New England Revolution Head Coach Jay Heaps
On the long week and the difficulty of tonight’s game:

Coach Heaps: “Yeah, it was a grinder. I think that it was a good week for us, in that we knew it was going to be a lot of work. We really tested our depth. Not just our depth, but also put some miles on some guys because we felt like going into this week, getting a point at Salt Lake was good, getting points there and then following it up with a win at home. Getting four points over two games was critical and then having a huge Open Cup Quarterfinal in the middle of it. So, balancing the lineup, balancing players, and then, look, tonight wasn’t our best game by any means. Things weren’t totally clicking in the final third. I felt like we had the game. I think anything we were dealing with was counterattack and things like that, but when we were going for it, you could see that there’s a real commitment. Look, Sean Johnson made two or three great saves. We just had to continue to fight and find a set piece goal. Sometimes, it’s the answer.”

On if he’s surprised by Je-Vaughn Watson’s extended run in the starting lineup recently:

Coach Heaps: “No, because he’s a gamer. I’ve asked him how many times, ‘Are you tired’. He says ‘No, I’m good to go.’ Je-Vaughn is the guy, when you write his name down on the game sheet, you know exactly what you’re going to get. He’s going to leave it all on the field. I think we saw an excellent game from him in Salt Lake, where he was playing left back and then we pushed him into midfield. He shows huge versatility in being able to be a lockdown defender and then also creativity in the midfield role as number eight or a number six, however we position him. Tonight, I think, set pieces is something we’ve been working, we always work on. We had a couple tonight. I thought we had actually two or three really good looks from our set pieces and in the end, he was able to get a great header.”

On the energy that Diego Fagundez brought to the team as a substitute:

Coach Heaps: “Exactly, I think for us, he went 120 [minutes] the other night.  He was someone that was, for me, one of the best players we had. In Salt Lake, he came on to the field and really injected that type of life. He did the same again tonight. You saw, we went to him early. You knew he was ready to go and he played well the other night in the Open Cup. We just wanted to make sure that we managed him in the right way because we needed someone to come in and spark us, obviously, with Femi [Hollinger-Janzen] going down. He’s usually that guy, but Diego was up for the challenge and I thought Diego was excellent tonight. Not only that, he did a lot of work for us defensively once we were trying to get the game back. He did a good job.”

On whether or not knowing that Chicago is the next opponent in Open Cup affected how he coached the game:

Coach Heaps: “It really didn’t. I think that they’re separate things going on right now. It was more, ‘get this game.’  You know this game’s on the schedule, so we’ve been preparing for Chicago all week, even starting last week, knowing that we’re going to have a busy week. Obviously, you want to come in and let them know it’s a tough place to play. It’s the second time they’ve come here and we’ve got to battle and they’ve got to battle. I think that both teams really put a huge effort out. They played Wednesday night as well. Their game was a little bit easier, so they were able to get players off. Ours, obviously, went the 120 [minutes] so we had to dig a little deeper. But I think anytime you play a team like that, the idea was nothing would change other than we wanted to send a message. We battled hard and our guys were really up for the challenge.”

On breaking through the Chicago Fire defense and the patience that it took to do so:

Coach Heaps: “They defend well and they’re organized well and they’re hard to break down. Tonight, felt like they had an extra defender out there. They were doing a good job. I thought, Matt Polster, I give him credit. For me, he was breaking up plays and doing different things. So, him sitting in front of the back four, he’s a good player. You just feel like they’re going to be hard to break down. Anytime we felt like we found a little bit of a seam, we were a little bit off or we didn’t find the right pass. I think on a night where we’re a little bit fresher, we find those chances a little bit easier, but I think tonight we had to wait for our moment. Wait for a set piece. Wait for our moment when we could get everyone, take a deep breath, and commit to making a play and that’s what Je-Vaughn [Watson] did.

On seeing Gershon Koffie back on the field:

Coach Heaps: “Great. We’re excited about his progression. Obviously, he was awesome for us the beginning half of the year and getting him back in gives us a lot more depth. We need to get him fully fit and ready to go. It was good to get his feet back in the water.”

On the selection of Andrew Farrell to the All-Star team and how much he means to the team:

Coach Heaps: “Well deserved. I think he has put in an excellent first half of the season. We came into the season pushing him more into a center back to see what the relationship was, knowing what he can do at right back. I think the shift, putting him at right back and putting London (Woodberry) at center back, has really solidified our defense because Farrell is an extra cover back there. He can go forward, which you see, and I love him going forward, but I also love what he does on the backside, helping out London [Woodberry] and covering him on the backside. He has a really good ability to see the game from that right back position. When the game’s in front of him on service, he’s able to read it, step up where he needs to, or mark his man from that right back position, which really helps our center backs.”

New England Revolution Defender/Midfielder Je-Vaughn Watson

On if he is tired after playing 90 minutes tonight and 120 minutes on Wednesday night:

Watson: “Yeah, I’m tired, but mentally, I’m strong. I know what I have to do to win the game. A lot of guys play injured, so I can’t look at it that way. I just keep fighting and at the end of the day, it pays off, because I’m trying to earn a spot on the team.”

On scoring in each of the team’s wins this week:

Watson: “It was a good goal, a nice week again. This time I didn’t score from my [weak] left foot. We are happy and the coaching staff and the players are happy. I think we deserve it because of the way we fought in that game. I know all the guys are tired, so we were just digging, digging, and digging. We never gave up and gave them any chance, so I guess that’s a plus. We come away with a clean sheet and three points, so that’s good.”

On scoring his first MLS goal since 2014:

Watson: “Whenever I score one, it’s just, keep pouring. I just need to get myself in good spots, because I know I’m always in a spot to score and if I get the chance, I’ll score. So, I just need to continue scoring goals and that’s what the coach said. He’s happy I started scoring, because he was watching me a couple years ago and he knows I’m a good goal scorer.”

On the defense keeping a second straight clean sheet:

Watson: “It’s good, because if you’re not getting scored on, you can’t lose the game. The coach is doing a lot with the guys on the defense, working hard every day, so I guess it pays off. At the end of the day, we keep pounding, because it’s a long season and guys are getting tired, so you have to keep digging deep. That’s just the MLS this time of year; teams are dropping points because of tired legs. I see the guys working hard on this team. These guys never give up. They’ve got the mentality to just keep working hard.”

On if it felt like the goal may not come for either side in this game:

Watson: “No, I never think about it that way. I’m always confident we’re going to get a goal. Even before the game I was telling [Gershon] Koffie, ‘I think I’m going to score a goal tonight.’ I keep fighting. I’m always in the box whether it comes to me or not, I try to get on some scrappy balls or whatever. That one was just in the perfect spot for me and I just headed it home. We have to keep confidence and keep right. We started the season really bad, but we just have to keep winning games and coming away with points.” 

On why he told Gershon Koffie he expected to score:

Watson: “Because that’s the thing with me, whenever I score one goal, I just keep scoring. When I used to play in Jamaica, when I used to play in Dallas, whenever I score one goal, I just want to get off the mark. I got this feeling before the game that I was going to score. I told Koffie that I was going to score, I told Kelyn [Rowe] that I was going to score. It’s just a confidence.”

On if he feels the team is better with him in a specific position:

Watson: “No, that’s not for me to say, that’s the coach’s decision. We’ve got a lot of quality players here. We have [Gershon] Koffie coming back off injury.  I was just there in that spot for guys that were out. At the end of the day, that’s for the coach. If he’s willing to put me back at right back, or left back, or in the goal, I’m willing to go there as long as we’re winning games. That’s just me.  I’m just a team player and I would do anything to get in the game.”

On the team’s recent run of good form:

Watson: “I think it’s a mentality of the guys. We know we have to play both sides of the ball. Before, we were just a counter attacking team. Now we’re defending, we’re attacking, guys are working hard in the game. In practice, guys are coming in early and taking care of their body. I guess that’s the change, the mentality change. Everybody wants to win, everybody wants to make it to the playoffs and win a championship. I guess that’s the big change.

New England Revolution Defender Andrew Farrell

On which Arsenal players he’s looking forward to facing at the 2016 AT&T MLS All-Star Game:

Farrell: “All of their players are really good. I don’t know exactly who they’ll have there, but I’m a big Alexi Sanchez fan. I’m a big [Alex] Oxlade-Chamberlain fan. Obviously, those guys will probably be on the wing, so if I get my name called I’ll probably play against those guys. And that’ll be awesome. But at the same time, you want to do well and win for the league. Arsenal will be a good challenge for us.”

On picking up a win tonight against Chicago:

Farrell: “It’s good, especially after the Open Cup game. We had some tired legs and it’s a quick turnaround. To be able to take on a good Chicago team, they got some new guys up top and with guys like [David] Accam and [Kennedy] Igboananike, they’re always going to be a handful. To get a shutout is huge and to get the result and three points is big.”

On coming out stronger in the second half:

Farrell: “We thought we played well at the half, but I think we know we should’ve demanded a little more from each other. In the locker room, Jay [Heaps] got us fired up at halftime and said we’re going to have a couple days off after this game, so dig in deep and look for it and put a little bit more pep in the step, I guess he would say. I think the guys came out well, created chances. Diego [Fagundez] came in, created some chances, and we got some corners. And Je-Vaughn [Watson] has been killing it all year and he stepped up big for us tonight. It’s a huge, huge result. Bobby [Shuttleworth], Jose [Goncalves], London [Woodberry], the guys in the back made some big plays. The guys in the midfield did great and it’s great to get the result.”

On Je-Vaughn Watson saying he was going to score before the game:

Farrell: “I didn’t hear that, no. No, it’s not a surprise. He’s been great all year no matter where he plays. To get a big goal for us – that’s a big goal for us back after the Open Cup game and our away game at RSL. To get points away, a tie away, and then you back it up with three points at home, it’s always good. Looking forward to Orlando next Sunday.”

On going into the All-Star break with a win:

Farrell: “It’s huge. It’s really big for us. We’ve gotten, I think, three or four good results strung together here and the confidence is building. We’ve got players with a lot of confidence. Start playing well together and getting these results together is just making our team a little bit better and better and better, and kind of peaking at the right time. I think in the first half of the season, we weren’t good, and the start of the second half of the season, we’re doing really well.”

Chicago Fire Head Coach Veljko Paunović

On goalkeeper Sean Johnson’s performance

Coach Paunović: “It’s my responsibility because I ask our goalkeepers every time it’s possible to try to try to catch the ball, so no problem—but we move forward. We learn from everything and we’re happy actually with the performance because Sean (Johnson) had fantastic saves today and that’s it. Sometimes you win, sometimes you have to go with the good game today on the road where I think we were a very good team, very competitive, and I think we deserved more; but at the end, as I always say, you get what you actually, really deserve. We got to get better. We were very close; maybe first time on the road that we were very close to winning the game and at the end we learn from our mistakes and move forward.”

On how the addition of Michael de Leeuw to the team has improved the team’s movement trying to get forward on the counter

Coach Paunović: “Michael (de Leeuw) improved our overall performance, not only in attack but overall performance, and our style even is better with Michael (de Leeuw) since he’s here, and I think what we actually have with Michael (de Leeuw) is a leader on the field, another leader on the field, together with David (Accam) and a couple of guys more, and actually the silent leader who works and does the best for the team. So we are very happy with Michael (de Leeuw) and we know that he’s going to even do better. I know because the team is improving and I’m very, very excited to see his performance in the future.”

On whether or not the team’s losing streak on the road is something they discuss before each game

Coach Paunović: “We play our games to win. So facts like that—it’s there, but actually we don’t think about it because we want to win our games and this is how we play. We have our game plan, we try to execute the best we can and as I said, I think today we were very close, so we move forward.”

On whether or not their performance tonight will affect how they prepare for the New England Revolution for the Open Cup

Coach Paunović: “No, not at all. We learn from every single game and as I said, it’s actually a great training for us, if I can say it like that; something that will give us a better insight how to prepare for the next game because it’s very close. It’s completely different from the experience that we had earlier this year playing here when we lost. It’s actually a great experience for us and we will prepare well for the Open Cup game. Be sure of that.”

Chicago Fire Goalkeeper Sean Johnson
On tonight’s performance and the late goal:

Johnson: “I thought we fought well for 90 minutes. Obviously, the goal is disappointing after fighting so hard, but you go down fighting trying to do the best you can to grind out a result and it just didn’t come off. I’ll take that one on me and really look to come out next week and do it all over again. I think we showed that we can defend well as a team. These things happen when you’re trying to do all you can to help your team win, but it’s a part of the game. We just have to bounce back and do it all again.”

On coming soon to play this team and getting a win:

Johnson: “There’s nothing that intimidates me about playing in this stadium. Obviously, we’ve shown we can play with this team. I think it’s just being confident in our ability as a team and coming back and regrouping and now just looking forward. We can’t really go on the past. For me, we just got to find it within ourselves to really dig and get points on the road.

Chicago Fire Forward David Accam
On tonight’s performance and the result:

Accam: “I’d say it’s a great performance from the team, we played really well, I think one of our best away game to play.  We lost in the last minute and therefore I’m really proud of the team because of how we played, even though we didn’t get a result we wanted. But, I’m really proud of the team.”

On coming in organized and energized and moving forward:

Accam: “That’s why I say we did really well. We created a lot of chances, we were organized today, and for me the future is always bright. From what I saw today, if you keep going, then I know the results will come.”

On playing New England again soon and what they can take away from this game:

Accam: “I think it’s kind of an advantage for us, because we’ve lost twice here and for us from today I’m really encouraged if we keep going, we’ll get something positive and for me it’s good thing that we have to play them again here so we can prepare and come back stronger.”