(Ralston) is 100 percent fit but he's had one week's training since November. He'll be on the bench. He's not going to start the game -- he's not ready for that, but we may ease him back in. If the opportunity arises and we can get him some time then we will. |
(The national team players) are exactly where we thought they would be. They've had good training time behind them, and have given everyone else a boost. |
[But the coaches felt he could have hustled back on defense more, which would become a common criticism.] Andy's got great soccer ability, which is why he's been in the league so long, ... It's not that he doesn't work hard, but we have to get guys who will kick and spit and punch to get results. |
[While the Revolution begin the series on the road, they are confident of getting a result - which could then mean they would be at home for the final two games on the way to a possible MLS Cup appearance.] The home-field advantage has been huge the last three years. Against Chicago [in '03] we were well-beaten away; they were the better team and deserved to win, but if we had been at home, maybe the balance could have gone the other way, ... Last year, the crowd was behind D.C. the whole game; we were unlucky not to get through, and the home crowd could have tipped the balance in our favor. |
Andy's got great soccer ability, which is why he's been in the league so long. It's not that he doesn't work hard, but we have to get guys who will kick and spit and punch to get results. |
As far as passion and guys and courage are concerned, this lot's got it in abundance. And that's what won us the game. They are always looking to win and that commitment and togetherness pulled us through again. |
At this stage of the season we are not physically strong enough to play with three at the back. With three guys it's pretty demanding. |
By the second half the ball wasn't getting held up and we definitely benefited from that. |
Defensively we just had a day where we were no good. We've defended well all season. These things happen at certain stages. |
Everybody's dejected, we're sick, we've lost. When the dust settles, we can look back on some success, but it seems pretty insignificant because we lost today. |
For the players it's fantastic that they're doing well. Hopefully, for them, they go to the World Cup. I played in one (in Mexico in 1986) and it's a great experience. For us, it's the same plan, just with different people. The personnel changes and we'll just tweak it to make it suit and to make it work. |
Frankly, it was tough to tell which team was in their pre-season and which one wasn't. |
He did two outstanding things. We wanted Steve (Ralston) on the left. We wanted to get Rally the ball, and we thought Riley was the best to go on the right. |
He has a track record as a full international and comes from one of the top college programs in the country. |
He just turns up every game and wants to score goals. |