CREW SPORTING DIRECTOR AND HEAD COACH GREGG BERHALTER
On his spot in the standings now…
We’re in a dog fight right now and we know how sensitive this situation is. We have eight games left, so that’s eight more finals that we need to play, like it is our last game.
What made it so hard to get through Montreal’s defense…
They were compact, they were the better team tonight, let’s make no mistake about it. We weren’t sharp tonight. We got a number of guys that got out-competed and collectively we weren’t good enough.
On Piatti…
Piatti has quality. Anytime you can add quality like that it makes a difference. If you look at the goals he scored, there aren’t many players in the league that can do something like that. Montreal was better today.
CREW DEFENDER - TYSON WAHL
On having their two-game win streak snapped….
I don’t think we matched that effort level that we had in our two past wins. We didn’t replicate those performances. There was a little bit of a drop off there. We put ourselves in a whole in the first half and couldn’t get sharp enough in the final third to get anything going.
On the heavy workload the midfield had to do…
We pressed a little bit higher than we normally do. We were a little more impatient and because of that it caused our midfielders to do some extra running. When they had the ball, they weren’t as sharp as they have been. Our midfielders have been great this season for us, but we caused them to do too much running and too much extra work.
CREW FORWARD AARON SCHOENFELD
On the team’s performance…
Obviously it’s frustrating after two good wins. We just didn’t bring it tonight and it was not good enough.
On having difficulties on offense…
I think it came down to the final ball. Some of our decision’s we made up there led to turnovers. We just can’t turn the ball over in good areas.
IMPACT HEAD COACH AND DIRECTOR OF SOCCER FRANK KLOPAS
On the clean sheet…
We are putting more attention on our midfield now, so our ability to win some 50|50 balls in the middle gives us a bigger presence and takes some pressure off the back line. I think the team played really well over the course of 90 minutes today. There were periods of momentum for both teams tonight, but late in the final third, our quality of play showed and we were able to finish our chances and Bush made some good saves. At the end of the night when you get a result like that you know that everybody had a good game.
On Piatti…
A lot of games that I saw him play in previously, he would play in a wide position and then come in. When he got the ball closer to the goal in the middle of the field you can see what he can do. He did a lot of running today and we needed that from him because with Trapp running deep and them overloading the midfield with Higuain. It was very critical with Felipe that he needed to pick up Higuain and Ignacio put a lot of pressure on Trapp. But the key was for us to work hard on these players so that when Piatti would get the ball he would have energy to go forward. Piatti is very dangerous in his ability at finding the through ball and being able to finish.
Do you finally have the team you’ve wanted from the beginning…
I think we did some positive moves and with Ignacio coming in, there’s been a lot more confidence in the group. Even though we have lost a lot of games and that we deserved those loses, I feel like the team is heading in the right direction with the changes. We created some good depth in the team and I felt very good in the week leading up to this game, we had a good training session and everybody was sharp. But, we still have a couple of pieces to fix before I get this team where I want it to be.
IMPACT DEFENDER HASSOUN CAMARA
How did it feel to close out Higuain…
Of course it felt good, since he’s the player in their team that makes the biggest difference and creates the plays. He’s on league with Thierry Henry. We wanted to close his play and make sure to cut him off from his forwards, which we did well.
Do you think Piatti is playing better having settled down in Montreal...
For sure, when you come in a new group and new environment and come from another country entirely, it can be hard to adapt. But I think that he had a good transition up until now and he’s been very useful. He’s bringing up the motivation in the team, because he’s one of our best players.
IMPACT FORWARD IGNACIO PIATTI
On the game…
I’m happy with the team’s performance today, it was a good game. I also think it was a good game in New York after a long week, but this week at home we did what we needed to do to win it.
On his position…
I really like where I played, underneath the striker. It brings me closer to the goal and gives me more opportunities to score, but if the team needs me on the left then I will do what needs to be done for the team. This league is a lot more physical than what I’m used to, but I’m already adapting well to it.
