KANSAS CITY WIZARDS MANAGER PETER VERMES
On the game:
I thought D.C. came out hard, which we expected to. We expected them to play pretty direct. You can’t give up two chances to them the way we did because teams are going to capitalize. We made some silly mistakes that you can’t make at this level because if you do, you get punished. We almost got the one [goal] right before halftime, the one by Jack Jewsbury but it was a great save by the ’keeper. That would have helped a great deal because it would have gotten us into the flow of the game and put a little pressure on them. We got the goal a little too late. If we would have gotten it a little earlier it would have changed the mood of the game. But credit to them. They were chasing it and they took advantage of the opportunities we gave them.
On D.C.’s line up changes:
We kind of expected that there were going to be changes coming in. We weren’t really so concerned about everything that was happening with [D.C.], we were more concerned about how we were going to play. We talked about it all week leading up to the game and even earlier today before going out to the field. But I go back to what I said earlier, you can’t make so many mistakes like that because you are going to get punished.
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS MIDFIELDER JACK JEWSBURY
On the result:
It wasn’t what we came here to accomplish. We’re very disappointed with the fact that we gave them a few opportunities. I thought we handed them a few goals. Once you get down 2-0 on the road, it’s always tough to come back. We fought the whole game, kept driving to get the goal, but it just came a bit late. The first one [goal] we would have liked to either gotten earlier in the first half or as we came out of halftime but the ’keeper came up with a couple of good saves. He got one on me right before halftime. But to be honest, we made too many mistakes.
On Bill Hamid’s performance:
To be honest, I don’t think many of us knew much about him. We knew he was a young guy, and he was getting his first chance. Obviously, there were some nerves there and we wanted to test him. The only [opportunity] I can only speak of is my chance at the end of the first half, I struck it pretty well but it was a great reaction save by him. I think he had a great game, especially for his first outing.
D.C. UNITED HEAD COACH CURT ONALFO
On how it feels to win:
I didn’t tell you guys but that’s actually how all along it was going to be, patience and perseverance and my first win would be against my former employers [laughs]. Obviously it feels great. It’s just one win but it’s certainly an important one. What we’ve dealt with over five weeks in terms of adversity has been very trying and I commend our group for not letting any negativity enter into our group and understanding along the way what it takes to win games in this League. It takes hard work, it takes sacrifice, it takes playing every play like it’s the last. We had a very good, hard-fought, workmanlike effort for 90 minutes and it’s really encouraging to get the victory.
On Bill Hamid:
I thought [Hamid] performed extremely well. He’s 19 years old and it’s his first MLS game. I think he looked a little bit shaky on a couple of plays but that’s normal but he’s a gamer and that’s the kind of performance he put in during preseason and that’s the reason why he’s our backup. I’m proud of his performance and I thought he had a really solid game.
D.C. UNITED FORWARD DANNY ALLSOPP
On the relief of ending United’s goal-scoring drought:
I think it was a relief for everyone, really. It was great to score in front of our home fans, they have gone through a lot with us. I think everyone is pleased tonight and hopefully we can start to win games.
On his successful partnership with Adam Cristman:
Yeah, we have played together a bit this season. He understands me, and I understand him, and it worked really well tonight. We started with a game plan, and he gave me at least one of the goals. It was great and it all worked out, and we’re just pleased with the result.
D.C. UNITED GOALKEEPER BILL HAMID
On his MLS debut:
I was disappointed not to get the clean sheet, but most importantly we got the win and we can get the ball rolling. Our goal is to get to the playoffs and fight for this championship to get this organization back to where it needs to be.
On moving forward from the win:
We just need to keep fighting, every single second of the game. I think we are learning how to put together complete performances, and from here we just need to be consistent.
