HOUSTON DYNAMO 1, FC DALLAS 1
FC DALLAS HEAD COACH COLIN CLARKE
On the game overall:
"It was a tough game for us, coming off Wednesday having to play a man down, I think that it tolled on us the whole game. It was very, very hot, but we were disappointed to give up the goal so late."
On playing Richard Mulrooney for the full 90 minutes:
"We're happy to get him through 90 minutes. That wasn't the plan before the game, but just the way things went. He was feeling fine so we had him stay out there. We're very happy to see him back, he's been a big part missing for us for the past year so it's great to get him back. But it's going to take time for him to relearn the other players and for the other players to relearn what he is all about. But he's a very good player, we've missed him and we're delighted to have him back."
On dealing with the heat:
"It was hot, it was tough. We ended up sitting back a bit too much for my liking once we got the goal, which is a natural thing to do, and with this coming on the back of (Wednesday's game) we were trying to force them to get up on them and win it a little higher up the field. But it was tough to do because of the conditions."
FC DALLAS MIDFIELDER SIMO VALAKARI
On playing three games in eight days:
"It's hard, but we can't use that as an excuse. We had two months of preseason and we are fit and for most of the players, we'd rather play games then practice so we can't complain. But it's still tough and the heat is a factor, but we should have killed the game off earlier and its disappointing not to win at home."
On remaining in first place with the draw:
"Our focus is to win every game and when you don't do that, especially when you don't play well like we did today, its difficult. But all of the credit to Houston. As a team they work very hard, have a lot of good players and are a hard team to play against. We're still in first place which is good, but it's early in the season and we're disappointed not to take all three points today."
FC DALLAS MIDFIELDER RICHARD MULROONEY
On the team's play today overall:
"I think that we all struggled to figure each other out today. I don't think that we found any kind of coherency, for little parts we did, but from the back to the midfield to the front, we didn't really figure each other out. Also, I haven't been in the picture so that may have had something to do with it as well."
On playing the full 90 minutes for the first time since his injury:
"Yeah (I was ready). As the game went on I got into it and the adrenaline started pumping and obviously the battle started to heat up and it's nothing that you want to leave at that point."
FC DALLAS DEFENDER DREW MOOR
On playing in the midday heat:
"This is the first time since college, and even then I don't know if I did it then, that I played 90 minutes in three games in a short time like this. It's something though that we knew was coming, we prepared for it the right way, and we would have liked to come out with the three points, especially the way the game went, but unfortunately it wasn't to be."
On the team's play after surrendering the equalizer:
"I thought that we sat in a little bit in the second half and had trouble keeping the ball. But once they did score, we finally started knocking the ball around a lot better, even with the tough conditions."
HOUSTON DYNAMO HEAD COACH DOMINIC KINNEAR
General thoughts on the game:
"It was hard, it was hot. There weren't too many chances. Last balls played on both sides were a bit missing. I was proud of the way the guys fought back. After they scored, we didn't give them much after that. We were kind of creeping our way back into the game in the second half. I felt maybe something might happen. Fortunately for us, Eddie (Robinson) had to hit somebody for it to go in. Sometimes you have luck. It's a great point."
On FC Dallas clogging the midfield:
"Yes, they did. It's one of those where we're saying possession was the biggest thing. Moving off the ball was the next biggest thing. I'm not going to make excuses but it's hot out there. Sometimes when you make a pass, your thought is to not make a run. It's to try and find or hold your area. That's why I think we were turning the ball over a little bit. At times when we didn't have pressure on us, we were trying to force the ball from the back. When you're tired, you have a tired mind as well. Their mindset was to get the equalizer. It was a pretty deserved goal because we were the better attacking team at the time. Like I said, it was a great point. I'm so proud of them. We came out of the gate a little bit slow, a little bit sluggish. But to fight back and get that point is excellent."
On the difference between this week's game and last week's game:
"I think you knew this one was going to be different. They (FC Dallas) played on Wednesday. It was an emotional game for both teams last Saturday. We watched them on Wednesday and they defended pretty much for 45 minutes. To replicate that game last week would be hard, especially considering the circumstances with weather and different personnel. Every week is different. Different people do different things in different weeks. You can approach the game exactly the same, but the outcome is rarely the same."
HOUSTON DYNAMO MIDFIELDER BRIAN MULLAN
On deserving the point:
"We put in a ton of work. We had a ton of chances but just couldn't capitalize on them. To get one lucky chance and score, it shows a lot for the team's heart to come back and get that goal in the 81st minute. That was a great goal by Eddie (Robinson)."
On the team's resiliency today:
"Anytime Dwayne (De Rosario) is off the field, it hurts the team. He's a great, creative player and he consumes a lot of the defense. We have a very good team and a very deep team. Adrian (Serioux) steps up and Ricardo (Clark) in the middle and they're great players too. They create a lot too. They just have to get used to those positions, build their confidence and get back in the game."
On the heat today:
"It was incredibly hot and that's a gigantic field. It's a great win for us to pull that point out with the weather."
On the difference between last week's game and this week's game:
"I'm going to attribute a lot of that to the weather. When it's hot, you've got to conserve your energy. Obviously when you're conserving your energy, you're not going to play a lot of attacking football. We still had some good chances and some exciting moments."
On limiting FC Dallas' chances:
"We have a great defense. They have a very dynamic attack. If our defense plays well as does the team and we shift and we slide, then it's going to be very difficult to break us down."
HOUSTON DYNAMO GOALTENDER PAT ONSTAD
On leaving town with a tie:
"I think we came into the game hoping for three points to try to leapfrog them (in the standings). It wasn't to be. I think the way we played in the first half, we were certainly deserving to be down a goal. To come out, play pretty well and battle back in the second half is a good result for us on the road."
On FC Dallas' offensive weapons:
"They've got an abundance of talent going forward. We knew they'd put us under pressure for large spells. I think we dealt with it pretty well maybe not so much in the first half but definitely in the second half. I think that when you play games at 3 o'clock in Texas, it kind of slows down and probably isn't as exciting as you want it to be for the fans. I thought we played a pretty tactically strong second half."
On the emerging rivalry:
"When you have two teams that feel they are two of the better teams in the Western Conference, that is always going to be a battle. That's nice to see. The fact that we're now in the same state also adds to it."
