Columbus Crew Sporting Dierector and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter
On what they did to set the tone of the game
Well obviously it’s difficult you know, we know how good they are and we wanted to set the tone early on and I think we were able to do that. I think we were aggressive early on and looking to attack and looking to play our type of game. You know I think that was key to the beginning phase of the game.
On if having qualified for the playoffs changed their approach to the game:
Well obviously we qualified without having to play a game, but we wanted to validate that and I think this was an important game for that. There could have been a chance for a letdown, there could have been a chance for complacency and we focused on coming out with energy and trying to make a point.
On the team and how they go forward:
I think we just keep working. I’m confident where the team is right now, I’m comfortable with the performances and you know we just have to keep focused you know, there’s still a lot to play for.
On the work rate of Aaron Schoenfeld:
No it’s great I mean, his work rate alone deserved a couple goals. You know the amount of energy expended and you know there’s nothing better when you see a player awarded for that type of intensity and that type of work so we’re proud of him and it’s great for him. He’s been working hard to get that.
On the Michael Parkhurst halftime substitution
You know Michael’s back seized up on him, I don’t know what it was, it could have been that collision or it could be something out of place or you know, Emmanuel [Pogatetz] came in under difficult conditions: up two [to] nothing, but I think he did well with a two goal differential.
On Thierry Henry and how important it was to defend him:
You know the guy’s a high-quality player, one of the best in the league or one of the best in the league for sure. So you know he was a big focus on preparation – trying to neutralize him, trying to keep him away from goal, and keep him away from passing.
Columbus Crew forward Aaron Schoenfeld
On the two-goal performance and what it’s like to get a win like this:
I’d say the win was huge, no one can carry the team to the playoffs but the team, so I’m just happy for the boys that we got the win.
On if he felt anything different on the pitch today:
No it felt like another day for me, I mean I feel like I’ve been knocking on the door for a couple weeks so I was glad to finally break through.
On what the key to their success was:
Yeah the biggest thing was that we came in and we weren’t scared and we played our game. I think the passing was good at times, it was awesome. You know that’s the biggest part to our success.
On Ethan Finlay’s performance today:
Yeah I know his pace was so dangerous you know, you just want to get him the ball in space and defenders have to play him so honest every game so Ethan gave me two nice assists and I told him I would take him to High Park.
On if teams should start taking notice of them
I mean I think throughout the League, from what the guys here, from all the players on the team here, we play a good style of soccer and you know when we finish our chances we’re a dangerous team.
Columbus Crew midfielder Ethan Finlay
On the feeling coming out today’s win:
Incredibly satisfying and obviously our goal coming into this game was to win. We had no intention coming here to get a draw you know. From the get go we wanted to get a win here and it took a Herculean effort today it was something else. All the guys that came in played so well. So credit to all the guys on the team today, everyone had to play a part.
On if he’s satisfied where the team’s at in the standings:
Yeah, well we’re trying to get better. I think our goal after you know making the playoffs when we found out on Saturday was, ok let’s get third, let’s get to the highest point we can. First off we’re in a good position, and winning here today is just one step closer to doing it.
On how it feels that no matter what, they’re in the playoffs:
Feels great, it’s one step, it’s one goal accomplished, but now we move forward to the next one and that’s making a run obviously in the playoffs so I think we’re a dangerous team to play, and we’re excited for what lies ahead of us.
New York Red Bulls Head Coach Mike Petke
On what he saw today:
Not many teams, if any, come in and boss us around like that, and they certainly did. Hats off to them. Bad day at the office, combined with self-inflicted scenarios for us. How many times in the first half did we just give the ball to them? Countless. Their off-ball movement was fantastic, as it always is, and we knew that this is a team.. I’m trying to think of another team in the league… This is one of the top teams as far as, if you go behind to them, they’ll keep the ball all day, and stretch you out. And that’s what they did. There’s no excuses from us today. The first half was embarrassing, The second half… we had our moments, we scored the goal, great individual effort from Lloyd [Sam], we had some other opportunities, but at the end of the day, we did it to ourselves today. Shrug it off and move on to the next one, I guess.
On what was to blame for the loss:
It’s a combination, they’re a good team. I think if they had a legitimate world-class finisher, they could be top of the league. They’re a good team, they move the ball well, so yes, it’s part because they’re a good team, and part because we did it to ourselves, absolutely.
On potential playoff matchup with Columbus:
The only difficulty that comes from possibly playing them again is the chance that we could have secured, in the very least, home-field advantage for a playoff game, and we could have jumped to third place today. There’s no confidence thing or anything like that, there’s the fact that we could potentially go to Columbus for a play-in game, or, it could be go to Kansas City for a play-in game three days after we play them next week. That’s the tough part to swallow. We had the opportunity before the game to sit back and realize where we could end up with a result today, and we just couldn’t get it done.
On team possibly being complacent after clinching playoff berth:
Yeah, absolutely. I didn’t think so before the game, and not because of their actions am I saying perhaps, but by the result… you have to think about it. There could be millions of reasons for this result, and that could be one of them. Maybe after making the playoffs we sat back and took too big of an exhale, perhaps, I don’t know. You have to look at all different reasons why.
On concern with team’s discipline:
I have to go back and look at the tape. Two yellow cards, with the people who give the yellow cards out, you always have to go back and look at double check.
No, if anything, perhaps I like a little fight. I look a little pissed off, perhaps.. Like I said, I’ll have to go back and check it out, but at least people are showing bite. Whether it was dirty, I’d have to go back and look at those plays.
We have experienced guys in this team. Thierry very rarely loses his discipline. Armando’s a very hard fought guy, an intense guy. As far as losing discipline, perhaps in this moment. At the end of the day, like I said, and these guys know this, they’re crushed in there. They’re pissed off, and we still have a game to play left. The quicker we get this out of minds – and when I say that, we’ll still analyze it, we’ll still look at the video, we’ll still have players look at things and talk about things, but result wise, get it out of our minds, and we have a big game against Kansas City next weekend Hopefully Philly does the job in Columbus, and we do the job in Kansas City. But discipline? No, I’m not worried about that.
On conversation with Henry after the game:
No, no. Too many times this year, the questions have been asked about individual players because of who they are. He’s my captain, I went and had a talk with him. You want to know exactly what we said? No.
I was talking with Oyongo, I was talking with Alexander, you’re not asking about Oyongo or Alexander, you’re not asking about Robles, you asked about Thierry. We lost a game tonight.
Follow up on potentially Henry’s last home game:
I’m not talking about that either. I’ve addressed that almost every week. Go ask Thierry if it’s his last game. I hope to god it’s not. I hope I have him back, or this organization has him back, for five more years, because he can still do it. I’m not talking about it, he’ll decide at the end of the season whether this is his last game or not. What I talked to him about there is what I talked to every about when I walked around. I said ‘head up, it’s time for the fans. Talk with them and get it out of your head. Simple as that.
On what else might be to blame for the loss:
I understand the question, I understand you want an answer, but the game just ended. It could be any number of things… Columbus looked motivated, more motivated than us. We were chasing shadows a lot of the time. It could be making the playoffs, a little bit of a letdown… it could be, no more excuses, but guys are tired, who knows. There are a million things it could be. But we lost a game. We move on.
New York Red Bulls forward Thierry Henry
On the game:
Things happen sometimes and you have to give them credit. The way they were bringing the ball out of the back and passing it around, we couldn’t do anything. They put great pressure on us and sometimes you have to give the team credit. They were better than us, by a distance.
On what disappointed him about the way the team played today:
Nothing. They were better than us. I have been sometimes on the side where you dominate the other team, and you’re just going because you’re happy because you had a great performance, and you leave the team that you played against with some question marks. That’s us tonight, or this afternoon, sorry. They were better than us. We tried to figure out some stuff but we couldn’t.
On if he is concerned with the team’s final game on the road in Kansas City:
No I mean it was a game. Like I said to you today, they were better than us and we have to regroup and make sure that we can perform against K.C. We have to give them the credit today. Wil Trapp ran the show.
New York Red Bulls midfielder Lloyd Sam
On his goal:
Well when I first got it – basically I had been getting a couple of crosses in, but nothing was really happening, so I thought I need to get a shot off on goal. So I tried to go inside, and it worked, and I think there was of couple of guys in there [the box], but I wanted to try and get a goal this time instead of trying to assist a goal and I just hit it as hard as I could at the time, just straight at goal, and it went in. It was good to see it in the back of the net.
On the Columbus Crew:
Yeah I mean credit to them. They did everything right. They beat us in every part of the game, defensively, keeping the ball, getting to second balls, finishing – they beat us in everything and they really did well today, so we’re going to give the credit to them instead of looking at us.
On if complacency set in after the team clinched a playoff spot:
No not at all. We went into the game with the right attitude, I thought, but they were just better than us today. So no complacency, they played well.
New York Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles
On the match and what Columbus did differently today:
I think looking in the first half, they came out with the right mindset. They won every second ball and they were able to just keep possession in our half. Obviously they knew they needed a win today to put them in a good position for the knock out game, and to host it, and they came out with the right mentality and we didn’t.
On what caused the team problems today:
Yeah I mean to me it just seemed like the effort. We didn’t seem to have the same sort of effort we did in the other games, and sure there’s going to be moments where the quality isn’t there, but the effort usually can make up for it and when both of them were missing for huge stretches of game, it’s very difficult to beat a good team like Columbus.
On if he is concerned with problems coming at the end of the season:
Well let’s see how the next game goes and I’ll let you know, but you know it is what it is. We could’ve advanced in positioning today and had a better situation, but nonetheless in the playoffs anything’s possible. You can have the favorable situation and it not work out, and you can go on the road and if you have the right mentality and get those results and you build momentum going into the next round. That plays a lot into it, so obviously today was not our best effort, but if we can go to Kansas City and give them a good game and get a favorable result then that’s the momentum we need for the next round.
On Aaron Schoenfeld’s performance today:
Yeah you know it was great and it was a long time coming. You know, he’s been unfortunate a couple times and I was happy to be able to set him up. We were a little unfortunate not to connect on the one in the first five minutes of the game, but at that point – he actually had a great warm-up, he probably won’t tell you that but he was banging them in the warm-up – and when he does that you know he’s feeling it and you saw two great finishes by him today.
