COLUMBUS CREW SPORTING DIRECTOR AND HEAD COACH GREGG BERHALTER
Thoughts on today’s game…
Disappointment. I think that we put ourselves in a position to get a result tonight and we didn’t do it. At the end of the day it’s disappointing.
Thoughts on the lack of flow throughout the game…
We didn’t play well that’s for sure. Our normal game, controlling the game and movement wasn’t there. Having said that we still put ourselves in position at the end of the day to get a result and we didn’t do that. Credit Toronto for putting a lot of pressure on towards the end of the game but I still think that we need to be better.
How would you grade yourselves this far into the season?
I think we are right where we should be. We are a team that still needs to improve, we’re a team that can beat most teams in the league at any given day but we need consistency and in games like this we need to come out with a result. I think that it’s a learning process for the group and today was a really great opportunity in my eyes to really seal a result under pressure. I think it was a good opportunity for us to learn how to win, learn how to fight for each other, to battle, and I’m disappointed that we didn’t do it.
How much of not being able to close out the game was mental?
I wouldn’t say it’s mental, we didn’t execute. Look at the goals that they scored and it’s simple, we didn’t execute.
COLUMBUS CREW MIDFIELDER DANIEL PALADINI
Thoughts on today’s game…
We are very disappointed to not come out with any points. I thought at times we had control of the game and we talked about it, the last 10 or 15 minutes we kind of dropped down and let them get the momentum and (Jermaine) Defoe scored a good goal off of nothing. They did exactly what we went over for the week, they played long balls , looked for Defoe off the flicks and we knew exactly what they were going to do and they did it.
Is tonight's loss harder knowing that you had control at the 81st minute?
Yeah, exactly, it’s tough. It’s the cruel part of our sport. You can control all the possession, a couple of freak plays, a guy that can finish like that, it can cost you.
Are there any positives to take away from tonight’s game?
We just have got to turn it around the next game. The good thing is that we have the opportunity at home to play against Salt Lake, get three points there and then close out the week before the World Cup with six of nine points.
COLUMBUS CREW DEFENDER JOSH WILLIAMS
Thoughts on today’s game…
There’s not much positive to come out from this. It was a very winnable game. I guess the one positive is that we’ve got two more games this week to correct this. It was very disappointing and I know the team feels that way. To give up two leads like that, especially with the two goals we had. We gave up a PK and some balls in bad areas. The entire second half was kind of disappointing to me. I felt good about the game coming into the half. At half-time, I felt good about coming out in the second half and being able to take the lead and that’s exactly what happened. Unfortunately we couldn’t hold onto it. Like I said, the good thing is that we get two more chances this week.
Is tonight's loss harder knowing that you were control with nine minutes remaining?
Yes, I’ll take a two-one lead into the 81st minute any day. To come here, its not the easiest place to play and they have a lot of good guys, especially with some of the subs they used, a lot of experienced guys. At the same time I think we panicked a little bit. I think we have enough leadership, we have enough skill, we have enough quality to close out games like that. I think if you ask anyone in the locker room everyone is going to be disappointed with the result. It’s back to the training ground but it’s not really something that you can work on. Everybody needs to look in the mirror and we need to have a little gut check here. We can’t have any more games and disappointments like this. This is strictly between the players. This is something that we’ve got to look at each other and we’ve got to rally around. There is no way this can happen again.
Thoughts on playing against Jermaine Defoe and Gilberto...
Those are quality players. Those guys can strike at any minute and obviously it happened tonight. At the end of the day, I always feel good about our defense. I feel organized, I never really feel threatened, I trust my guys around me and I feel they feel the same way about me. At the same time you’ve got guys like that (Jermaine Defoe and Gilberto) who are ready to pounce on any little thing and unforutnately we had some uncharacteristic slip ups. It’s not one guy, I think the defense as a whole needs to get together and regroup. We’ve got a game Wednesday at home, and I know a lot of supporters will be there, so we’ve got to forget this, put it behind us, come out and be ready Wednesday to get three points.
