Chicago Fire vs. Montreal Impact
Toyota Park
MLS Regular Season
May 30, 2015
Postmatch Quotes
Frank Yallop, Chicago Fire Head Coach and Director of Soccer
Thoughts on the match:
“A very good home win from our side, I thought in the first half especially, we played some really good stuff in getting the two goals, but it’s always good to get three points out of a game like this where I feel we dominated the match and played well.”
On the man advantage:
“It was three-nil, so pretty good. We had a spell a bit in the second half where it was a bit of a dull game, where we didn’t give them a bunch of chances but we didn’t play like we did the first half. Sometimes that’s normal, we’re trying to protect the lead, they’re trying to get into it a little bit but we stopped them playing at least, which is a change from the New York game when we allowed them to play. I thought we did a great job with everything tonight, just the spirit and will to win. The red card always changes games but I thought we played well in that first half to go 2-0 up, and then maintain that for a good 3-0 home win.”
On Kennedy Igboananike’s performance
“It’s always difficult for anybody to come and settle in any environment and I think he’s probably the last of the three DP’s, if you’d like to name them, to settle in and start to feel comfortable. I thought he played well in Columbus, he played well tonight and could’ve scored three, he had a couple of breaks where he couldn’t lift it over the keeper and the keeper made good saves, but it’s nice to see him score, he’s feeling good about himself. I like his threat in behind, he makes some good runs and keeps the back four honest. He had a good game tonight.”
If this was the most complete performance thus far this season:
“Yeah, I think so. I know they had 10 men, but we limited their chances pretty well, and that’s always a good sign of the team, they didn’t have many looks. They are a dangerous team but the way we played, especially in the first half, I didn’t think they got too much of the ball and it felt pretty comfortable. It’s no disrespect to Montreal, it’s just we played well. I think that it’s a building block and I still feel we have some room for growth, but the best thing is a good home game and now we look forward to Wednesday night and then next Saturday night here against another conference opponent. Things are feeling pretty good, but sometimes you get kicked in the teeth when you think things are going okay. I’m very happy with the guys tonight, really good demeanor and I thought that the subs that came on made a huge difference in the game again, not in the scoring but just with the play. They were all enthusiastic, wanted to get on, wanted to play and I think we are moving in the right direction.“
On the play of Joevin Jones and David Accam on the left side
“I was going to throw a life jacket on that far side in the first half because it was really wet and it looked like water was spraying up. I think Joevin Jones is a real quality player, obviously we picked him up in the offseason and he’s been excellent at left back and just a good player. David is electric, he still has a little bit of an ankle problem, his hamstrings are a bit tight because he hasn’t trained too much and that’s the reason I took him out, to rest him for Wednesday if I decide to play him. They’ve had some good combination between them. I thought Harry played well tonight, not just with the goal but with his overall play. He was sneaky in his little pockets where I like him to play and I think the goal gave him a bit of confidence. JJ and David are very dangerous and we’ve got some decent players who are starting to feel good about themselves, which is always good. “
On the selection of Jon Busch over Sean Johnson
“I decided to play Jon tonight, like I said last week it’s up to me who I pick and play. Jon didn’t have much to do this evening, which is good for the defensive side of things. Again, I’ll decide which goes on the next couple of games and moving forward. I go back to having two really good goalkeepers, obviously Sean is the guy I want to promote and push and make sure is correct and ready to go in his career, so that’s always on my mind, but in the meantime we’ve got a good goalkeeper in Jon that’s done a fantastic job and continues to do that.“
On dealing with Shaun Maloney’s upcoming absences
“I’m not going to give the team away but I think we have enough candidates to come on and play in Shaun’s absence. I thought Shaun played well tonight without maybe getting the last touch again for him, but he’s a driving force, he drives teams on and I feel like he did that for tonight for us. He’s busy, always tricky, picks the right pass, and he’s good. We’ll figure it out. It’s good for Shaun to have a good win for him, not just for him but for us as a club, but he can go away now and enjoy his international duty and try and make the European Championships, which is important to him and his career, and hopefully we can get some wins for when he returns.”
Kennedy Igboananike, Chicago Fire Forward
On improving every game:
“I think I’m coming into the system, trying to get better every training, every game, and I think I’m coming into the system now.”
If this was his best game yet:
“I don’t know yet, I never played my best game yet. I think more is about to come, so just starting to get used to the players and getting used to everything around me so I think I’m getting better and better every day.”
On the relief of getting on the score sheet:
“Yeah, at least now it has broken the yolk, so I think more is going to come. Just need to keep working hard and practicing and I’ll get better.”
On any impatience when he wasn’t starting:
“Of course, you have to be a professional, so that is what I am. Any time they give me the opportunity to play, I go in and do my best. The coaches decided best who goes on the pitch and play, so anytime they give me the chance, I’ll play.”
Harry Shipp, Chicago Fire Midfielder
On the team putting together a complete performance
"I think, in the second half, our goal was just to keep the ball. If they're not creating chances, they're not going to score goals. For us, we did a good job kind of preventing them. Obviously the red card helps, makes it a little easier to play the ball around; but even before they got the red card, I think we did a pretty good job moving around and finding spaces in behind."
On breaking a scoring drought
"I think the last couple games, I got kind of caught in the routine of being outside and just being aware of defensive responsibilities, and kind of blindly running up and down the right side. I think, this week, I really wanted to focus on going back to getting all over the field. I think you saw that in the first half: when the ball was in the left side, I came across and got the ball in the middle, because I'd much rather have the ball in the middle of the field near the goal than on the outside. So I think I did a better job of just finding little spaces to receive the ball."
On Kennedy Igboananike's performance
"His best thing he did today was probably pressure and work hard. You saw that on the goal I scored: he won the ball off Baky [Soumare] and played it in. He's an unselfish guy, and I'm happy to see him get a goal; it was long overdue and well deserved...I think we were playing all right without him, but having him is another weapon going forward. I think if you can get him and David [Accam] and myself and Shaun [Maloney] clicking on the same page, we'll hopefully be pretty hard for a front four to stop."
On his chemistry with Shaun Maloney
"I'm not looking forward to having him gone. I like playing with Shaun; I think we read the game similarly, he always shows in pockets. But with him gone, definitely, we need to look to pick up a little more pressure in the middle of the field and hopefully spring guys through like Kennedy [Igboananike] and David [Accam] in behind another team's back fours."
Montreal Impact Head Coach Frank Klopas
On justifying starting certain players with performances like tonight:
“Justify my performance? Why didn’t you ask other performance? Since you asked me about this game. All players can have a bad game. Did you see the last game we played? Maybe it’s in your eyes, that the guy is slow. But in his performance tonight, if you point him out, you point the whole team out. Or point me out. I am the coach, it’s my responsibility. But the other games, you didn’t talk about Donadel. He’s a very good player. All players can have off games. All teams can have off games.”
On replacing Jack McInerney at halftime after the red card in the first half to get him time to get ready for the next match
“I think all that. We were thinking either him or Piatti, I could have taken Piatti off too. The way the game was going, the field conditions…I just felt that he could have helped us a little bit more with holding the ball. I think issues in the midfield, not that we couldn’t hold the ball, we turned the ball over a lot. I think that those turnovers turned in to opportunities for them in the open field.”
On the team’s defensive performance:
“We gave up three goals. There’s not much to say. We played short-handed for most of the game, our overall team performance was poor.”
On Nigel Reo-Coker playing a deeper position:
“They had a fast player on that side. For sure we could have done better. I think there were moments where we turned the ball over a lot in the midfield, we weren’t sharp, whether the field condition was wet, whatever, I think we turned the ball over with our mistakes, and then they got opportunities in the open field, and I think we all could have done a lot better. Overall as a team we could have done better.”
On having two great games at home and coming to Chicago and starting flat:
“Yes, yes, disappointing. For sure. It’s one of the those nights we have to take a hard look at everything and move on.”
On the short turn around to the next game:
“It’s always good, no matter whether it’s good or bad. You have to put it behind you and focus on the next game because it’s coming quick.”
Montreal Impact Midfielder Calum Mallace
On the defensive matchups:
“We were a little slow to react in the middle there, obviously I think some of the match ups out wide, you know they have some pace, so it was difficult. They’re a very fast team. Obviously with just the red card, and two goals in the first half, and how bad the conditions were, it was just a tough game overall.”
On why the team started flat:
“I don’t really know how to explain it. It is just one of those games, we had two good wins in a row, and we’re trying to build off of that. It wasn’t the start we wanted, sometimes that happens and we have to learn how to play through it. If maybe we didn’t give up a goal so early, we would have grinded it out a bit and figured out how to play.”
On the fluctuating lineup due to injuries:
“It’s very difficult. Injuries are never a good thing, and we’ve had so many this year. It’s so difficult to really get a starting 11 out there that really gels together. As we’ve said in the past, we have confidence in every player that does come up and come through, and when they get the chance, we have confidence in them. We are just going to keep grinding through it. And try to get guys back healthy and keep them healthy.”
Montreal Impact Goalkeeper Evan Bush
On the match
"I don't know that we saved ourselves from any embarrassment; I mean 3-0 is still 3-0. Just overall...we started off poorly, for one, we had a lot of pressure in the first 15 minutes, gave up the first goal which was a fantastic strike, I thought; I actually thought when it went past me, it was going to go a little bit far, but looking back at the replay, top corner is a fantastic strike. After that, we get a red card and then a penalty; the red card is probably the right call, but the penalty, I don't know, I have to look at it again, but from what happened, I don't know if I necessarily agreed with it. But that's how it is. And then you get down 2-0 playing with 10 guys, and it's an uphill battle; basically, at that point you're just hoping to hang on and kind of keep it close, and maybe pull one back, and we weren't able to do that. But, we look forward to Wednesday now."
