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MLS Soccer: NY Red Bulls, Columbus Crew Post-Match Quotes
NEW YORK RED BULLS HEAD COACH JUAN CARLOS OSORIO
On the game:
“(I’m) extremely proud of the guys today, I think (it was) a fantastic effort considering all the circumstances. The most pleasing thing is that we displayed throughout the 90 minutes great chemistry. The desire and the willingness to play adversity and at the end, I think we got what we deserved.”
On Danny Cepero’s goal:
“I think all the credit goes to Danny (Cepero) himself and to (goalkeeper coach) Des (McAleenan), not for the goal kick, I mean for the free kick, but I think for the outstanding save towards the end of the first half that kept us in the game and on the second half when the score was 2-1. I think he made a very good save also, so (I’m) very pleased. I can only say that Des is working very hard with the goalkeepers, saying that they are always ready whenever we need them, and I think that today…. I’m very pleased for Danny (Cepero) and for everybody and their performance.”
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On when he thought Cepero had scored:
“On the bounce, when it bounced and everybody started screaming on the bench, so I thought it might go in.”
On the starting formation with four in the back:
“Well I think we were planning (it) because we know that they have wide players: (Eddie) Gaven, (Robbie) Rogers, (Emmanuel) Ekpo. Any player is very good on one on one situations, so I decided that it would be better for us to keep the backline, That backline kept a clean sheet at home against Houston, on the game that we won 3-nil, and away at D.C (United) nil-nil. I think that was probably a good backline to give Danny (Cepero) confidence, Seth (Stammler) did a magnificent job as an anchorman, so we changed it when the game was 1-1. We took some chances, we went three on the back, and immediately after we scored the second, I changed it again. We went with back four and Carlos (Mendes) came in the middle and did very good for us too. So, very pleased with the adjustments that we made, I think they all paid off.
NEW YORK RED BULLS GOALKEEPER DANNY CEPERO
On whether he knew he scored:
“I didn’t at all. I had no idea. I just put it in the general area with no intention of scoring and kind of hit it somewhere where my teammates could do something with it. I didn’t even know it went in until I had to ask Kevin (Goldthwaite) and be like, ‘Uh, did that go in?’ and he said, ‘Yeah.’ I go, ‘Do I get credit for that?’ and he says, ‘Absolutely.’ It wasn’t until right then.”
On being the first goalkeeper ever in MLS to score a goal:
“That’s crazy to say the least. It’s incredible. It’s one of those random stats that I guess I can always look up and say, ‘Hey, there I am.’”
On his debut:
“To be honest, I’m proudest of getting a win in my debut. I think it was important for us as a team to get that win to further our chances of getting into the playoffs and depending on how things go the rest of the evening, maybe we’ll (get closer) to making the playoffs. For me personally, I’m just happy to contribute and happy to be part of this team. I’m from New York, I love these guys and I love being here so I’m happy to have done what I could to help our chances.”
NEW YORK RED BULLS FORWARD JUAN PABLO ANGEL
On the game:
“It was a matter of getting the job done. Today is a night to enjoy and obviously, we have a big match on Thursday so this is far from over. We still have a job to do. But I’m very pleased, we have to enjoy today after a very difficult week. I think the team stood up and we played really well today and deserved to win.”
On goalkeeper Danny Cepero’s debut:
“We were talking about his debut. This might be one of the best in soccer history. He did really well apart from the goal. I’m very pleased for him because he’s a great kid and he has tons of quality and I wish him well. I’m sure that this debut will build up his confidence and hopefully, it will be very, very high.”
On his approach coming into the game:
“I think everyone played a part today. It was a very difficult week, we needed to get a result today against the best team in the League regardless of which players they played and I think everyone played their part today. I think I was lucky enough to get a couple of goals but it was a team effort.”
NEW YORK RED BULLS DEFENDER ANDREW BOYENS
On the game:
“Obviously, we’re very happy about the result. We made it a little bit hard for ourselves conceding that equalizer and we knew that they were going to be tough on set pieces and that we had to be ready to defend those kind of things. But overall, we’re very happy with how it all went.”
On Danny Cepero’s goal:
“My first reaction was, ‘Who the hell are you kicking that to?’ I was actually pretty disappointed in the kick because it was going straight down the middle but when I saw the ‘keeper coming, saw the bounce, it was a great moment.”
On Cepero’s performance other than the goal:
“This is his MLS debut and it’s one of the most important games of the season for us. It’s a massive game and he’s come through with a steady head and a lot of maturity. When he needed to, he came up with two massive saves and so you can’t ask for anything more – or maybe a goal here or there.”
COLUMBUS CREW HEAD COACH SIGI SCHMID
On losing a game heading towards the playoffs:
“Our last game is at home for us, and we’re going to put our team back together and have a good week of training. I think we eased off a bit this week for sure, but now we want to push for these next five weeks. We need to come out every day and work hard at training.”
On Columbus’ lack of playoff experience:
The experience is consistency. For me, young players are sometimes inconsistent. When you have older players with more experience, they are more consistent. We have a lot of players who have been in the playoffs before; (Alejandro) Moreno has been in the playoffs, (Guillermo Barros) Schelotto has played in a lot of big games, so I don’t have to worry about him, and Brian Carroll has played in a lot of playoff games, as has Ezra (Hendrickson). We have a lot of guys who have been there, and I think the young guys know what they need to do and how to play, so it’s just a matter of playing well, so I don’t worry about it.”
On winning the Supporter’s Shield:
“Anywhere else in the world we would be champions right now, but it’s only here in America that we have a cup competition at the end of the regular season. So, you know, from that standpoint I think we have proven in over 30 games that we have been the best team, and that’s something that the team and I are very proud of. But we want to win MLS Cup as well, so we need to get back to the grindstone.”
On how the Crew is preparing for the playoffs:
“Obviously, the playoffs are a crapshoot in a lot of ways, so we just have to make sure we are sharp. So as a coach, you want to make sure we prepare and we are healthy, and you want to make sure we are sharp. This week was all about making sure we stay healthy, and next week is all about making sure we are sharp.”
COLUMBUS CREW FORWARD STEVEN LENHART
On his goal:
“(Guillermo Barros) Schelotto just crossed a great ball, I was free in the box and just headed it in.”
On heading into the playoffs with the Supporter’s Shield:
“I think we need to take it one game at a time, but there are really high hopes for our team. We have been good all season, and we can’t let this one game set us backwards.”
On the game overall:
“It’s a real downer that we lost. We can take this as a learning experience, take the good things from this game, and grow from it for the playoffs.”
PaddockTalk Perspective
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