Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter
On what he said at halftime:
"It was interesting, after they got that red card, there was a moment of complacency from us. We adjusted something defensively, a defensive shape thing that we corrected, and we said 'keep playing, keep playing and keep moving the ball around. They’re going to get tired.' The guys did a great job."
On Crew SC’s response following the red card:
"I think actually in the first half, in that period, I didn’t think we had much control of the game. So that was disappointing. What was it nine minutes? So, the second half was good and I think against Toronto it was a good performance as well."
On the level of offensive pressure:
"I think that the idea was to have a really high tempo to the match. We really wanted to push the tempo and I think we did that. In the first half I was really pleased with that. Like I said, after the red card - less so in that first half - but the first thirty minutes we really were pushing the tempo, really attacking aggressively and putting them under pressure. That was good to see."
On the play from Columbus Crew SC’s back line:
"I think they did fantastic, that grouping. The whole team defensively played really well. It started with the guys up top setting the tone, putting them under pressure. You [saw] how many balls they had to clear haphazardly in the first half. It was really good. And the center backs organizing together with the outside backs, they did a good job."
On Federico Higuain’s performance:
"He was amazing. I think that was one of the better performances since I’ve been around seeing him play. We know he has that in him and tonight was a good night for him."
On the previous road trip affecting Crew SC’s tempo of play:
"I think there’s a tendency after a long travel period where the next week is a little sluggish. It’s residual fatigue from the travel and I think we did well with that. You saw some guys were fatigued a little, but overall I think that the team did extremely well coming out with a lot of energy."
On Orlando City SC being an expansion team:
"The coach has been working with that team for a while, he does a great job, it’s a good team. They are a group of players that have been together and then they added the right pieces. They have a good team. I think it’s a difficult team to play against. You see they have very technically gifted players and it’s not easy."
On starting Waylon Francis over Chris Klute:
"[Francis] did a good job. To be honest, it was a tough decision to start him over Chris [Klute] because Chris has been doing well also. But we wanted more offense out of that position and we think Waylon gives us that. Waylon, for being off for a little bit, he had a good performance."
On containing Kaká throughout the game:
"We wanted to make [Kaká] work defensively. We wanted to keep moving the ball around, knock it around at a high tempo, let him use some of his energy on the defensive end and the impact of that would take away from what he could do on offense. So I think it was that coupled with the fact that Mohammed [Saeid] and Tony [Tchani] and our centerbacks really got around him and made it difficult for him to be dangerous in important areas of the field."
On his comments to Rafael Ramos after receiving a red card:
"I just patted him and said, 'Keep going.' You know, 'too bad,' something like that.
On Mohammed Saeid’s high level of play:
"[Saeid] was great tonight. He really was. There were a couple of times we weren’t happy with the angle he was making and how he was supporting the attack, but that was two times throughout the whole game. He really did a good job at that. When you start him off and the idea in your head is that he’s a number eight (positionally) and he plays there and plays well, and then at first he struggles playing number six (positionally) and then he gets back into it and has a performance like that, it’s great. It’s a great feeling because he worked hard to put himself in that position to perform like that."
On Rafael Ramos walking in front of the bench after being sent off:
"The boy’s a good player, he’s a really good player. It was a careless challenge. I’m sure he’d like to have it back right now. But I don’t think he went in to really harm the player, it was just a bad tackle. I had no problem with him walking in front of our bench."
On the Crew SC front four’s high level of play:
"I think they (the Crew SC front four) did a good job. You always want a little bit more, that’s the nature of the game. But overall, I think they did well. Ethan [Finlay] had a couple opportunities in the first half to score, which we know he can put those in. But they did a good job, I was really happy with their work rate and how they never gave up on plays, they kept going."
Midfielder Ethan Finlay
On the amount of low crosses played:
"Yeah, I think that first post run is extremely important. It draws the defense, it pulls the defense with other opportunities not only in this game but in other games with a similar type of cross. It’s a tough ball to defend if you can cut across a [defender’s] face. It’s a tough one because guys have to react so quickly, and Pipa was able to catch everyone off guard."
On the emotions following a big win:
"We are extremely excited, but obviously, there is still a lot of work to be done. Fortunately for us, some of the results in MLS went our way tonight and that is kind of what we need to get to the top of the table that much quicker. We’re just focused on the next task and that’s Philly next weekend."
On Federico Higuain’s goal:
"You’re trying to put [the ball] into a good area and you know [Higuain] can do something special. He showed that he can [score on the backheel]. I have seen him do it in training before, so I have full confidence in those positions that he can make something happen."
Forward Kei Kamara
On whether tonight was about sending a statement:
"Not just to Orlando, we just want to send a statement that we are figuring out each other as a team. When we are playing [at MAPFRE Stadium], we want to make it difficult for any team, anybody that comes in. For us, doing that tonight hopefully sends a statement. But at the same time, it puts pressure on us to keep working harder, because everybody is going to going to figure out what we do and what our strengths are. But, like I said, three different players scored goals tonight, so it’s not just off of one guy."
On Rafael Ramos’ red card:
"It was a dangerous play, it is a FIFA rule everywhere. Usually, players have to be smarter because when something happens before, he goes right away [with] retaliation to a play that just happened five or ten seconds before. That was definitely a red card and he knew it, we don’t mind it."
On his goal:
"Yeah, [Donovan Ricketts] is a big guy, but that was the only thing I could do there, the ball was bouncing pretty well. I am more upset about the other two or three chances that I didn’t put in the back of the net than the one that I actually did score. But, I go back to [the EAS Training Center at Obetz] and keep working."
