NOTES
- Whitecaps FC suffer their first loss of the 2013 MLS regular season and drop their record to 2W-1L-0D
- VWFC were outshot 10 to 17 but were on target 6 to 4
- Nigel Reo-Coker wore the captain's armband tonight
- Striker Darren Mattocks scored his first goal of the 2013 season, 7 of his 9MLS goals have come on the road
- Mattocks had more shots (6) and shots on target (4) than any other player
- Midfielder Eric Hurtado record his first MLS assist in his first MLS start
- Striker Corey Hertzog made his Whitecaps FC debut
- Next week VWFC will visit Chivas USA for their first match against a Western Conference club
WHITECAPS FC – QUOTES
VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC
HEAD COACH MARTIN RENNIE
Thoughts on the match
“We were one-nil up and that was a significant moment in the game. Then we had to weather another storm and we lost a couple runners in the box so that was disappointing because that is stuff that we can improve on and stuff that we can prevent.”
“There are simple things that could have made life easier for us tonight. We hit both posts off one shot and that was a key moment as well. We probably had four clear chances and tonight we only took one of them. We do need to take our chances, we played well at times and we weathered the storm for most of it. We are looking forward to the next game.”
On the team’s performance on the road
“It’s a long season and there are a lot of games on the road. This is a hard place to come at. I thought Houston played well and this was an exciting game for everybody here tonight and I feel very encouraged of where we can get to on the road.”
On facing a team with a long unbeaten streak at home
“It’s obvious that they are on an excellent unbeaten streak at home. Credit to them for that, that’s a fantastic run they are on. But genuinely coming here tonight we thought we had a good chance to win and showed that throughout the game. We really believed that we could get that goal to get on the lead and we did that, but I don’t think we defended quite well enough. They have a great record here, we are certainly not the first team to come here and not win. That has been the case for a long, long time, so we are not disappointed or down about it at all. Actually we feel encouraged and positive about the next game.”
FORWARD DARREN MATTOCKS
Thoughts on the game
“I think it was a really good game. I was looking to get at least a point out of the game. There are a lot of positives to take from the game, but there are certain errors that we can improve upon. We need to take our chances, especially away. We have to bounce back really quickly because we have two more games on the road.”
On the breakaway opportunity against Tally Hall
“As a striker as soon I get the goal wide open I’m take the chances. This time, the goalkeeper did a good job.”
MIDFIELDER ERIK HURTADO
Thoughts on the match and getting his first start
“It was good, my first start out there. We came out fine. I think in the first half we definitely dominated and we got that first goal to put us up 1-0 at halftime. It put us in a good position to win the game and we just went out there focusing on the first ten minutes. We had to fight hard because we knew Columbus scored on us [last week] in the first ten minutes of the second half.
“We fought really hard, we worked really hard, we came back defensively and we went forward together as a team. Marking up, that’s a simple thing to fix, so we are going to work on that this next week and when we go down to Chivas we will have it sort it out.”
HOUSTON DYNAMO
HEAD COACH DOMINIC KINNER
Thoughts on the match:
“It was a great comeback. We were unfortunate to go down 1-0 at halftime. The guys played pretty good and created some good chances and [Vancouver] took advantage of their chance. In the second half we had a good push. We kept on putting the ball in the box and kept attacking it well. It’s a great three points for the guys. I’m happy for the guys and look forward to playing San Jose next week.”
On the players who stepped up with the international absences:
“They are not here to replace somebody, they are here to keep us winning. There is no mention of the guys who are not here, because we can’t do anything about that. The words and focus is on the guys who are playing and the guys in the locker room. We knew the season would be challenging and that there would be some movement in the lineup from Saturday to Saturday.
“I’m happy the guys played well as a whole. I’m happy we won the game because there are some teams that are sprinting away with wins in the Eastern Conference. We talk about players and victories and when the guys step on the field, they know the expectations are to try and win the game.”
On defending the speed of Vancouver:
“They are a good team. They have some good players in the midfield that keep the ball well. When the timing is right and you have speed like that and good passing on the ball, it can cause you problems. [Mattocks] gets behind every defense, not just us, so you have to make sure communication is good and if he does get behind, you can’t give up on the play. Mattocks is a dangerous forward. He has good pace and makes good runs and when you mix that with guys who have decent touch on the ball, like [Daigo] Kobayashi or [Nigel] Reo-Coker, it can cause problems for you.”
MIDFIELDER WARREN CREAVALLE
Thoughts on the match:
“We were unfortunate to go down in the first half, but the boys kept battling and we were able to make that second-half push. We are very pleased with the victory.”
On replacing the international call-ups:
“We just have to take these opportunities and do what you can do. Hopefully we can contribute and show that we don’t need to miss a beat when there are players out.”
On the second goal:
“Adam [Moffat] whipped a good ball in and Will [Bruin] did well to get to it. My position was on the goalkeeper so I just tried to get in a good position to poke it home.”
FORWARD GILES BARNES
On getting his first MLS goal:
“It was great to get off the mark. I think I’ve had a chance to score in every game we played, so I knew I was due one. It was good to get off the mark and it was good we got the win as well.”
On dealing with the international call-ups:
“Vancouver are typically one of the stronger teams in the league and I think we handled them really well. I think the boys have come in and addressed that we work hard first and foremost and they added their quality as well and we came out with a win. As for the depth of our squad, I think we’ve shown we’ve got some.”
On keeping the home unbeaten streak in tact:
“Our home is a fortress so we always have a little bit of an extra lift, kind of like a 12th man. We thought we could come here and get the two losses out of our system.”
