Philadelphia Union

John Hackworth

On the team’s feelings after the defeat:

“We’re disappointed, really disappointed with our performance and in particular the way we started that game. I thought it was unacceptable on a lot of levels.”

On D.C. United’s performance:

“I give full credit to D.C. They were good tonight. We knew they were going to come and bring it. At the same time, I don’t think we brought our best, certainly not at the start of that game, and we’ve got to know that we’re not that good that we can do that. We’ve got to play from the opening whistle to the final whistle, and when we don’t we’ve shown that we can come back in a game. We’ve seen how much energy we’ve put into the second half, but it’s not good enough to start like that.”

On the substitution of Don Anding:

“We asked Don [Anding] to come on and give us some energy, and at that point we’d done a good job of at least controlling the game in the second half a little bit and getting ourselves back and being successful in it. He came on, and had a good touch to help Jack [McInerney] get the goal. He’s got great pace and athleticism, and he just needs more game time to develop.”

On the substitution of Leo Fernandes in the second half:

“I was just saying ‘There’s a great opportunity Leo. You’re coming in, you’ve got a full house to show what you can do.’ This is a game that’s real in every possible way. It’s a win or go home kind of situation, and it was a great opportunity for him.

On Dwayne De Rosario:

“I’ve known DeRo for a long time, and he’s a fantastic player. There’s a reason he was MVP of this league and he has that ability. We knew that they had a lot of dangerous players. This is a team that was one of the best in the league last year so despite their start they have a lot of weapons. We knew we had to contain guys like DeRo and [Chris] Pontius and for whatever reason we didn’t do that, although I kind of think we gifted DeRo a couple there.”

On if the team was complacent:

“Yes, it is [complacency]. I don’t know if I’d call it complacency, but to put my finger on it I’d need a little bit of time to get away from it and to look back at the tape. It wasn’t good enough. Our start and our mentality, which was so good against Columbus, was equally as bad tonight.”

On whether the friendly vs. Harrisburg will help solve issues:

“A little bit, but we’ll use that as another training opportunity, for guys to get a look against Harrisburg. We need these kind of games, the real kind of games to make sure we’re playing at a consistent level.”

The impact of the Union’s young players:

“It’s great, you see a lot of young guys that want to play, that want to compete, and you see that they raised the level of the game and of our team when they came onto the field. It was fantastic, that’s all you can ask for.”

On problems with D.C. United, the pitch:

“We certainly had a little trouble. Guys were complaining about the field being really hard, really fast, it being a difficult surface to play on. D.C. definitely pressed us really high, and in a normal situation we’re able to play through and create opportunities, but tonight we couldn’t do that.”

On how to improve for the next game:

“We’ve just got to keep hammering away. We’re only as good as our performance when we get all guys on the field working together. Because I think that’s it. It’s not like every guy who stepped on the field to start the game didn’t bring it. There were guys who were working really hard and doing the work of two guys out there, so we’ve just got to know that every single game and whatever role our players are asked to play, they have to do it.”

Amobi Okugo

On tonight’s loss:

“It’s just tough, because we really want the Open Cup. It’s a tournament where if you just have a good streak you get us a berth into the CONCACAF Champions League game. We didn’t bring as much effort as we did against Columbus, we weren’t consistent. We just have to take these next few days off and then come out against New York, because the playoffs are a tight competitive race right now. One loss, you go back to seventh place, one win and you’re up to third. We know what we have to do, we have to stay consistent, and we have to wake up from the beginning whistle.”

On what the team needs to focus on:

“Just to be consistent. Start from the get-go, you know? Not trying to be a goal down to wake ourselves up. Have a mindset right from the opening whistle to just start right.”

Don Anding

On whether he was prepared to play forward tonight:

“We were down, trying to bring some energy to the game. I had a feeling, so I was prepared for it [to play forward].”

On practicing as a defender, but playing as a forward today:

“When I’m here, with Philly, I’m more defensive, yeah. But, when I’ve been going to Harrisburg, I’ve been playing up top a lot—sort of been getting my rhythm back. It wasn’t overly difficult to get used to it. I felt pretty comfortable there.”

On playing forward with Antoine Hoppenot:

“That’s just the kind of style that I love playing. I love getting behind. So playing there with Jack [McInerney] and Antoine [Hoppenot] and those guys up top, it just feels good, and it feels comfortable up there.”

On his style of play:

“I’ve always worked hard and put the work in, and you’ll get good results from it. That’s what I tried to do tonight. Unfortunately, we went down a goal. I felt comfortable and that’s what we’re trying to do—bring that speed and that work ethic.”

On coming on as a sub:

“When we come in, we’re trying to bring energy and trying to get them to come back to life. We offered them as many opportunities to get the ball from them as possible and try to open things up a little bit. I think the subs today did that very well. We kind of got the game going our way a little in the second half.”

On going against Nick DeLeon:

“There was a small mention of ‘run at him’ because he isn’t normally very comfortable there. That’s what I tried to do the first time I got the ball, and it worked. So, that’s what I did for the rest of the fifteen minutes I was there.”

On whether he thinks his performance showed his coaches anything:

“I hope so. I just tried to work hard, and I think that’s what they expected out of me. So, hopefully that’s what they saw out of me today.”

DC United

Ben Olsen

Thoughts on the game and its wider impact:

“We’re healthy, finally, and it’s a good vibe right now. There’s a silent confidence about us that we can get out of this thing and now’s the time. It’s nice to be continuing in the Cup, but we need to start performing in this way in the regular season, and that starts this weekend against Toronto. We’re banged up, we put a lot into this game, so we’re going to have to piecemeal something together for the weekend and try and draw on our resolve against Toronto.”

On who impressed him tonight:

“I thought Dwayne [De Rosario] was an absolute star. The guy’s a winner. He’s been through a lot, I’ve been through a lot, and he responded tonight the way you expect a guy like Dwayne to respond. So that’s a positive sign. Taylor Kemp – I thought his first start [in Open Cup] was very bright. The backs played well, and I thought we moved the ball around very well. Our rhythm was better. JT [John Thorrington] helped enormously. He’s a key threat and a guy we’ve been waiting for, that type of midfielder is what we’ve been missing all year, so hopefully we can continue to keep him healthy and keep him on the field.”

On Chris Pontius’ injury:

“He told me he didn’t have a concussion, but I’m not buying it for a second. He didn’t look so hot, so we’ll get all the testing done and see where he’s at.”

On Nick DeLeon playing at right fullback:

“Nick’s a guy I feel comfortable playing anywhere on the field. It’s the type of kid he is. [Lionard] Pajoy – I thought came in and did a good job. B-Mac’s [Brandon McDonald’s] been out of the fold, but he came in and helped solidify some things. So, overall I’m very happy with the side and the performance, but we’ve got to get ready for this weekend because the League situation is, as I’ve said before, pretty dire.”

On the work of Casey Townsend:

“I thought Casey was very good up top. His movement and his strength were good. I wish he could have been more rewarded for his performance, and rewarded with a goal. The work he did tonight was very good.”

Dwayne De Rosario

On the team’s performance

I think we worked hard. We’ve been working hard all year, to be honest. It was really nice to get that win, and that was the most important thing.

On his hat-trick:

“It felt really good just to get the first one, but it comes from the work behind me. I think JT [John Thorrington] and the other guys did a fantastic job of holding down the middle, giving me balls and releasing me into places where I’m dangerous. The wingers did a great job of stretching them, and we kept the field big and the pitch was nice to play on.”

On his relationship with Ben Olsen:

“I’m passionate, there’s blood in my veins – you saw that tonight. I just want the best, and I don’t settle for anything less. And sometimes, you’re going to bump heads when things aren’t going your way. I have a strong personality. Like I said, I’m passionate, and he [Ben Olsen] has a strong personality too, so we’re going to bump heads. But at the end of the day, my job is to go out there and do the best job I can to help this team, and thankfully I was able to do that tonight.”

On the difference between tonight and other games:

“Getting in the right areas. I was able to get some good balls to the top of the 18, some good lay-offs for others to run onto and get myself in good areas, which was good and that helped. Of course, that comes from the work-rate. Casey [Townsend] did a great job up top, Sainey [Nyassi] did a great job chasing the ball, Chris [Pontius] coming in the inside and tucking in, playing that one-two whether he meant to do it or not, I don’t know. It’s the movement off the ball that really made the difference tonight.”

On the impact of tonight’s win for the League and U.S. Open Cup:

“It’s huge. It’s a Cup game, of course, and we want to win everything that we play in. Hopefully now we can take this and carry it into the League.”