Major League Soccer – Seattle Sounders 4-2 Chivas USA in front of 38000+ fans.
Sigi Schmid – Sounders FC Head Coach
(Opening Statement…) “It’s been a long patch of games. To go on a 12-day road trip at this point of the season and to have played as many games as we have had to play in the last period of time was strenuous on our guys. I was very proud of their effort today. We put ourselves in a difficult situation in the beginning of the game and the ability to come back from that situation-I found in the second half we managed to gain very well. We could have had a few more; we were unlucky when Clint’s shot went off the post. We were creating opportunities, we were controlling the ball, and we weren’t giving much away, so I was pleased with that.”
(On Obafemi Martins setting the single-season franchise record for goals…) “We’ve still got more games to go, so let’s not write it in yet. Clint is right there close to him as well, so we would like them both to get beyond what the old record was. I thought Oba played very well today, I thought he worked hard and it’s great. I also think it’s the most goals he has had in a season, so we are very proud of him.”
(On Martins’ season…) “He has had a good season. I think it shows that last year, at the end of last year, he was just fatigued from not getting a break-from going to the Russian season to the Spanish season to our season without a break. Now that he had a proper preseason and had that break in between I think he’s sustaining his effort and sustaining it at the end of the season. He is a very important piece to our team and he and Clint are very good together.”
(On Martins and Dempsey’s combinations…) “They look for each other and know where each other are on the field. When one has the ball, the other knows where the other one is… they move for each other off the ball and they trust each other and have confidence in that connection.”
(On Martins and Dempsey continued…) “Certainly the talent level of these two individually could carry a front line for you. Together they are a real handful. Every team I know when they play us, that is something they have to worry about when those two are on the field together. So from the standpoint of having two lead strikers on a team-[that] is not a luxury you get all the time as a coach.”
Clint Dempsey – Sounders FC Forward
(On the game…) “I thought we showed character in terms of coming back twice from being down. We just need to do a better job of during things up in the back, but I’m happy with the win and continuing our form at home, and keeping our position at the top of MLS.”
(On the defense…) “We had to shuffle things around a little bit, and sometimes it might just be the reps of everybody getting used to each other in those positions because they changed the back line up a few times. We’ll get it right, I’m not worried about it.”
Wilmer Cabrera – Chivas USA Head Coach
(On today’s game…) “We came to play an even game, and it was a good game. The intensity was good. We created options and we scored two goals, but it’s sad that we ourselves deflected the ball in one occasion for them to generate the ball – in two occasions. In the second goal, it was a deflection coming from us, and in the fourth goal, another deflection, but it’s part of the game. They’re a very good team, they’re one of the top teams in this league, if not the best. At least no doubt with the mentality, with the intensity that the players put on the field, we watched and we enjoyed a good game.”
(On his team’s mentality going in to this game…) “It is important that the players understand that the only way for us to get out of this slump is getting on the field and put intensity. We cannot just go over there and give up right away because we receive one goal. We’ve been talking, they’re committed and right now, what we need to think is if we can play the next four games with this intensity, we’re going to win some points because we have three at home. That is important.
Sadly, we’re going to lose now [Erick] ‘Cubo’ [Torres] again for one game and we’re going to lose Marvin [Chavez], but I think that the seed was there. We came with intensity, we played the top team in this league even, we scored goals but we have to improve the lack of concentration when we have to tackle the ball. We have to win those tackles. We have to win those battles right there, because they were good in the finishing.”
