Philadelphia Union postgame quotes

John Hackworth

On positive takeaways from this game

“It’s hard to think of positives right now. That performance wasn’t good enough all the way around. I think it gets literally crazy that you don’t even expect what was happening out there. I’m sure we will find some positives when we look back on it but right now it’s a poor, poor performance.”

On whether New England is just that hot or it was poor execution on the Union’s part

“I think it is a combination of things; you gotta give New England credit, they’re a good team. We certainly could look at ourselves more so than anything though and we have to take responsibility for that. It’s tough to play these three games in eight days and come off a Wednesday when you are away and emotional win, you come back. Honestly, no excuses for that.”

On coming out slow after halftime

“There were so many mistakes in the first couple minutes of the second half, it was hard to even watch what was being done out there. It was the opposite of what we talked about at halftime. We thought we were still in the game, we thought that we could get one back in the first 15 minutes of the second half and we thought we would make a game out of it. Clearly that didn’t happen. A couple calls went against us, some interesting calls all night long but that’s not the reason we lost that game.”

On whether or not to worry about defensive depth

“Yeah, I mean you look at it we only made one defensive change from Wednesday night, where we were really good defensively, as a team. But that one change really affected us. Again there’s the fact that guys are playing on tired legs and all those things but defense was really poor and we still tried to play our game but you can’t let in that many chances that easily.”

On getting Zach Pfeffer in the game

“Yeah probably a bright spot or a positive is the fact that Pfeffer came in and he played well. He is a young guy that is doing a great job at the National team with the U20’s. He came on the field and played well for us. That game is wide open as you can get, not the kind of real game that you expect but I think it’s great for Zach and hopefully we can build on that for him.”

On New England’s performance

“Yeah they are good, and they are really good when it matters, in the final third they are exceptional right now. Their speed of play, their combination play, one-touch passing. Lee Nguyen is playing as good as anybody in this League. Again, credit to them, we didn’t deal with it real well but you do gotta give New England a lot credit for how well they’re playing.”

On the frustration on not winning at home

“It’s extremely frustrating. We talk about it all the time that this should be a place where we can dominate teams, where our style with press puts team under a lot of pressure and you saw little glimpses of us trying to do that tonight but we were a step late most of the night and then you can’t do that with a team the quality of New England. Unfortunately the game got away from us so it’s very frustrating that we don’t have that kind of home field advantage right now.”

On whether or not Sheanon Williams will be playing left back more often

“I would have to look at it. Ray Gaddis has played so well and both right and left, Sheanon played really well at left center back on Wednesday night. We thought [Diego] Fagundez vs. Gaddis was a good matchup, we thought Sheanon vs. Teal Bunbury was a good matchup. Clearly we had some problems in other places.”

Danny Cruz

On the result

“It is really frustrating to lose again at home, to give up that many goals… it’s upsetting. We said it on Wednesday and Thursday when I talked to you, Wednesday means nothing if come out and do what we did today. We are unhappy and everyone is frustrated, three games in seven days is frustrating, bodies are tired… it’s not an excuse, it’s the reality. We have to be better.”

On playing well on the road and with the underdog role

“It’s funny, you go on the road and play the underdog role, we embrace that but it’s not good enough at home; it has not been good at home for a while. You can’t come out and give up a goal in the 12th minute against DC and give up a goal in the fifth minute today. We did well to end the first half but we came out in the second half and did the same thing we did on the first half and we were down 3-1. It is not good enough; everybody is upset with the result.”

Sheanon Williams

On today’s game

“Everything they shot was a goal, and it was just simply one of those nights.”

On whether there is a chemistry issue in the backline with all the changes

“I don’t think so, we had to do it out of necessity and we have to deal with it and that is not an excuse. We need to do better.”

Zach Pfeffer

On his minutes tonight

“Every appearance that you get, you have to make the most out of it… especially now that I have not gotten MLS minutes in a while. This was a big opportunity, but it was kind of in disguise; we were not doing well in the game and were down by a lot of goals but it was chance for me to progress and try to help the team.”

On his growth as a player

“I think I have improved a lot in most of the facets of my game. I had a great year in Germany, which helped me a lot, and I need to continue to grow and I need to build on every opportunity that I get… I am happy of where I am at and I need to continue to get some appearances.”

Amobi Okugo

On this game after winning in Kansas City

“That game was not emotional. It was just another game, our backs were against the wall and we got the result… and we come back home where we are supposed to build a fortress and we lose. We gave up five goals at home, it is unbelievable.”

On playing well away as the underdog team

“It will be good to get away, and if we got some results away whether it is against Chivas or the Galaxy we will be able to use that to further improve.”

New England Revolution postgame quotes

Jay Heaps

Thoughts on your performance

“It was an interesting night. I think there were some moments of some really good stuff that we did and the last fifteen minutes we didn’t really love. But, I thought we did some good things. We played some good football, as did they. They came out – give them a lot of credit because they played on Wednesday night a really hard game and they fought back. I thought 2-0 in the first half we took control, but they dug right back in. You can credit them for that.”

On the mobility

“I think we’re moving the ball well and we’re making good passes, breaking a little bit of pressure. We have good fluidity and I think whether it’s Diego (Fagundez) cutting inside or Teal (Bunbury) cutting inside, with the help of (Patrick) Mullins mulling it up, it’s creating a lot of movement. Add in our outside backs Chris Tierney and Darrius Barnes we get fluidity.”

On the bright start to the second half

“That was the big talk at half. We wanted to start the first half well and first ten minutes in the second half to get going. When we came out in the first ten minutes of the second half that was some of the best stuff we’ve had. It was really good all the way around.”

On the goals coming in a variety of ways

“Yeah, I think we’re working hard on set pieces. It’s nice to get the free kick, Chris Tierney’s free kick and Chris Tierney’s assist.”

On being part of a team that has finished their chances this well

“No, I don’t think so. I think that the game was wide open. Both teams could’ve had a chance for more goals. We need to do a better job of closing it up once we get what we need.”

On Brad (Knighton) stepping in…

“Brad was great. The header off Andrew Wenger was a great header and a great save. Late in that game his calming presence was great; stopped Leo Fernandes in the first half and second half save against Ray Gaddis. I had already turned away thinking it was in the upper corner.”

Brad Knighton

On getting the call and stepping in

“You have to be ready when your name’s called. I feel bad for Bobby, it’s unfortunate, but you have to be ready for when your name is called like I said and try and help this team win and make saves. We were fortunate enough to come here and get our first win. We’re just trying to keep this train rolling and maybe people will start believing in us. We still have a ways to go, but there’s a lot of young talent on this team. We’re on the up right now and we’re dangerous to play.”

On his perspective of the game

“Yeah, it was a pretty wide-open game at times, but there was some unbelievable play from us and there was some play that we wish we could have back. I’m sure it was exciting for the fans and everything, but these are the types of games that we need to win. When it’s 5-1 we need to see the game out there and get six or seven, but they had a spill there around the 70th minute and they just kept coming in waves and waves and we need to mature a little bit and recognize that and learn how to weather the storm. But, a lot of guys stepped up tonight, a lot of guys took their chances and we’re going to win a lot of game if people take their chances like that.”

Chris Tierney

Thoughts on performance and coming away with three points…

“It was important. It’s never easy to play here. We knew our record. We’ve never won here at PPL Park, so we’re happy to take the three points – that’s the most important thing. I think we could’ve managed the game a little better down the stretch, but we scored five goals and won the game, so all in all it’s a good day for us.”

On starting strong in the second half

“Yeah, I thought we did some really good stuff and stuff that wasn’t so great. We were clinical when we had our chances and that’s important, especially on the road. I thought the guys took their chances well when they had them. Again, I thought we could’ve managed the game a little better towards the end. Like I said, all in all great result and the start of the second half was definitely important for us.”

On the set pieces working tonight and the significance of that

“Whenever you can get goals on set pieces it’s very important. We work on that a lot and credit to A.J. (Soares). Yeah, it’s important for us to score on set pieces. It gives us a chance to steal goals and steal points.”

Diego Fagundez

Thought on the performance

“It was a tough game, but at the end of the day we all worked hard. We came in with a game plan and everyone accomplished it. From Brad (Knighton) to our forwards I think everyone worked hard.”

On the importance of coming out strong in the second half

“We knew that that third goal was going to be the game-decider. We just wanted to get it before they did. I think everyone worked hard and we were trying to look for it. We got that third goal and it felt a lot better for us. We still have to be better on some of the mistakes we made.”

On being a part of a team that finishes like this the past couple of games

“I was talking to Chris (Tierney) about it and were thinking the last time we scored ten goals in two games. It’s great that we’re all finishing our chances because that’s what wins games.”

You said if you got off the mark you’d keep scoring – this is two weeks in a row

“Yeah, I’m feeling a little confidence and it’s nice I could score one today and get an assist, but as long as the team is scoring. It’s not all about one person. There’s eleven guys that we’re playing. I think this is getting our confidence going for the next game.”

On the incredible run that they’re having

“I wish we can play tomorrow, but our body needs rest. It’s going to be a big game next week and we don’t want to lose on our home field.”