Photo: Paul Rudderow. Video: Daniel Gajdamowicz

John Hackworth’s postgame press conference

Postgame locker room interviews with Leo Fernandes, Jack McInerney and Brian Carroll.

Philadelphia Union postgame quotes

Team Manager John Hackworth

Opening statement

First off congratulations to Ocean City. They played a really good game tonight, more than worthy opponent and made it really hard on us. So hats off to them. Wish them all the best in PDL going forward. From our end, not exactly how you draw it up but these games are tough. You are going to have battles. It is the March Madness of the US Soccer world if you will. So these games are always hard. We showed a lot of character especially after giving up a late goal to come back that way.

On making a run in the tournament again this year

We hope so, for sure. This is one of the goals we have put out for our club. You can tell by our starting lineup that we took this very seriously. There was no thought that was ever going to be an easy game for us.

On playing D.C. United for the third straight year

That’s a tough place to play. Everybody who has been there in the last couple years has seen that it is always a battle. I knew they were going into PKs when I got in here but that is going to be a crazy game, very emotional for both clubs.

On Leo Fernandes’ performance

I thought he was good. Out of all the performances we gave tonight I think Leo was one of the very bright spots because he got this opportunity because he earned it. It wasn’t me trying to throw a bone to anybody and say “Hey this is Open Cup so I am going to start a rookie” this was literally…Leo we felt was our best option especially coming off Montreal with some tired legs with Kleberson, Michael Farfan and what not. So his performance tonight was excellent.

On playing the same back four as in Montreal

The thought process is that this is an event, this is a tournament that is very important to this club and we are going to put our best lineup to try to ensure that we are successful. As a staff we talked about it but it really wasn’t, from any of the coaches, any feeling that we should put out anything but our best lineup.

On the team’s performance after just two days of rest

Good but certainly you could tell some guys were heavy. We did a regeneration session in Montreal, had a training session yesterday. Did everything possible, scientifically, we could do to get us back and I would say pretty good. You look at a guy like Brian Carroll who did an incredible amount of work tonight as always and scores the game winner at the end.

On Jeff Parke playing on wet grass

We were very cautious with Jeff so we brought him back very slowly. He was 100 percent going into Montreal, he was 100 percent… he felt ready and no problem in training, no problem in recovery so that wasn’t even a thought for us.

On whether or not they were frustrated after the first half

Yeah I think all of us were. You go into these games knowing that you are going to get the maximum effort from your opponent. It is frustrating and it is not easy, they didn’t drop their line off tremendously, put a lot of guys behind the ball. So it meant that one of our guys had to make a play and we had to do it at a speed and a tempo with the ball that was going to beat their energy, their commitment, and we didn’t do that in the first half for sure.

On giving up the game tying goal and how the Union responded

I couldn’t believe we gave it up. I thought it was a little bit of a …well it was a silly foul. We talked about, yesterday and today, that the only way we thought we would give it up is if we made some mistakes, gave up restarts, weren’t going on the counterattack that we were on Saturday night. For the most we did those things well.

Brian Carroll

On his late winner

Timely…(Sebastian Le Toux) puts it in the right spot, and I just have to get my head on it. It finds the back post, and trickles its way in. I’m happy for the group; we’re advancing. We value this tournament, and we really want to put our best foot forward.

On the Union remaining calm after Ocean City equalized late in the match

There’s still four or five minutes left. We’re just trying to put the ball down in play—maybe you get one, maybe you don’t, but at least you put it back on your terms, and we were able to get one before overtime.

His overall reaction to Ocean City’s game-tying goal

Just happy we got the goal. We’ve had a lot of games recently, so going into overtime is maybe not something we would have preferred to do. Luckily we got that goal. It was timely, and we’re moving on. Survive and advance.

On traveling to Boyds, Maryland to face D.C. United at the SoccerPlex for the third consecutive season

It always seems to go through that field. They’re going to be a good opponent; the Open Cup is always a battle. Against DC, it’s always an extra rivalry, an extra heated match. We expect their best, and we’re going to have to bring our best.

On if the Union have an advantage from playing in Boyds twice and winning last year

In the back of our mind, we have that little bit of extra confidence, but we know how difficult this tournament is and how difficult it is going to be against them, so we have to be ready.

Zac MacMath

On the game-tying goal in the 90th minute

It was a tough one. Good ball in by their guy there, and I kind of got lost, got my feet taken from under me a little bit. I didn’t get a good push off on the ball, and I didn’t make contact with it, obviously.

On Brian Carroll’s winner

Obviously, it’s a big goal from Brian. I think the guys were a little bit tired, and going to overtime would have been tough, especially against a team that just picked up all of the momentum there in the 90th minute. I think everyone here is very thankful for Brian’s goal.

On the match being relatively quiet until the late flurry

I thought the team was pretty solid defensively. They’re obviously a good team, they had a lot of athletic guys. We contained them pretty well. I think that in the first half, we were a little sloppy, and in the second half, we really picked it up. When you leave a game 1-0 for 90 minutes, it can go down to the wire like it did. I think if we had put a few goals in earlier on, the game’s a lot different.

On traveling to Boyds, Maryland for the third season in a row

We enjoy it. We’re excited to play DC again, and obviously it’s a big rivalry for us. The Open Cup has become a big rivalry for us with them. We’re all looking forward to it, and I think it will be a good game.

On the wild nature of previous Open Cup games against DC United

I think it’s a bit of a coincidence, but you know, it kind of has a different atmosphere in a smaller stadium, at the SoccerPlex there. The crowd gets into it, their fans come down, their fans are up there, so it’s a little bit of a different feeling than being in a big stadium, and I think that makes a little bit of a difference. I think it’s an important tournament to both teams, and I think it’ll be more important to them, obviously, because of their record in the league. We have to come in with the mentality that it’s a league game, and it’s a game that we have to win.

On if he expected Ocean City to play a counter-attacking style

We had a little bit of intel on their game plan. We had seen some of their games, and read the reports that they had a lot of fast guys up top, and they tried to play through them a lot. They tried to do that, and most of the time, we did a good job containing them.

On the league match against Toronto later this week

It’s going to be a tough game. I think Toronto is on a four- or five-game losing streak, and I think we should have had three points against Toronto when we played them a couple weeks ago here at PPL. I think it’s a big game for both teams, and I think the team is going to prepare very meticulously and be ready for the game.

On if the Union have a chip on their shoulder after allowing five goals to Montreal

We like to say that you can forget about those games, but obviously it’s in the back of your mind. We gave up nine goals in three games, and that’s unacceptable on any level. We know that we’re a team that can be really good defensively, and that’s something that we have to do week in and week out.

Leo Fernandes

On earning the start tonight

It shows that (John Hackworth) is noticing that I’m working hard at practice. It’s just good to play tonight and to get the victory.

On if he was surprised to see his name in the lineup

I was a little surprised, but as soon as I saw my name, I just prepared mentally and everything. I’m just glad we got the victory.

On what John Hackworth said to the team about the Open Cup and this match

Well, he talked to us about how this game is just as important as any other, and we know we cannot take any game lightly, especially because we want to win this cup.

On if it has been difficult to remain patient and wait for his opportunity to play

It hasn’t been really hard. It’s just that there are so many good players, so it’s all about working really hard and trying to earn a spot. Just being able to play soccer everyday is already a blessing.

Ocean City Nor’easters postgame quotes

Head Coach Tim Oswald

Thoughts on the game

Every club wants to win the US Open Cup and they will get their best 11 at every game. We said that we had to play hard no matter what. When we saw the quality they were putting out there we knew the game was for real. And its 11 v 11 for 90 minutes and anything could happen. Just try to find a special moment. There is going to be more confidence on the team for our next matches for the PDL.

It would have been great to host the game, but it was a great opportunity for some of the guys to play in a MLS stadium

Duke Lacroix

Thoughts on the game

It was a great atmosphere. We had to get over quickly the first ten seconds of the game. After that you don’t hear the crowd. Scoring in this field and the crowd was amazing. It’s always nice to score and hear the boos. We tried to keep it professional, the coaches the staff made a great job. I haven’t had the opportunity to play for the Union but I like to think that Ocean City keeps it professional wherever we play. I had a couple friends in the crowd and it was great seeing them. Specially so near my university (attends University of Penn).