Jim Curtin
Thoughts on the game
I thought the first half we were organized, we created some chances, had the one break away off the punt. Turned out to be a one-play game like it often is in this building. Houston made a play, to their credit, and they get the goal, and they did a good job pushing to get the second. It was an even game, I thought, but, at the end of the day, unfortunately, we walk out of here with nothing, so it’s disappointing.
On second half adjustments
At the half, we were happy with how it was going. We were organized, we took the game to them a little bit and in the first half had some chances, especially in the first five, ten minutes of the game. Didn’t get a goal. Would have liked to have been a little better in the second half but Houston is fighting to get back in the playoff picture, so they’re going to come with their best punch, and they brought that tonight. I thought we held up well for a little while, would have liked to have gotten the first goal, but we didn’t. We’ll have to regroup and get back on track. We have seven of our last ten at home now, so it’s positive in that regard.
Andre Blake
Thoughts on the game
It was a pretty tough game. Hat off to Houston, they came out and fought. We did our best, it’s just unfortunate. We hung on in the first half , we were doing pretty good. Second half we came out working hard, trying to put passes together, doing pretty good. It’s just unfortunate that we lost by two goals.
On getting first MLS start
It’s a great feeling, it’s just unfortunate that I didn’t walk away with a win or a tie. But, you just got to go back to the drawing board and keep working.
On the play when you stopped Will Bruin twice and Mo slid back to cover
It’s teamwork. I thought I would not be able to get to the ball before him so I just stood my ground and I tried to hold him up as much as possible so my teammates could recover, and then we just worked together to make the play.
Would it make you feel good if you were told you were the most valuable player
Yeah, it would, but at the end of the day, we all want to win.
Pedro Ribeiro
Thoughts on the game
Definitely happy about the debut, first game, an MLS game, so was thrilled about that. Definitely not happy with the result, even though we came from three tough games in the last week, and most of the guys were pretty tired and everything. No excuse — that’s not an excuse though. Tough to play against a very good Houston team in a great atmosphere, a tough place to play. I’m pretty happy with the team performance. We tried, we fought, we fought very hard. Just, of course, upset with the final result.
Was the scoreline reflective of the game?
I don’t think so. I think we played a pretty decent first half. We had opportunities—a couple in the first half, a couple in the second half. They scored a good first goal, the second goal was very unlucky, the deflection inside the box. Andre was coming out for that ball and is definitely going to make that save. But, I feel like they did their job, they put away their opportunities and we didn’t do it so, they deserved to win. But I feel like maybe a 1-0, maybe a tie would have been a more fair result.
Houston Dynamo postgame quotes
Dominic Kinnear
How big is it to start the final third of the season with this victory?
We talked about that heading into the game, you have got to know where you are in the standings and with this game we were pulled two [points] short of Philadelphia and we’ve bounced past Chicago and we have a game in hand on a couple teams. It’s nice to go into the weekend with win and watch and see what happens so when you step on the training field on Monday you have a good idea of what’s going on. I think it’s hard for us because we go to Kansas City, we go to Columbus, but we need wins on the road too. It’s a great win for the guys on a hot, muggy, steamy night and it was a great goal. We could have added more but to get the win is a good thing, I think we deserved it and all credit to the guys for sticking to it and getting two goals. Getting two goals at the end is a sigh of relief and I think the guys really enjoyed it.
On the attacking sequences tonight
I thought we were inches away in the first half from scoring, whether it was a through pass, a touch or maybe just we weren’t pulling the trigger at times. I told the guys at halftime, play simple, play quickly, we’re inches away and just keep believing. Great run by Giles, good run by Brad and Will’s run to pull away to get at the end of it is fantastic and sometimes it’s the extra effort you need to win games and that was the game winner.
Tally Hall
On the importance of the win
Three points are really important and we’re at home against a team we think we should beat, so to go on the field and perform and to get the result is big. We’re looking to go on a bit of a run, we don’t have any more time to waste so we need to start the end of the season like that.
Will Bruin
On the team’s standing
We are not a team that should have 25 points. I think we’re a really good team and we can beat anybody on any given day. We have all the right pieces at all the right positions and it’s time to put it all together. It’s enough messing around, enough saying ‘oh next time, next time.’ I think we’ve realized it’s now or never and we’re playing like every game’s a must-win.
On the play of the defense
Whenever you keep the opposing team at zero you give yourself a good chance at three points. It’s a great response by the team to come out and get a two-nothing win. I thought the first half was a little sloppy and we were trying to force it a little too much. We knew they were going to be tired and we I think we were trying to force it down the middle. We came in and had a good talk in the locker room and said we would have a lot of the ball, be smart with possession and when we go we’ve got to go.
Brad Davis
On the team’s performances of late
I think the past three weeks we’ve played some good soccer and have created a lot of chances, to be fair, and we just weren’t able to put the ball in the back of the net.
On the team’s mentality in attack
Tonight we just felt that, especially tonight, it was going to open up and we kept creating chances. We were a bit frustrated coming in at half, coming and not being able score a goal but we kept with it. We kept a good mentality, got ourselves a goal and then a second. All around I think it was a good night for us.
On the team’s confidence lately
I think there’s a new-found confidence there. I think we’ve been encouraged by what we’ve been doing. We’ve been losing games but we’re playing better than we were. I don’t think we were putting together some very good games. There were some games we didn’t deserve to win but the past few weeks I think we’ve played some very good ball. I think we definitely are deserved of the last two wins we’ve had in three games. We’re climbing the table. Everybody but Montreal is above us. There’s really nothing for us to hold back. There’s nothing to lose. We know where we sit so we have to start climbing the table and win games. To do that you have to have a bit of confidence and the belief we can win games and I think we’ve done that.
It was an even game? Curtain seriously said that with straight face? That’s delusional. The Union were in serious trouble for the entire second half.
Is anyone else concerned about Nogs and his turnovers? He was especially charitable last night but I’ve noticed his give aways increasing for the last 3 games or so. I appreciate his hustle. He’s everywhere but man it’s nearly automatic now that a pass to him is the same as a pass to the other team. Blake made a few rookie mistakes but I can see why so many people think his up side has no limits. Lightning quick and that long outlet punt to LeToux was right on the money.
Rob…same concern. Not only has the amount of turnovers increased but the duration he holds on to the ball results in a forced turnover or having the ball stripped. However, I do attribute his recent “way” to fatigue?
we faded after the first half because everyone was dog tired. nogueira was making so many bad passes because he was not only tired but also playing in a poorly constructed midfield
Thinking it’s the fact that he’s playing more of an advanced role since Chaco’s been hurt. Nogs is now facing bigger dudes that are muscling him off the ball more frequently. Chaco’s return will move Nogs back and all should be back to normal……….I hope.
Much prefer JC say, “This stretch of the schedule caught up with us so we tried a few new guys but -understandably – we were out of sync and didn’t play so well. Blake bailed us out several times, like Zac has all year. We have things to fix if we’re going to win and hoist the Open Cup and make the playoffs. We’ll get to work on them Monday.” Because the rose colored glasses Hackworth left in the desk fit Curtin lately much too well for comfort.
Can you blame him? JC’s been golden since taking over. Almost everything he’s tried has worked to a certain extent. Just look at his record.
How much is JC & how much is luck? The last 3 were just as close to 0-2-1 as 2-1. If he wants to BS us, fine. If he BSs himself, not. This level of play (saves = 3 × shots on goal) won’t make 2d/3d place – his target. Be real with team & FO. Luck runs out.
Someone a few days ago was wondering about Leo Fernandes. Just saw a twitter posting on the City Islanders site about their game in Orlando that mentions him as playing, Pfeffer, too.
JC’s interim tag is as high as he should go titlewise for now. If the Union are going to be all they can be they’ll need someone who can challenge and out coach opponents. It’s not all his falt though. If Sak is being honest then the Union will have to stop relying on unskilled borderline MLS players or be consistently forced to play players out of position because they aren’t that deep. They have bodies but the skill drop off is undeniable. Forcing Nogs to run the offense is making him ineffective. If you can’t bring in someone adequate enough to step in for Maidana then you really aren’t a team with depth. There are also 2-3 players who have been taking up space on the roster way to long.
2 of my 3 – BC & Fabinho – had better than average game Friday. Still do we know who’s calling the roster shots? Ribeiro was clearly an emergency call up. Does he return now? Has JC chosen to keep the rookies at HCI? Has he been asked? Important to know whose (bad) judgment is responsible.