Chicago Fire at Montreal Impact
MLS Regular Season
Stade Saputo – Montreal, QC
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Chicago Fire Head Coach and Director of Soccer Frank Yallop
Thoughts on the game
“We weren’t very dangerous to be honest going to goal and basically when it comes to the crunch, we didn’t get the job done. It’s disappointing, but it’s kind of where we are right now. It’s hard because we lost 6-0 on Wednesday and now we had a chance to prove ourselves again and we lose.”
What can be changed to get that winning goal?
“We have to be more positive going forward. We have to dig deep and get that extra run for that extra minute and make sure we get beyond people and not play in front of the players. So I think that’s the difference we need to make. I think that after Wednesday’s loss it was hard on the team to be motivated, but our spirits seemed to be up at the beginning of the game and then we couldn’t get it done in both boxes, we couldn’t defend and couldn’t score.”
On how tight the table is
“Of course, you never give up until it’s over. It’s been a tough season; we have 13 ties, which 6 we should have won. I think that we would have been in a better spot with those extra two points per game. We’re not good enough to be higher up at this point and that’s on us.”
Chicago Fire goalkeeper Sean Johnson
On the team's performance
"It's a tough result for us. We’ve got to be better. It's disappointing. We were in a position where we can put ourselves in a good spot in the playoff race. We played decent in the first half and just didn't do enough to get the result."
On what needs to be done to get three points
"It just a matter of believing and going out there and doing it. We just got to get it done. It's up to us, we're the players on the pitch and we have to solve some problems ourselves out there sometimes. We got to find it in us to get those results."
Chicago Fire midfielder Matt Watson
On how the team can improve offensively
"We weren't clinical enough in the final third. We need to find a way to get goals, maybe support the strikers more. We let the field get spread. We were hitting long balls to the strikers and then they were kind of wrestling for it by themselves with no support coming. We need to do better moving forward as a team."
On his team's defensive play
"At times I think we were chasing, myself included. I think sometimes we run just for the sake of it, where we could kind of be a more of a compact unit. We need to stay in a tighter defensive block."
Montreal Impact head coach Frank Klopas
On getting a win?
“It feels good. It took us a while to feel like this. There`s a lot of games that we could have walked away with points but you need to move forward. Today was a good overall performance by the group, I think that at some point we lost a bit of the midfield but the subs we made gave us a lot of added energy at the right time.”
What was your reactions to Chicago`s presence on the field tonight?
“We had possession very deep in our side of the field in the first 25 minutes, we wanted to open them up and move the ball quicker. We had opportunities and options to play out of the back. We knew it was going to be a big game, so we didn’t underestimate them at all, after them losing at the open cup. We knew it was going to be a difficult match, we expected one and it was. In the end we gave out a quality performance which gave us a great victory.”
On Maxim Tissot?
“He brings a lot of energy, every time he’s been in for us good things happen. He makes good runs off the ball, has a lot of pace and can make those long runs. In all he’s been giving us a good constant quality and becomes a really dangerous opponent whether he starts or comes out on the field later. It’s good for me, because we have a lot of options. He’s young but we’re going to continue to work with him and build him up.”
Montreal Impact forward Marco Di Vaio
Working with Piatti on the field…
“We tried to make a couple of combinations but it’s not easy for him because he’s arriving in a team that has a lot of confidence issues. For the past month and a half we’ve been playing better and taking the points we learnt and applying them on the field. So it’s not easy for him to come in our team at this point so I think that with his arrival here it might help the team’s confidence even more.”
Are you thinking on ending your career soon?
“It’s too far for me to think about this now. I don’t even think about what will happen next week. This year was harder for me but I am only focusing on our games to come at this point, especially in the Champion’s league games.”
Montreal Impact goalkeeper Evan Bush
On Chicago’s last offensive play?
“Those are the things that happen at the end of the game, when you’re up a goal, you send a lot of guys forward on set pieces and I got knocked down. I didn’t hear a whistle and he got a foot on it and I was there to take care of it.”
Did the defense have a lot to do with not getting any goals in tonight?
“I think so, there weren’t that many chances that we gave them and fought well for the ball. We had a good side to side movement and Wandrille and Matteo did a very good job to hold the back up.”
Montreal Impact midfielder Ignacio Piatti
On the game…
“As my first game I think that I played well and that the team had a solid performance and played well together. I knew about the MLS beforehand and knew the style of play so there was no surprise for me, but I still will have to adapt my style of play to that of the MLS.”
On Marco Di Vaio …
“Marco is a star player, when you play him the ball he’ll return it quickly, so there’s a good chemistry there and I am going to keep working on developing that team synergy. I asked Marco if there was a possibility for him to stay, but he says it’s hard for him and his family, but he’s still looking for a solution.”
