SPORTING DIRECTOR AND HEAD COACH GREGG BERHALTER
On the game…
I think first of all, I want to apologize to all the people that stayed around and watched that, because I didn’t think we gave a good enough performance for them. They’re sitting in delays and it’s raining and lightning and people are still coming to the stadium, and we didn’t give them enough. Plain and simple. I didn’t see enough out there tonight.
On not seeing enough…
I wouldn’t necessarily say (that the team gave up at the start of the second half). If you look at the matchup, it’s two teams in very similar situations fighting for their lives, trying to set up the last part of the season. And I just didn’t see enough urgency. Vancouver had a way that they were going to play, they were going to try to counter, they were going to sit back, and I don’t think we generated enough chances. I don’t think we took our chances well enough. I don’t think we defended well enough. To hear that (Vancouver’s) first shot was the 2-1 (goal giving Vancouver the lead) and that they scored a goal is not good.
On where Crew SC goes from here…
I think (the postseason being out of reach) is the easy thing to say. And you know soccer, soccer is a strange game. It’s 1-1 in the 74th minute and they hadn’t had a shot on goal and it’s 1-1. So soccer is a funny game. I’m not going to give up. The players aren’t going to give up. Any fans that paid money to watch us play this year, it wouldn’t be right to give up on them.
On Harrison Afful’s play…
I think there were opportunities that could have been converted to chances that we didn’t do so. Harrison [Afful] is dangerous every single game he plays in but I think there were a couple of passes we could have made better to create goal-scoring opportunities, a couple close offsides were called, couple times where we picked the wrong option to take a chance. The intention to dominate the game and create goal-scoring opportunities was there but I don’t think it was quick enough, I don’t think it was fast enough and I don’t think it was decisive enough.
On the lack of shots on goal in the second half…
I think it was a little bit of execution. I think the goalie made a good save in the second half so that should have probably counted as some type of shot on goal but maybe it came off one of their players and normally that’s a shot on goal. Overall, throughout the whole game, not just the second half, there were times when we could have executed better and we didn’t. We are going to have to get it right.
On if missing [Federico] Higuain was an issue…
Missing [Federico] Higuain is always an issue; he is a very good player. Missing Wil [Trapp] hurt as well but again, those are just excuses. I said it last week and I’ll say it again: to even say that we couldn’t have won the game without those guys is doing a disservice to the guys that were actually on the field. We were just looking for some better performances.
On if Federico Higuain’s absence from the game was due to a reoccurrence of his injury…
Yes.
On if Federico Higuain’s absence necessitated a new look in the lineup…
There were two things. I think that the first thing was missing [Higuain]. The second thing was we tried to analyze what their threats were going to be, and one of their big threats is the counterattack. And, with three centerbacks it was easy to nullify the counterattack. When you look at the game, besides when it was already 2-1 on that one set piece, they really didn’t counter us effectively. And we know they’re a good counterattacking team, they base a lot of their strategy on counterattacking. So, we went with three centerbacks and we wanted to attack the wide positions. And, for the most part, you know, it worked. I think the final product wasn’t there, though.
On the formation…
We played a 3-4-3. That was the design.
On details of Federico Higuain’s absence from the game…
So, the thing with Federico [Higuain], he’s a guy that wants to be out on the field. And, we’re evaluating him and he has a lot of pain, he’s playing with a lot of pain. We’re trying to figure out how we’re going to get him through the rest of the season, and how to get rid of some of the pain and plan a path forward because we need him on the field.
On what’s wrong with the later portions of Crew SC matches…
To me, it’s disappointing. I think, twofold, the red card, I think is unnecessary, I think it’s not an act of sportsmanship. And the second thing is giving up a goal in the 75th [minute] on. And, if you hang around long enough, and you keep yourself in the game, you can potentially get something out of the game. And by giving up that third goal, it was a back breaker.
On if he thinks the team can improve in the last stretch of the season…
That’s a good question. That’s what I was thinking about in the office. Is this the max that we have? And if it is, it’s not good enough. Is this our limit in terms of potential? I don’t believe it is, but we’re not showing much more than that, to be honest. A game like tonight, setting it up as a must-win game, we didn’t show enough.
FORWARD OLA KAMARA
On the game…
It was a tough game, and we really wanted to win the game. Without [Vancouver] being sharp offensively, and it’s 1-1 in the 75th minute, it’s a tough one. It’s a tough one to handle but we just have to keep going. It’s very hard to explain the frustration right now.
On his frustration…
I only think about every single game. I’m not thinking about the season. Next game against Orlando, we’re going to go again and try to get three points. [My frustration] is because we didn’t get three points. I think we are a better team, but we didn’t play better than Vancouver and that was a problem.
On his mindset before a match…
My matchup that day, and the chances I can get in the game, to try to finish them off and put them into the net.
DEFENDER MICHAEL PARKHURST
On his team’s mentality after the loss against Vancouver Whitecaps FC . . .
Down. This is rock bottom for us right now. It’s tough.
On his feelings of the final 20 minutes of the game . . .
We know that we are running out of opportunities and it was frustrating and deflating. Like you said, of course we are never going to give up. We’ll keep playing until we are mathematically out of it.
Onconceding goals late in games . . .
Honestly, I don't know the answer right now. It seems like I’ve tried to answer that question many times now and it’s frustrating that it has to be asked over and over and that we have to deal with it over and over. That’s on us and it’s just not good enough.
OnVancouver Whitecaps FC’s second goal . . .
I didn’t see the replay, but from what I remember of it he was driving down and we just don’t get enough pressure on him. We need to communicate a little bit better between the three of us in the back there of who is going to step out and try and get some pressure on him. It didn’t happen and we hit a bump.
Onconceding the winning goal on Vancouver Whitecaps FC’s first shot on goal . . .
Yeah. It’s very frustrating. We give them one shot and we are down 2-1. It’s super frustrating.
Onhis feelings on having three centerbacks in the back . . .
It was a bit of a change and the reason that we did it was because we thought they would go with two up top and really play on the counterattack, so we wanted to be sound on the counter. I thought that for the most part it worked well. It’s getting used to it a little bit, as far as being able to have a little freedom to step out and step up to guys instead of always having to worry about your back. I don’t know if it’s something that is going to continue in the future or not, but I thought that for a while it went well.
Onthe pressure of this season as team captain . . .
Yeah. We’ve had some tough moments and we’ve had some streaks, but this is probably the worst time. So absolutely. I’m not going to hide and that’s why I’m standing here. Whatever happens, we are going to keep fighting until the very last game of the season. We have to make sure there is no quit in the team.
Onthe difference between this year and last year . . .
Absolutely. It’s just really frustrating to think that a good core of the group that was responsible for that run is still with the team and for whatever reason, and they are plentiful, that we are just not getting the job done game in and game out. It’s frustrating because we want to give ourselves a chance in the playoffs to make that run, but it’s going to take a lot now.
