COLUMBUS CREW HEAD COACH ROBERT WARZYCHA
On the loss:
I think it was [a difficult loss]. I think we played a good game but they won it. I think the penalty kick later on the in the game definitely helped [New York] – the goalie did a good job saving it, and then they were looking for an opportunity and with a lucky bounce they scored.
On the momentum shift following New York’s goal:
I think goals change games. We had the momentum before the goal, we possessed the ball pretty well and the goal changed the game.
On New York’s handling of the Crew’s set pieces:
I think [the Red Bulls] did a good job of defending [the Crew’s set pieces]. I don’t think anything was missing, I think we served a pretty good ball. I’m sure they watched the video and they know what we are capable of doing … they defended well.
On New York’s goal:
To be honest I didn’t see a replay. I know Andy [Gruenebaum] tried to save it and [Tim] Cahill was there with everybody else. I think it was a reaction header and he did very well.
On his team’s missed penalty kick:
Like I said before, I think we did pretty well against a team with a lot of players that come from different countries and are pretty good and we did pretty well. A penalty changed everything – if we had scored that penalty we probably win the game.
On his team’s defending of Thierry Henry:
He’s a good player – so whatever you do you have to stop him from scoring a goal. [The Crew’s defense] did a good job on him today; I don’t remember him having much success.
On Federico Higuain’s penalty kick attempt:
It was a good save by [New York’s] goalie. He probably watched video from the last game because [Higuain] went to the same corner.
COLUMBUS CREW GOALKEEPER ANDY GRUENEBAUM
On his overall thoughts on the match:
I thought we had the better of the game for large chunks of the game and they created very little. They’re one of those teams that likes to build up and end with a shot on frame from inside the box and we knew that. They rely on combination play. I thought we did a good job – especially in the first half – of limiting. I don’t think they had a shot. So, it’s definitely tough when we create a few chances and our final, final ball just wasn’t there.
On what he saw on the New York goal:
We collapsed in and [Jonathan Steele] was open on the far post and he hit it well. I just tried to control the rebound to where hopefully it was going over. It kind of just bounced up nice for him and carried over me. It’s one of those saves that I’d like to be able to make. As a goalkeeper, I think anybody will tell you that you want that. But, it’s a tough break for us.
On the momentum shift after the penalty:
It’s tough. A penalty isn’t always given. I’ll take Pipa [Federico Higuain] on that any day, even with the miss. The guy is incredible and he’ll be fine. There was a momentum shift there. Even right after, Eddie [Gaven] earned a free kick right after that and it was dangerous as well. But then it shifted a little bit there and it’s just a tough break for us.
COLUMBUS CREW FORWARD FEDERICO HIGUAIN
On not capitalizing on goal-scoring chances:
I think we were superior during the 90 minutes and all the chances we had, whether in [the run of] play, or the PK or free kicks, we weren’t able to turn them into goals. [I’m] just sad.
On what he saw on his penalty kick attempt:
I kicked the way I’m used to. Unfortunately, I couldn’t transform. I had the opportunity to convert that into a goal and I just couldn’t this time. Very sad after the situation that could have given the Crew a win but after that, all that’s left is to keep working and to try to keep improving.
NEW YORK RED BULLS HEAD COACH MIKE PETKE
On today’s performance:
I mean, three in a row, very, very happy about that. We played against a good team today and I think defensively we did some very good stuff, exactly to our game plan. We knew that Higuain would be the one to punish us, and Arrieta as well, but we didn’t give Higuain enough time on the ball; we didn’t give him the pockets that he’s used to running in to. While it probably was not the most beautiful game to watch at home, I could care less, it’s three points.
On Luis Robles’ performance:
He was huge for us, even aside from the penalty save, which was unbelievable. Robles was big, he was commanding in the box, and he controlled the tempo of the game at times which is huge for a goalkeeper – I’m very happy with his performance.
On containing Federico Higuain:
We worked all week, to be honest with you. We worked on many things, but a few of them were to have an eye on him all the time, do not let him sit on the lines in the space between the defense and the midfield, always have a guy dropping on him or a guy stepping up, and forcing him out wide or in front of our forwards by the back four – he can’t kill us from there. Our guys stuck to that and put out a very gutsy and gritty performance.
On Tim Cahill’s performance:
What more can I say that I don’t say after every weekend? He’s huge for us, I’m excited for him, I’m excited for the team, and he’s done a great job.
NEW YORK RED BULLS GOALKEEPER LUIS ROBLES
On Federico Higuain’s penalty kick:
I think that part of our strategy as a team is to study our opponent every week and it just so happened that last week [against D.C. United] he did take the penalty. The one thing that helped about it was not necessarily the direction he went, but that he takes a stutter step. If I would have not known that beforehand, then maybe I would have went to early or sold myself too quickly – it just worked out for us.
On today’s match:
I think for us that this was a huge road win. It’s one of those wins that we can look back and know that we can be that team if we need to gut it out for 90 minutes and just scrap to somehow find a goal – we’re able to do that. By doing that today, we know, and we can be confident for the rest of the season, as a team, that we’re capable of that.
On Columbus’ dead ball situations:
The wind is always a factor. In the first half, the wind brought the ball to the goal and that made it difficult for the runners. Then, in the second half, the wind picked up even more, so our defenders could not gauge where they were supposed to be going. At the end of the day, regardless of how many set pieces they had, our defense really committed today to winning the first and second half.
NEW YORK RED BULLS MIDFIELDER TIM CAHILL
On today’s match:
As I’ve said from the start – discipline needs to be better, consistency throughout the team needs to be better, and that’s what was starting to happen. We’re a hard team to beat on the road and I give massive credit to Luis Robles, especially after last week. It was one of the most disciplined performances from me, just sitting in the middle, and I could have possibly had another goal. I sensed that I was going to get chance, it fell right, and the goalkeeper was flapping. Overall, I’m very happy, and for the team it was another great result; it sits us in a good position, regardless of how many games we’ve played.
On rallying after Luis Robles’ penalty save:
[Luis] Robles is a great goalkeeper, and like I said to him last week, it’s going to happen throughout the year where certain players make mistakes. We’re a team, we get each other out of it, and this week he got Brandon [Barklage] out of it from giving a penalty away - at the end of the day, that’s what a team is all about. That’s what I always say to these guys. It’s not about individuals; it’s about biting the bullet together and that’s what we did today. It was a great save, and then in the end to nick the win like we did, overall it was fantastic. Difficult pitch to play on, very sticky, the wind was awful, with a nice crowd and nice stadium.
On his goal:
It was a cross from Lloyd [Sam]. I couldn’t really head the first one down to the corner, so I flicked it on to Johnny [Steele]. Johnny took a great strike and the keeper reacted with a save, but after seeing the keeper off the line, I just lobbed it over him with an instinctive header. Overall, it’s a good reward for a hard day’s work.
