NEW YORK RED BULLS 0, COLUMBUS CREW 0
NEW YORK RED BULLS INTERIM HEAD COACH RICHIE WILLIAMS
On how the team played:
"Well it was definitely better than Sunday. I thought the effort was fairly good. I still think the effort could be better. I still think we need to find a way to get three points at home. I thought at the end of the first half, the last 10 minutes or so, we were pushing, we had some opportunities. And again at the end of the second half there, and in between we had some plays here and there getting at them, but we have to be more aggressive, be more forward. We're going to keep working and review the video and keep training, and keep stressing, especially at home, getting those three points."
On Tony Meola's comment that the game "was the season" and what the Red Bulls must face next:
"You just have to keep at it. What's done is done. We got a point, and it's better than no points. Now we're going to go on a tough road stretch and we're going to try and win those games on the road. Is it difficult? Yes, but it's the way it is and we're going to go and work at it. I have the confidence in these guys that if they compete and play as well as they can, we can do that."
On if he is he happy with the way the team held onto the ball:
"Sunday was very disappointing in all aspects of the game. [Tonight] was better. At times, it was good and Amado [Guevara] being in there helps out. [The team's play] was good, and we're going to continue to stress that, keeping the ball, especially now that it's getting hot out. Turning the ball over and playing defense the whole game is not the way you want to go through the game."
On how Amado Guevara played:
"I talked to Amado the other day and he agreed that he hadn't been playing well this year. He had some injuries and this and that. I thought he did OK. In certain areas I'd still like to see him contributing a bit more offensively in terms of shots and setting up guys. I think each game that Amado comes back from injury will be better."
On what can bring back the chemistry between Youri Djorkaeff and Amado Guevara from last season:
"I just think working together. I don't think they have a problem with one another, and I do think at times they do play well together. Could it be better? Sure it could be. We're just going to keep working at it and hopefully on every play they're together and working together."
On how he would characterize the spirit of the team after Mo Johnston was relieved of his head coaching duties Tuesday:
"I thought it was OK. I thought we could have worked a little bit harder. It was hot and they just played on Sunday, but I think we just have to dig deep down inside of ourselves, especially at home, for the very important three points and we have to keep putting that in their minds and keep working at it. I think the spirits are still high and they are going to go out there and continue to work and try and get three points every game."
NEW YORK RED BULLS DEFENDER CARLOS MENDES
On the job of the defensive line:
"We did all right. As a team we got behind the ball, and obviously Eddie Gaven is very dangerous making runs and coming through the midfield, but we did an all right job. But I'm disappointed. We needed three points, and that was important.
On playing for interim head coach Richie Williams:
"It was good. We said before the game that we needed to put aside all the distractions, so there are no excuses. We need to be higher up in the standings and we should be performing better so we need to take some time and regroup before the road trip."
NEW YORK RED BULLS MIDFIELDER AMADO GUEVARA
On his impressions of the game:
"I think we did well to play for Richie (Williams). We did not get the three points we wanted, but really I think we are making progress and I feel really well to play for him. Myself, I want to get more possession in the game. Richie is asking me to just be calm and recover the ball, and I am doing this to listen to him."
On regaining his health:
"I feel a little better, but not the way I want to be better. I have to start to perform better soon. We are going to be working really hard and we are going to be fine as a team."
NEW YORK RED BULLS GOALKEEPER TONY MEOLA
On the team's play defensively:
"Richie put a couple of challenges out to us and the first one was to not concede any goals. ... From that aspect, I think we did a pretty good job. I think the one chance in the end, you know sometimes like an individual play like (Joseph) Ngwenya's beats two guys and we can't do much about but other than that, I don't think they had a whole lot to give to us. Certainly, we'd like to come out of here with three points. It didn't happen, and now the battles become tougher everyday."
On the team's next game against New England:
"For us, New England is a difficult place [to play] and they're a team that's starting to play well. They got Clint Dempsey back and that's going to help them. It's going to be a battle for us, but we were up there last year in the playoffs in a difficult conditions and we came out with a result and held our own."
On the team's effort:
"I thought tonight was a good effort. We didn't get the result we wanted but we had two or three really compelling chances to score. That's all you can really ask for in a game, anymore than that is a bonus. I don't remember them really putting us under pressure for a long period of time, so there was an improvement, no question."
COLUMBUS CREW HEAD COACH SIGI SCHMID
On the game:
"It was a workmanlike tie on the road. This result on the road is a good result for us. If we had won at home on Saturday against New England, then this result looks even better. We came in and played on turf, which is not a surface we're used to. We should be highly motivated today because us coming out with a point is good."
On what his team did well:
"I thought Marcos Gonzalez and Chad Marshall did a good job tonight, and I thought (Jose) Retiz did a good job in midfield. We opened up some stuff offensively. We tried to shoot some balls but I think we still passed up some shots. Those are the little things that we have to do. We lost our shape a little bit at the end. Noah (Palmer) made some good saves tonight. I think he gained us a point tonight. He came up with a big save in the first half and a solid save in the second. Definitely his best game."
On what his team struggles with:
"Offensively for us, we're trying to find the guys who are going to be consistent for us. Joseph (Ngwenya) has probably been our most consistent performer, in terms of being dangerous, being close. Eddie Gaven is there, but there was a play in the first half where a hesitation cost us some plays that would end up in goals. It's a little bit not being comfortable together but we're looking for that consistency. Everybody thinks that because we have experience we can do all these marvelous things, but what experience is is not relying on all the physical things you can do but relying on your head. That's when you can become very consistent as a club."
