Columbus Crew SC head coach Gregg Berhalter
On the match, substitutions...
"We'll never know about the first one, but I think that it's a shame in the first minute that we have to substitute Artur. I think he was doing great so far, and we're looking forward to see how he's going to react in this game. It's unfortunate. He's injured pretty badly. It's a broken wrist and it doesn't look good."
On the team's rhythm...
"I think a little bit. But you know, it was a good chance for Mohammed to show what he can do. I think any time someone goes down, another person gets an opportunity. So we're happy that we got to see Mohammed. All in all, I felt like the first 15 minutes, when the game -- when we were going to compete to see who had authority in the game, we came up short."
On finishing in the final third...
"Our finishing touch wasn't there today. We had a number of close opportunities that should have resulted in goals, and it's too bad. But listen, on the night, they were the better team. Let's be clear about it. They deserved to win this game and we came up short."
On the Red Bulls' performance...
"I think they played well. I mean, I think they played better than we did. You know, early on in the game, I think we had the opportunity to compete better and we didn't do so."
On the game's physicality...
"I think when it was physical, they were clearly playing for the second ball early in the game. From the left channel, they put a number of balls onto our right side and we didn't do well dealing with them. That's how the first goal came, and that's how a number of opportunities came. And it's unfortunate because this game first and foremost is about competing. Professional soccer is about competing, and we came up short in that area.
On injury updates...
"It might be an ankle strain. I don't think it's as serious as Artur's."
On the game's younger players...
"Well, it would have been nice. But I tell you what, this (Tyler) Adams kid did a good job. He's a fearless player. He's a pleasure to watch. And we have some young guys also that are good, and it's nice to work with them. They are very ambitious. They have great attitudes, great dispositions and they want to learn and I think when you're working with them, as a coach, it's a pleasure."
On MLS coaches' reluctance to play younger players...
"I think that you look for -- you look for a certain type of player to bring in, and our profile is we don't mind having younger players with potential. We like to get them in our system. We like to develop them and see where they can go."
On Kekuta Manneh not traveling with the team...
"Yeah, so you know, it's tough picking an 18 every week to be honest. You know, those are decisions that we base it largely on the opponent, who we think is going to be most effective against a certain opponent. With Kekuta, he's a little bit behind from a fitness standpoint. He's a guy that he's worked extremely hard and he has a great attitude. He's going to make an impact; it's just a question of when."
On the next match vs. NYCFC...
"We're going to see them play tomorrow. I'm going stick around and watch them play and see. It's a good team. I like that team a lot. It's going to be a fight for the ball, who gets to keep the ball, because they want to keep it; we want to keep it. It's going to be a fun game. Those are always good games."
On the differences between the Red Bulls and NYCFC ...
"It will be different than today's match, absolutely."
On his personal ties to New Jersey ...
"It's great to be back. I tell you what, everything is so familiar, and it's been my home for a large part of my life. So it's great to be back."
Columbus Crew SC defender Nicolai Naess
On the team’s performance ...
"It was a tough loss on the road. I think it was the first half that killed us today. We didn’t compete well enough, we didn’t win any second balls. We have to go into ourselves. We need a good training week now and we’re ready for the next game."
On his personal performance ...
"It was not good enough. I think I’ve had better games in my career. But I’m not happy, we lost the game. Everybody has to go into themselves. We have to watch some video of the game and learn from our mistakes."
On the benefit of playing at home next ...
"We have a lot of confidence when we play at MAPFRE Stadium. We have our supporters behind us and we have played well at MAPFRE Stadium this year. Of course, we’re looking forward to playing home again and hopefully we can get a win there against New York City."
Columbus Crew SC goalkeeper Zack Steffen
On the overall team performance...
"I think it was one of those nights where we came into the first half and we just didn’t compete. Overall, the competitiveness was just not there and I think when we came into the second half it was a lot better, there was more communication out there. We were a little bit more connected."
On 1-v-1's...
"At the end of the day, it just repetitions and instinct. It’s just like going back down to the training facility and taking reps. The more reps you take in training of those situations the more comfortable you feel. You’ve just got to try and stay big and do the best that you can."
On returning home vs. NYCFC...
"It’s a big game so we’ll be up for it and we’re looking forward to it. We’ll want to bounce back and we’ll be at home which will help and we’ll be ready."
