Houston Dynamo Head Coach Dominic Kinnear
Thoughts on the match:
"We had a great first half, and all intentions were to come out in the second half and keep that going. Obviously the early goal was a bit of a shock and then they get a goal right after it becomes a bit of a fight after that. It’s a disappointment. We played wonderful in the first half, possibly the best first half we played in a long time. Then in the second half it’s a bit of a turnaround, come out with a point. We were looking for three, come out with one, and it makes the job tougher."
Thoughts on the second half goals:
"The first goal, we looked at it a couple of times, we just overloaded on one side and left the field wide open. We’re not tucked in and that’s why the space is there. The second one, we just get caught not staying with runners in the box. Pretty simple, it was pretty basic defending. A lot of it can come down to a little bit of communication, especially on the throw-in — which really shouldn’t be that dangerous of a situation but it become one. Great goal for them; bad goal to give up for us."
Houston Dynamo midfielder Brad Davis
Does the result sting?
Yeah, we’re highly disappointed in the result. Going up two nothing we had a great first half and had a slow start to the second half. Definitely disappointed. WE had a great opportunity today with New York and Philly drawing. We had an opportunity to climb again and we missed out on it. There still is time, but this was a great opportunity to pick up points.
On the two second-half goals:
They just started throwing guys forward. It’s a lot of communication at that point. That’s one thing we’ve really tried to harp on and get sorted out. It’s one of those things where they started pushing guys forward and getting numbers into our end and we weren’t able to sort it out.
Does this result put extra pressure going forward?
Yeah, with the games ticking off we go and play another team that’s ahead of us. We know what we have to go and do. We have to start getting results. We missed one here and we need to go there and make up for it.
Houston Dynamo defender Kofi Sarkodie
Does this draw feel like a loss?
It’s a tie. We started off well in the first half and we wish it would’ve been a W, but we’ve got to look forward to Philly.
What happened on the two second-half goals?
They came out quick and got an early goal. It’s never good in the beginning of a half to give up an early goal. Then they got another one. We’ve just got to continue to be dynamic in the attack and work to be solidified in the back line.
Is there more pressure with this result?
The last 10 games there’s always pressure. It’s going to come down to the last game, it basically always does. It’s important we try and stay positive and keep working and grind out as many points as we can because you never know when they’re going to come and be important.
Houston Dynamo defender David Horst
Thoughts on the match:
We need to close games like that out. That’s a sign of a playoff team, a team that can close those games out. Just means we have to go out and win games on the road now. We were banking on winning all our games at home, but this team’s good enough and we believe in ourselves and we’re definitely capable of going on the road and winning.
Did they catch you off guard in the second half?
I don’t think they caught us off guard, I think they played the exact same way they did in the first half, we just didn’t bring the same energy we had. We came out a little laid back and the first five minutes of any half are important and we weren’t ready.
What happened on the second-half goals?
It can boil down to communication and talking to the guys in front of us. The first shot came from distance and the second came off a cross and those are things we can’t let happen. Those are things we can easily fix.
Columbus Crew Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter
Thoughts on the match:
I think it’s pretty clear that the first half wasn’t great and I think we’re too impatient, we weren’t accurate enough with our passing and as a result we turned the ball over too easily. And second half, obviously I’m really pleased with our response and the effort and the ball movement and everything. I think it was a very good second half and overall, I’m proud of the team and how they fought back. This was a good point.
Importance of getting a point on the road:
Well this is a tough place to play. It’s not easy. Houston has a very good home record and especially going up two goals, it took a lot. It took a lot of character for our team to fight back, but we certainly did that. Again, those are always a very good point.
On the performance of Waylon Francis:
Waylon was great. Waylon went after it. He gave every ounce of energy he had and I thought his willingness to get forward — he put them in very difficult positions and he kept a good performance with two assists.
Columbus Crew goalkeeper Steve Clark
Thoughts on the match:
I thought we came out slow, and they punished us. Obviously we turned it around at halftime and did the opposite, we came out ready to play. Two different teams, and the story was the scoreline obviously, two in the second half.
What was the difference in first 10 minutes of the second half?
I just think that we have to match their physicality. We came out flying. We knew they were going to do it, it’s disappointing when you know a team is going to do something and they still beat you at it.
Confidence after picking up a point on the road:
It’s a big point; Philly got a point today, New York got a point today. Obviously 2-0 at halftime, I think everyone would take a point at that time and we got that.
Columbus Crew midfielder Ethan Finlay
Thoughts on the match:
It was a disappointing first half, but to pull two back in the second half away, a tough place to play, I think we’re happy with it. We look at the positives of this game and the negatives and we move forward to a big contest next week.
What halftime adjustments did you make?
I just think that we settled down and were patient with the ball and we played our game, moved the ball side-to-side, and we were rewarded with it in the first 15 minutes of the second half. Maybe a little unfortunate not to get the third tonight, but you can’t be too upset about the result.
What did you see on your goal?
I just saw Waylon [Francis] get the ball and the emphasis was getting the ball wide, getting the ball in the box. Aaron [Schoenfeld] made a good run in there, I think Pipa [Federico Higuain] was in there. Just fade to the back post, head-faked like I was gonna go and Beasley kind of sucked inside, and great ball by Waylon and just found myself for a header at the back post.
On the performance of Waylon Francis:
It’s great, he’s been active the last couple of games so it’s nice to see him get rewarded tonight with two assists in a very important game and got a very important point. It’s great, and hopefully we get that kind of performance going forward.
I think it’s tremendous. We showed a lot of fight tonight, obviously disappointed in the first half but it’s a tough place to play. Credit to the guys, we got it done tonight and we got a point.
