COLUMBUS CREW HEAD COACH ROBERT WARZYCHA
On overcoming the adversity of the pre-game events:
Something like this can be very distractive. Obviously we talked about the game-plan that we had today and then we executed this plan pretty well. We came out pretty strong and we talked about scoring the first goal and starting the game well and that’s what we did. Guys actually did what we asked them to do – in previous games we came out a little bit flat – but I think this time we played well in front of our home fans.
On tonight’s lineup changes:
I think playing at home the game-plan would be exactly the same – it doesn’t matter who was on the field. I think we talked about being sharper, we talked about passing the ball quicker, and probably the more important thing was to take advantage of D.C.’s poor start to the season.
On why he rotated the squad:
I think some of the players were fatigued. I saw fatigue with Tyson Wahl a little bit; I saw fatigue with Ben Speas. Having tactics that we were going to attack and have the ball around their box, it was very important to have [Jairo] Arrieta on the field.
On Jairo Arrieta’s performance:
He was very active –not only involved in the goals, but he kept the defense very honest.
On his late substitutions:
With Konrad [Warzycha] we needed someone in the middle who was strong in case of set pieces, and also [Jairo] Arrieta was getting tired. We were losing the middle of the field a little bit, and with Danny [O’Rourke] he had that one yellow card at the end of the game and there were just two minutes left so it was a risk basically … these changes were necessary.
On the 2013 Crew debut of his son Konrad Warzycha:
It was something unique and obviously I’m very proud.
COLUMBUS CREW MIDFIELDER DOMINIC ODURO
On the pre-game fire:
We were warming-up and the next thing I knew it was on fire. Like I said, at the end of the day, I think maybe that’s what we needed; we needed that fire to fire ourselves up for the game.
On working with Jairo Arrieta:
We’ve been working really hard this week, trying as much as possible, to get something going all together. I think this was a break-through. I think as all of the games together we’ve been playing this is the one we really came back really well. He’s a strong guy, holding balls; today he gave me a fantastic ball. I think today what we did was something we have to keep doing it, grow on it, and hopefully, like I said we get back on the drawing board and it will be better. I want to say this is the genesis of how the three of us with he and Higuain trying to combine our forces to play.
On what he sensed from Arrieta back in the starting XI:
I think I sensed enthusiasm from everybody. We’re trying to go high-pressure, as you can see, everybody was high-tempo. We were just trying to go as hard as we can. Jairo too; at the end of the day I think it was a group thing. So I want to say it was everybody.
COLUMBUS CREW FORWARD JAIRO ARRIETA
On getting back into the starting lineup:
Great. Very happy, very pleased. I had been working for this, for the team. To be able earn that back and I feel like I had a very good game.
On what he had to show the Crew coaching staff to get back into the lineup:
I’ve been working hard for this team throughout. Unfortunately, with the [March] trip with the [Costa Rica] National Team I lost the spot, but that’s how soccer is. So, coming back I just had to work that much harder to show the coach that I came to the team to be a starter so I just had to work harder and show that.
On making an impact on all three Crew goals:
It's important. I had to talk to my wife about it, about whenever I had the opportunity [to start] again, I really had to show it –that I want to play; that I have to play. [I’m] satisfied with today’s job. Obviously as a forward, you always want to score that goal, to get that goal.
D.C. UNITED HEAD COACH BEN OLSEN
On tonight’s result:
You’re gutted, certainly at the result, but because there was some good stuff. Offensively, if you look at the way we went about it, I thought we were pretty good. I thought defensively, almost everyone was pretty tuned in. We had a guy that had a bad night and that’s the way things have been going. We have been getting punished for what seems like any mistake we’ve been making. The call on Perry [Kitchen] for the goal is wrong, so it should have been 1-1. Then I think he [the head referee] spent most of the game trying to make up for that call by giving us little cheap ones here and there. That gets frustrating, but it still comes down to the important plays in the match that we’re not taking care of.
On accumulating frustrating calls:
Yeah, of course you get frustrated if you’re in a close situation and you don’t get calls here and there. It’s normal, but then again, the way the guys went about the game was fairly professional. I wasn’t so worried about that.
On Perry Kitchen’s penalty:
We’re not allowed to talk to referees or I get fined. They all [the officiating crew] have each other’s backs. It boggles me, but this is how it goes – things don't start going your way and you’re not going to get that call right now. We’re not going to get anything given to us, so we’ve got to figure it out. We’ve got to make sure that even if the referees are not on our side, we still have to be good enough to win games. We’re not putting blame on the referees. Certainly they didn’t help us, but we still have to make the plays that matter and we’re not doing that. We’ll continue to grind and stay together as a group. The guys are frustrated and the staff is frustrated, but we’ve been through this before. We’ll get out of it at some point.
D.C. UNITED DEFENDER BRANDON MCDONALD
On tonight’s result:
You can blame that whole thing on me. That’s completely my fault. Three goals? I mean that penalty kick? I really didn’t touch it. That’s just unacceptable. I don’t even know how to put it in words how I feel. At halftime I came in and just I lost it, but I’m better than that. My teammates, fans, and the whole club need better from me and they don’t deserve that. That was just terrible.
On his substitution:
I don’t know what else to say. I let my guys down and that’s something they did not deserve. You take away those three goals and you come away from here with a point. It’s frustrating and very disappointing because I consider myself to be one of the leaders on this team, and to do something like that, it’s not acceptable.
On the psyche of the team:
I’m not worried at all. That result is on one person, myself. So other than that, if you take away those three, then everyone is happy with how they played. The one they (the referees) took away from Perry (Kitchen), I don’t know, we’re just not getting anything our way. At the same time, the three goals that I gave away are not acceptable. I know Bill (Hamid) is pushing and working really hard on this club to get on that national team. My performance tonight is not doing him any justice and it’s not his fault. Everybody from top to bottom is doing their part.
D.C. UNITED MIDFIELDER PERRY KITCHEN
On his penalty:
He made a pushing motion towards me like I pushed the guy (Arrieta). I don’t think I did, but I haven’t seen the replay so I’m not sure.
On the psyche of the team:
I am definitely not pleased with the situation that we’re in, but saying that, I don’t feel like our record reflects the talent we have on his team. It only takes one game to get this thing turned around, so we just have to stay in it, stay focused, and stay positive.
