Chicago Fire head coach Frank Yallop
Thoughts on the match
"Obviously getting the point on the road is sort of what you set out to do, to be honest I thought we could have nicked it and won the game. Great effort from our guys, really proud of the way they fought and battled against adversity with a few injuries here and there and a couple things going on, not having a full lineup. I’m proud of the way we played and getting a point here."
On Patrick Nyarko
Well Patrick had a big impact in the game on Tuesday—the cup game we had at home—and he comes and gets the tying goal here. Just really pleased for him, it’s been a long road back. Him and Mike [Magee] off the bench… it’s a long haul back from that type of injury so I’m very happy that they’re both on the field and contributing, doing well.
On Greg Cochrane
Greg’s a guy that trains really hard and is a good squad member, he waited for his chance and he’s done pretty well. It’s a lot of injuries right now with guys out so it’s nice for guys to come in and do contribute and do well.
Others that have impressed during two-game stretch
Just on tonight, from Adi, Eric Gehrig and then Polster had a lot of pressure on them, they handled the power of Houston’s attack and I think they defended very well. Sean [Johnson] when he had to come up and make a save, he did, or come for crosses, he did, so that was good. Thought Lovell [Palmer] had a good night, good chance for Mike [Magee], Greg [Cochrane], I thought everyone contributed to the point.
Chicago Fire forward Patrick Nyarko
On scoring in his first MLS game back from injury
First of all, I dedicate this to my grandmother. She’s being buried tomorrow, so rest in peace. I’m proud, I’m proud of the guys. I think we found something special at the end of the game. How we reacted after we gave up the goal is how we need to play every game. The guys realize that. I’m glad I was able to help but kudos to the guys, they came out fighting and they know now this is what it takes to win games in this league. Every single game, this is what it will take to win it. I’m proud of the guys and I hope this play will continue.
On the goal
If it goes out wide, we’ve been taught to crash the box so I just went in the box. I knew that Greg [Cochrane] was going to cross it, so when cross came through I just decided to get to goal to get a toe on it or something like that, and luckily I think me and the defender both hit the ball and if the goalie hadn’t been there it would have gone in anyway. But then it was able to rebound off of him and I think he stayed down and I got up; I knew I was in front of the goal and just turned and hit the target and it went in.
How did the knee hold up?
It did fine besides the Houston heat and the [inaudible]. Generally I was fine for most of the game. I wasn’t expecting to play the full half but when Frank told me just keep building, keep getting some game fitness in there and keep building on it. So I’m glad I was able to get the full 45 minutes here, especially in Houston with the heat, so hopefully I feel fine.
What does it mean for you personally to get through 45 minutes?
It’s huge, it’s huge. As my recovery continues, I keep saying I still have a little bit to go but all of these are confidence builders. Fifteen minutes, 45 minutes and then sooner rather than later I’ll be considering myself for a starting position. All I want is to help this team win games. That’s all I’ve been about and that’s what I’ll keep doing.
Are the last two games a bit of a turning point for the team?
I hope so, I hope so. You know, it’s been a difficult season with injuries; someone person comes up, one person goes down. I’m really excited to get everyone back to see how the depth that we’ve been talking about. We’re going to coexist. I think it’s going to be great and I’m curious and excited to see everyone healthy and us coming back in the second part of the season.
Chicago Fire midfielder Harry Shipp
On the difficulties of playing in Houston
It’s a lot different than being back in Chicago for sure, but I was really proud of the effort and the intensity we showed throughout the night. It’s hard when you’re in the 75th minute and you’ve got to step 15 yards to an outside back and you don’t want to do it and you’re tired, but we consistently did it all night and we won the ball and created some chances to potentially win in the last 15 minutes.
Has this been a turning point?
Yeah, I think this group of guys -- obviously we’re not at a hundred percent right now—but for us there’s no excuses. We had guys that came in and battled. Patrick [Nyarko] came back, first MLS game in 10 months or whatever, and Mike [Magee] came in and was a spark. I think the guys that we’ve got on the field and the guys that are coming off the bench this game did a really good job for us.
On Patrick Nyarko scoring on his MLS return
It’s special. I’ve never had to go through an injury recovery process like that, fortunately, but just seeing him every day, kind of the ups and downs with his emotions and his attitude and to finally come back and be playing well and to make a difference it’s something obviously you hope for during those last six months of recovery.
On a large cast of players getting a chance to impact the game
It’s kind of just ‘next man up.’ We’ve got Polster sliding around from centerback to midfield, me kind of playing everywhere in the midfield, you’ve got J.J. playing. We’ve got a lot of guys playing different positions and not complaining, just doing what they need to do. In previous games I think we weren’t always doing the little things effort-wise to get results in difficult places and I think tonight we did all the little things to get the win—unfortunately it didn’t happen but I think we showed promise that we can build off it and get it the next game.
