MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER QUOTE SHEET
SATURDAY, JULY 9, 2005 - KANSAS CITY WIZARDS 1, D.C. UNITED 0
D.C. UNITED HEAD COACH PETER NOWAK
On the game:
"I thought that in the first half we had enough chances to score a goal, and then the game would have been different. But in the second half we made some fundamental mistakes that left ourselves open at the end of the game. As I said, the effort when we started the second half wasn't there, it took us too many minutes to find our pace again and do what we're supposed to do. So I'm disappointed with the result this evening. It's all a matter of how you play, and the second half wasn't that great so I think we have another lesson to learn and relax and be patient with the ball and make sure they never do this. It's fine, we know that we needed to score the first goal and we didn't do it today. One mistake cost us the game."
D.C. UNITED GOALKEEPER NICK RIMANDO
On the game:
"That's the game of soccer. You are at home and you are pressuring them and then they get one break where we give them the ball in the middle and they capitalize on it. That is what good teams do; they capitalize on their opportunities."
On the team's defensive performance:
"We are playing good, as a whole. It takes time - today was just one of those game where you are playing great and then all of a sudden one mistake causes us to lose."
On putting together a complete game:
"It's not frustrating, it's going to come. It's the midpoint of the season and we are still working. Hopefully, just like last year, we will peak at the right time. We got our goals at the end of the season, we got our wins at the end of the season, and I don't think there is any need to worry now, defensively or offensively."
D.C. UNITED MIDFIELDER CLYDE SIMMS
On the team's performance:
"I thought we did well. We are missing Jamie [Moreno - to injury] and the guys; Benny [Olsen] and Santino [Quaranta] but guys stepped up and showed they can play at this level."
On United's play against the Wizards:
"It is always tough against Kansas City, we just have to be patient and I thought we did a good job keeping the ball and pressuring them to run around a lot. It just shows you that if you play a good team like Kansas City and you have one breakdown they will punish you for it."
D.C. UNITED DEFENDER BOBBY BOSWELL
On Kansas City's game plan:
"I think they had a good game plan. It is frustrating because I thought we put forth a great effort and it is frustrating to not get the result we wanted."
D.C. UNITED FORWARD FREDDY ADU
On the team's frustration:
"I am very disappointed - the whole team is disappointed. We played well and I guess one mistake cost us the game. That is just how it goes. You can play great the first 45 or 70 minutes and you make one mistake and the other team scores. It is a good game to learn from. We learned we have to finish our chances and limit our mistakes, because one mistake can cost us the game."
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS HEAD COACH BOB GANSLER
On the win:
"What matters to us is that we went out there and played well on both sides of the ball. It was a matter of getting over the hump and playing 90 good minutes. If you get more wins you will be more confident and you will play better and that's what we're trying to do."
On the team's defensive effort:
"Early on the whole team wasn't playing well defensively and we were losing a lot of balls. Nick [Garcia] played marvelously, his tackles were right on. He was part of a good defensive effort. We mirrored their lineup - the defense did a heck of a job. What we talk about is that it's not so important where we start playing defense but where we start playing together. We have to get the opponent on the transition."
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS MIDFIELDER SASHA VICTORINE
On the victory:
"Obviously it's [only] one game, but it's good. We went on the road and won. You need to get a few road wins in this league to stay towards the top. The most important thing is [beating United] to get some points and create some distance between teams and see if we can make a run. Going on the road and getting a win against a team that was tied with us points-wise is very important."
On his game-winning goal:
"The ball got played into [Brian] Carroll and he took a touch that popped off to Diego [Gutierrez]. Diego saw me and just gave me a tap. I just tried to set [United defender Bobby] Boswell up to make him think I was going to go to my right and get him off balance a little bit and took a touch to the left and just tried to keep it low and hit it hard ... It was laying perfect and I thought I could hit it on the run. Fortunately it just went in."
On adjusting to United's changes:
"We felt good after the game. We held them. They started changing their line-up a little bit once they went down a goal. We were a little disorganized trying to figure out what was going on, but I think we did well overall."
On the defense:
"We just wanted to make sure we were organized and had guys marked up."
