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Mike and Greg’s postgame wrap

Philadelphia Union postgame quotes

Note: Philadelphia Union quotes transcribed by PSP, all other quotes provided. Questions have been paraphrased.

Opening Statement

Always difficult to give up restart goals, so disappointed from that standpoint. But still, a lot of really strong performances from our guys, just couldn’t get that second goal in the second half. I thought we earned it; I think the Fabian [Herbers] one is a PK, but didn’t go our way tonight in that regard. Created enough chances to get that second goal, didn’t get it, but at the same time a lot of really strong games from guys and, again, now we have to take the positives from it. It’s obviously disappointing to drop points late, we get to the 85th minute and we should close out the game, no question about it.

It’s not problems in the run of play, it’s restarts. Same thing in the few games we’ve dropped points from when we were ahead now: San Jose, in D.C., and this one now is the third one. They’re from corner kicks, which is difficult because in the run of play we’re still very tough to break down. I thought our guys did a good job on the night limiting their chances. We’ll learn from it, we’ll watch the tape, but yeah, difficult way to end it because the guys put so much in it. Everybody’s disappointed. We know we have three tough games now on the road, and we’ll have to get points on the road.

On keeping the players grounded with the string of three road games ahead

Yeah, I mean, it’s going to be difficult. We’ve had a good eye on those three games going on the road, we knew it would be a challenge. At the same time, we’ve proven we can win on the road, we can get points on the road. You can see now in this league when some of the teams at the bottom are desperate and they’re fighting for points there are no easy games home or away in this league, so we know we have a challenge ahead of us. We want to go into those final two home games being in the playoffs and then go from there and try and work our way up in terms of seeding.

When Montreal scored the tying goal, did you think about calling the third sub?

At that point, our back four is doing a great job so I’m not changing any of those guys. I thought Warren [Creavalle] was excellent on the night. [Alejandro] Bedoya did a great job. Again, we made attack-minded subs because that’s what we are, we are a team that attacks and scores goals. So, again, if you think about it, I wasn’t going to change the back four, I didn’t want to change the two defensive midfielders. We made a tweak to get Roland [Alberg] on the field with some fresh legs and maybe get him on the ball and slow us down and draw some fouls. For the most part, it worked but, again, on a dead ball situation we got beat. We had chances to close it out. But, yeah, you could argue throw Charlie [Davies] out there but, at the same time, with that then you lose [CJ] Sapong tight on restarts. So a lot of variables go into it. When coaches get it right, no one says anything, and when it goes like this we get questions. That’s part of my job.

On Warren Creavalle’s role when Maurice Edu gets back

Yeah, Warren was great. Maurice [Edu] is working hard to come back. I thought Warren had a really strong game tonight – connected passes, did a good job getting us from one side to the other, broke up a ton of plays defensively, has a great engine — so I’m happy with him. Mo is still playing tonight, we’ll obviously watch a tape of that and then we’ll assess it, but he’s not yet in the 18 for us so I’m not too worried or concerned with him. [Editor’s note: Edu started and played the full 90 in Bethlehem Steel’s 2-1 road loss to Charleston Battery on Saturday night.] We have Brian Carroll coming back strong now, as well, and Warren had a good performance so, at this point, I can say that I’m very confident putting Warren out there home or away to win a game.

On how well do you think you guys did handling the threats of Didier Drogba and Ignacio Piatti?

I would say well. Piatti is going to get chances; he’s a great player, he’s not a guy you can shut down for 90 minutes. But for the most part, I thought he had some joy in the first half, but Keegan [Rosenberry] stepped up in the second half and closed him down a bit. I thought Josh Yaro was excellent on the night dealing with Drogba , who is a handful, a big, strong guy. I think for two young guys to go against two top players in our league, I thought they passed and, again, it comes down to a short restart where it gets clipped to the back post, there’s a scramble for it, and we almost get a foot to it, it doesn’t go our way. I thought even on the corner kick before where [Laurent] Ciman gets the header, I think it deflects and then there’s an instance where I think if we’re a little more alert, maybe we can clear it up the field. And it leads to a second corner and then from there they make a play. Again, it’s tough to close out games, it’s tough to win games in this league, and we came up a little bit short.

When Drogba, Harrison Shipp, and Dominic Oduro entered the match were there any tactical shifts?

Once Drogba comes on, you know it’s going to be two forwards. You know what he’s about: he’s gonna hold balls up, he’s gonna win flicks; I thought our center backs adjusted on the fly. We talked with Ale [Bedoya] about protecting and kind of shielding the center backs and cutting off passes into Drogba’s feet, and they did that, they did that well. I don’t think in the run of play that they killed us with anything, it was just…we wish we could’ve got the second goal. That’s the best defense. If we get a second goal, like we deserved, the game’s over and everybody’s a lot more happy. But, at the same time we can still learn from the tough moments. Giving up late goals, it’s tough.

On Tranquillo Barnetta’s form this season

Yeah, he’s a great player. He’s a top player, he’s been excellent for us all season. He wants to win so bad, he is the most competitive guy in the team, and he’s upset we dropped points tonight. He scored a great goal and bailed us out in what wasn’t our best first half, but big players step up in the big moments and I know he’s got more moments like that in him down the stretch. Because we’re going to need him, one of the top No. 10’s in our league, does a great job for us offensively and defensively, and has been an exceptional player. When all is said and done and the awards and all that come out he should be involved. And if he’s not, then it’s just people that don’t really know how to watch a game because he does everything on the field for us.

On CJ Sapong’s performance?

Not his best night. I think he got fouled a few times and a call or two could have gone his way. He still put in the work and, again, with CJ he fights for everything, he sets the line defensively for us. Would you like to maybe have him see Fabian on the outside and slip him in on the one play in the beginning of the second half to get that second goal? Sure, but he went for it. And again, you can’t fault a striker for going for goal. But, again, he gives me everything, he worked his tail off again. I think some of the bounces will start to go his way soon here and he’ll get on the end of some crosses and get going again in terms of goals. But he does a lot of little things that maybe don’t show up in the stat sheet: fighting for things on corner kicks offensively and defensively. So, not his best night but, at the same time, still gave a lot.

On the importance of Barnetta shooting, the space he creates?

It keeps the defense honest. I think they have to respect that he can shoot from distance and step out. We’re still not a team that scores a ton of goals outside the box. I think league-wide the percentage of goals scored outside the box is pretty low, so it takes a special effort like the one he hit tonight. So, again, now the next time — obviously, teams watch tape — they’ll see that Quillo will shoot from distance and then maybe they do step out and then you can slip a ball to CJ, or Chris [Pontius], or Fabian [Herbers] and get us a goal that way. So it does keep the defenses honest and it is another tool in his arsenal of weapons.

On getting yourself into a successful run with five matches left

We’re playing well, which is good, that’s the first and foremost. We’ve put together some good performances. Again, Chicago was disappointing, but we still had some good moments in the game. If you look back before then, you think about some of the results that we got on the road in some difficult places to play. So, we know that every point matters. Everybody’s going to kind of pick and take points from each other down the stretch as you see some of the matchups and the game. So, even a point tonight, while disappointing, is still a big point. Every point’s going to matter down the stretch. Again, three games on the road is tough, but we can win on the road and we know we have two games to finish the season against two good teams in Orlando and New York Red Bulls. So, we’re in a good spot right now – we’re not chasing it. We have to win a few more games and we’ll be in a good spot to make a run in the playoffs.

Postgame comments from Keegan Rosenberry, Tranquillo Barnetta, Yoshua Yaro and Alejandro Bedoya

Keegan Rosenberry

On how tough was that to stomach?

Yeah, it’s never easy, especially when you feel like you’ve earned the points. I felt like we played well enough to take all three, but that’s the way the game goes sometimes. It’s going to be about how we respond.

On the equalizer

It’s hard to say. I’ll have to watch it back, for sure, just to break it down a little bit. We’ve been good all year on set pieces and winning our battles individually and stuff so. The hardest part about that is when there are second balls and when they pinball around a little bit. Again, I’ll have to look at it but it’s a team, we conceded as a team, it’s nobody individually.

Does it hurt that the team wasn’t able to concert chances when you were up 1-0?

Yeah, I think for sure, it always does because the first thing you look at whenever you tie or lose points is what we could have done better, where we could have taken our chances. But I think that’s every game, you know, even when we do win 2-nothing or 2-1, or whatever it is, it’s like, “When could we have gotten that insurance goal or put one more away, or taken the ball to the corner.” So, I think that’s with every game it just, again, hurts a little more whenever we give up points.

On the challenge of defending Piatti

I think its best whenever we do it as a team, when we have some help out there.  Obviously, I get isolated, or he isolates guys, that’s what he does well, and that’s his strength. But, credit to everybody, I think. We knew who their special players are and we did our best to limit their impact on the game. But, it’s always a challenge, and they’re going to make their plays. It’s just if we can limit those plays.

On changing defensive strategy in the game as subs come in

Maybe just a little bit as the game wore on as we try and close out the game and earn those three points. It doesn’t necessarily mean as much about the personnel as it does just trying to manage the game as the clock winds down. But, you know, again, whatever you want to say, whether it was the personnel or how we manage the game at the end, it’s still points lost as opposed to one point gained.

Tranquillo Barnetta

Opening statement

We had to close down the game earlier, just make the second goal and it’s over because they [didn’t] have really big chances, just long balls. It’s hard to get the last goal, it was a corner, because we have to be ready at a place like this.

How important was it to earn all three points with three tough road games in a row coming up?

I’m not scared about the road trips, just how we played tonight, I think it was a good game after a slow start. Luckily we had [Andre] Blake in there and he had some great saves. And after with the 1-0 before halftime was perfect. Then we started better the second half and had a couple of opportunities and we have to have this killer instinct to just finish a game like this.

On his goal

Yeah, I decided…Like, I saw the two defenders, I decided early to try to pass them and shoot and, luckily, it was right in the corner and, yeah, I was happy that I scored.

How frustrating was not getting the penalty call, not being able to get that second goal?

Yeah, I mean, I didn’t see the situation there with [Fabian] Herbers but in the game it looked like another PK and it’s just hard [not to] get these calls. But, at the end, we had two or three more good chances that we just have to score and then the game is over.

Josh Yaro

Opening statement

This is the third time we’ve played them this season, and every time you play a player, or you watch some of the other games they play in, you can see some tendencies and how they operate and all that. We’ve also gained the confidence that we can play with anyone, and Jim keeps saying over and over again, “You respect a player but you don’t fear them.” That’s the mentality that we’ve had through the season and going forward. So, collectively, we just try to defend as a group, and as a team. I go out the same way as I go out against anyone: If you didn’t do your job well to defend you’re going to get beat. and that’s the way I try to defend anyone in this league.

Does the result hurt more knowing the team managed to keep Piatti and Drogba largely quiet in the second half?

Yeah, I mean, it’s always tough when you’re playing at home and you’re winning and we give up a goal that late. And I think on a night like this where we came out and we’re expecting to take all three points, it’s a tough one to swallow. I think most of their key players today, we kept them quiet, and we did a good job of defending collectively. It’s tough but, as always, it’s in the past and you just look forward to the next game and how we can strategize and then get the most points and move on and go into the playoffs as well as we can.

What did you see on the Montreal goal?

What did I see on the Montreal goal? Just that it was a short corner and the guy hit it in and we’re trying to move our line up. Blake was tying to make a save but unfortunately couldn’t. Again, it’s tough one, especially when you concede on a set piece. You just gotta move on.

Alejandro Bedoya

On the match tonight

It’s one of those games that really stings, you know, it kind of feels like a loss. You come off the field real deflated, but hey, it’s the playoff push. We just gotta keep our heads up and stay strong and stick together and get as many points now as we can for the rest of the games before the playoffs.

Did you ever have a three-game road swing like this when you played in Europe?

Ha, no. I mean, all this travelling is tiring. I was exhausted the last 15 minutes, I was really tired but it’s part of the game, you know, the travelling [with the USMNT] and coming back here in Philly. But, no, I think the game,we kind of threw it away at the end, you know? It’s one of those games we weren’t clinical enough in front of goal, where we created a bunch of chances. They had a few chances, as well, but I think we just weren’t clinical enough in the attacking third and that cost us the game. And, again, you can’t let a good team stick around and they stick one late.

On maintaining your composure as the game gets more physical and you’re not getting the calls

Yeah, I mean, that’s part of i[the game], I think, in this league especially. I’m getting used to it a little bit, but they allow the physical play, and that’s fine. I don’t think this game…I think there’s other games where maybe you could blame the ref, or a call or something that didn’t go your way. I think people were talking about maybe the Fabian situation could’ve been a penalty, but I think this game was just up to us, you know? We let ourselves down. We weren’t clinical enough in front of goal. We had chances and we didn’t put it away when we should’ve put the game away; 2-0 and the other team would’ve been depleted. I know for sure they would’ve put their heads down if we would’ve scored another one, and we just didn’t do that. We let them stick around and that’s what happens.

On the importance of Tranquillo Barnetta

Yeah, I mean, “Tranquillo” in Spanish is what, “calm,” right? I can play a lot more calm with him in front of me and I know I just try to get him the ball as much as I can and let him do his thing. I think he’s a great player. Obviously, this is my first time playing in the league but from afar, you hear of guys like [Diego] Valeri, or what’s his name, from Portland, Piatti here, and things like that. But I think Tranquillo definitely is one of the most underrated players in this league [for] attacking midfielders, when he’s playing in that position like that. I think I’ve been able to help him a lot, too, with the freedom in between the lines, and when he gets going he’s a fantastic player and helps this team a lot.

On importance of Barnetta being willing to shoot

Yeah, I mean, like you said, we need guys that are not afraid to get the ball in between the lines, and he’s one of those guys. Montreal made it kind of tough for us not to go through the middle. Maybe they move the ball hard enough but it’s always important to have a guy like Tranquillo there who’s not afraid to get the ball in between the lines. We try to get him the ball and when he’s running at defenses, he’s very dangerous and was able to get us a goal tonight.

Is there a sense of urgency now looking ahead to three road games in a row?

I would like for us to have a sense of urgency. I think it’s a little too nice, you come back after a game like this and I think guys are a little bit too “Keep your head up, the next one, the next one.” But I want guys to get fired up and feel that sense of urgency because I don’t want to just make it to the playoffs, it would be better to be the top two and get a bye, you know, and play a home-and-away game instead of just that one off. So, I’m trying…We’ll see tomorrow, we’ll watch some video and see what we can do better and what we need to work on and move on to the next game. It’s important that we keep our head up but also that sense of urgency.

Does the travelling you’ve done with the national team help you when it comes to a stretch of road games?

Yeah, well now we’re going to go to Portland so I’d like to see how many miles I’ve wracked up the past ten days, you know, from [St Vincent and the Grenadines] and then Jacksonville, to here, and to Portland and back. It’s a lot but that’s kind of the thing about this league, it’s not easy, you know, travelling and everything. But with experience now, you get used to taking care of your body and making sure you get everything you need to be looked at. Yeah, like I said, I think we need to feel that sense of urgency to get that mental game going and take care of our bodies physically.

Montreal Impact postgame quotes

Mauro Biello

On bouncing back tonight

Yeah, it’s important. We needed to bounce back. We’ve been having good results on the road all year, accumulating points. Philadelphia’s ahead of us. We wanted to close that gap between us and them and we were able to win the series against them this year. It’s important for us to continue to accumulate points and start to grow as a team when we get back home. That’ll be important for us down the stretch.

On the importance of earning points on the road

I think this team believes it can get points on the road and win games. I think it was a pretty evenly played match today. We had some good chances in the first half and Andre Blake comes out and makes two big saves. As long as we’re defending well, keeping good shape, not giving much to the opposition and being able to create chances the other way. For us today, we got that second goal in the end off a set piece, which was very good for us.

On fighting back tonight

It’s been a little bit our identity all year to be able to fight back and be a team that doesn’t give up, especially on the road. At home, we’ve been a little bit more unlucky. But for the most part this season, we’ve been able to come back in games even when we’re down. It think that’s an important quality to have. I think we need to continue to grow as a team going forward here. We have some important games at home and we need to find rhythm to be ready to get into the playoffs.

On getting wanting to get three points tonight

I think obviously you always focus on trying to get three points. And every game you play it’s about winning. Then you have to manage the way game goes. We were down and came back late. So in the end, it was a good result for us to come back and tie that game. For us, I know we’ve gotta take care of business now at home. If we’re able to do that, I think we’ll be able to creep up in the standings.

Hassoun Camara

On tying the game being three points behind the Union in the playoff race?

I think it was an important game. The Union are a good team. We came here with determination after the game against Orlando. The performance of the team and organization was very good. In the first half they worked us very well. We showed that we won’t give up. We can be proud of that.

On how did you capitalize on your chance?

At the end, we have to be efficient. That’s what we missed on the last game. We knew that we’d have fewer opportunities than them, playing away from home. We like to be very organized and strong physically; that’s what we did. We kept being strong, and we got the chance, and put it in. We are very proud of that.

On if match feel like a playoff match for your team?

Yes, exactly. There’s six games left are going to be very, very tough, with high intercity. We have to be ready to fight for that, because the other teams will be ready to fight. We want to move up, and build from this game. I think that we did a good thing tonight.