knows their role. We keep having to get the win because there is a lot of tough competition with L.A. winning. We want to stay on top of the heap and make everyone chase us."
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS GOALKEEPER TONY MEOLA
On the win and the defensive effort:
"We have been pretty good defensively. For me, Jimmy (Conrad) has been the defender of the year in the whole league. He has taken the whole defense on his back and been the organizer. He has made my job a lot easier. Tonight they had a lot of the ball and we frustrated them enough were they were just pumping balls in the box. I enjoy that part of the game and tonight it all worked."
D.C. UNITED HEAD COACH PETER NOWAK
On the game:
"We showed heart today, but that alone is not enough. We simply didn't play well. Consistency is key in this league and when we become more consistent we'll win more games like tonight."
On improving the team:
"We need to work on passing, on crossing and on working together. We're going to go back to work on Monday to make things better."
D.C. UNITED DEFENDER RYAN NELSEN
On the game:
"We were 5 percent off in all areas today. Those little things make a big difference."
D.C. UNITED MIDFIELDER EARNIE STEWART
On the difference this week from last:
"First of all, we're away this week. Then, after giving up a goal, we were playing from behind. Kansas City is very tough to break down, especially when they have the lead."
D.C. UNITED FORWARD FREDDY ADU
On tonight's performance:
"I was trying to do whatever coach (Nowak) asked me to do. My touch wasn't there tonight and we switched formations a lot with Dema (Kovalenko) sitting out but I tried to stay positive and do my best."
