Frank Yallop, Chicago Fire Head Coach and Director of Soccer
On where the team needs to go from here
“Tough one. Déjà vu from the last home game we had. Should have four more points than we’ve got. The team kept going, fighting and that’s good. It feels empty because of the way we have put a lot of effort into the games we’ve had and you don’t get rewarded for it. I think we’ve played pretty well, created some good chances today, had another chance in the last dying seconds to win it and we didn’t. We deserved to win. We had some good performances today. Overall, I can’t fault the guys for effort.“
On quality of penalty and Mike Magee not taking it
“It wasn’t a good penalty kick. Mike missed his last one. Jeff scored a penalty this season. I’m 50 yards away, I can scream whatever I want, it’s up to them to sort it out and who’s taking it, and they decided Juan is taking it”
On the referee and Quincy Amarikwa’s second yellow card
“Didn’t touch him. It’s maybe a foul on Quincy, he’s not diving. He gets run into and he goes down. I can’t comment on the referee, but he’s wasn’t good. He missed some plays that were important in this match.”
On the morale of the team
“Nope, It’s fine. We know we should have won two more games, maybe three, but we haven’t. It’s not like we have fumbled through the game. I thought we played well today. I thought we played well, we dominated. They had some spells, they’re a good team. But you look at the chances and stuff that we did, it’s just disappointing that we don’t have a win.”
On the missing piece to get over that hump
“The missing piece is ice-cold finishing in the last seconds of a game. Away from home it’s difficult to win matches, but at home you got to win. That’s how you get your points and do well on the year. We’ve had two games, and there is no time left on the clock, and we have a penalty kick. The players know that it is important to score that. It’s just a shame we haven’t gotten the points for the performances we’ve had. It’s a long season, but you can’t keep falling behind the guys ahead of you.”
Jeff Larentowicz, Chicago Fire defender
On the result, missing two penalty kicks at the end of games:
“It was bizarre - to see that once is tough, but twice is even worse. It is tough to take.”
On Anangono taking the penalty kick:
“Juan stepped up and grabbed the ball, and that’s just what happened. As the captain and the one who’s made a penalty this year I should have been the one to take the penalty but I didn’t – that’s on me, not on Juan.”
On the second yellow on Amarikwa:
“I’m not going to comment on referee decisions. In the end, it’s a red card and it’s something we’ll have to deal with. Quincy has been outstanding for us. It’s going to be a shame to have to miss him the next game, but we’ll move on.”
On not getting a result:
“The last three games we’ve certainly been the better team – Philadelphia, Montreal and tonight. I don’t think that tonight the other team really wanted to win from the start. They were slowing the game down in the first half and got fortunate on the penalty call. I think it was a penalty because Patrick [Nyarko] clipped him, they got the goal they wanted and they slowed down. In the run of play, outside the last couple of minutes when we were pushing forward, I’m not sure they get a shot on goal from open play. All-in-all it’s more of the same, but if we can get wins going forward it will be ok.”
On the string of draws:
“We feel like we’re playing so well at the start of the year and the build-up of points we feel should have makes the draws tough to take. Again, the way the next game goes – up or down will say a lot. If we win we’re unbeaten with a win. If not, things look a little differently. Everyone needs to stay positive and keep pushing. The good thing is that we’ve been the better team the last three games.”
On the play of Harry Shipp:
“Harry has been outstanding. If I had to say two guys that have pulled us through the first seven games, it’s definitely been Harry and Quincy. As soon I, and I’m sure the coaches, saw him we knew he was going to do something for us this year, and he has, and needs to continue.”
Quincy Amarikwa, Chicago Fire forward
On foul that led to his second yellow card:
“Clearly I don’t think it was a foul, but it’s not my decision to make so what can you do?”
On his goal:
“The ball came back to Harry, I had space in the middle, pointed and he put the ball right where I wanted him to. I took my first touch into the box, put a bit of my body on Farrell, saw that the keeper’s legs were open and put the ball between his legs and that was that.”
On the result:
“It’s disappointing to not come away with three points, but we’re putting ourselves in a position to win games. Juan puts that PK in and it’s a different outlook. As long as we’re coming away with points we’re carrying this confidence into future games and it’s just a matter of time before we’re coming away with some wins.”
Patrick Nyarko, Chicago Fire forward
On his performance:
“Since I got suspended, I had a week to reevaluate my game, I was struggling physically and that red card at the game in Portland affected me mentally. I decided to get back to basics and just play my game. I think it’s been ok so far during the past three weeks but I’m still not happy because we’re not getting the wins. I hope to keep playing the same, getting better and that we get the win soon.”
On draws at home:
“It’s been extremely frustrating, especially since we’re dominating teams, we’re out playing teams and creating the best chances and we’re not getting wins – that’s the most frustrating part. I keep telling the guys that if we keep playing like this we’re not going to lose a lot of games and the tide is not always going to go against us like this. We just need to keep pushing and sustain that until the end of the game. We need to buckle down, even though we’re frustrated, and the wins will come.”
On how this year’s start compares to last year’s start:
“It feels differently this year because we are dominating teams. The last three weeks we feel like we deserved victories, judging from the fact that we that we’ve had possession and have created more chances than the other team – that’s been the most frustrating part. We know we can play the soccer, now it’s just how to find the victories – that’s the test for us right now.”
On the bye next week:
“We wish we were still playing just because we need to build momentum. The week off breaks that up, but guys are experienced and we know what we’re doing right and will continued that stride when we play again.”
