Colorado Rapids & Chicago Fire Post-Game Quotes

Carlos de los Cobos, Chicago Fire Head Coach

On the game overall...

"I wish we could have continued to play how we played in the first half, because we played well. We have many opportunities throughout the game and that was good for us. Very early in the second half we conceded a goal. In this situation we have a lot of young players and this event put pressure on them. We did not play as well in the second half of the game. In the second half we had problems but that was because Colorado had to push forward in order to try to win the match. In the end though, it was very good for us to return home with the result of one point. I am very satisfied with the work of the players tonight because we have a lot of young guys and it is not easy to sometimes resolve some problems on the field on the go. Colorado had the need to play better in the second half and in the end the tie was a good result for everyone. Even for the Rapids."

More quotes after the break

On the way the team played...

"I am always telling the players that we need to have possession of the ball. Tonight's game gave us the opportunity to find the space in the field to penetrate and this is what happened tonight when we scored the goal. We need to have the patience. Sometimes we want to attack fast and this is not always good. We used to run to recover the ball and now we to control the ball so that we can be there in the second half."

Dominic Oduro, Chicago Fire Midfielder

Overall general comments on the game...

"Last game was not good. We had a lot of long balls that got behind our defense and we had to get better at that. Tonight we had a couple of midfielders that could help us keep the ball and it worked out a little better. We were trying to give the green light for the Rapids to push it in the middle and that is where we had guys that would get to the ball and try to win the ball for us. That was the plan."

On play in the second half...

"To come out give up the goal after coming out flying high this did not work out the way that we wanted it to. At the end of the day I think that our game plan worked out a little bit. But if we would have won this game we could have taken some pressure off of ourselves."

On the goal scored by Marco Pappa...

"We had talked about this play at practice and got played a very good ball. I knew what I had to do and Marco Pappa made a very good run and put the ball right in the net. It was a good setup and great goal. All I had to do was kick the ball right to him."

Gary Smith, Colorado Rapids Head Coach

On the game overall...

"All in all, with a side that has struggled with health throughout, the guys that were out here I thought gave a terrific display. We had numerous opportunities to score and we got back in the game. At the moment we're just not clinical enough in front of the goal to nudge ourselves in front. But it's a step in the right direction. I thought the football was decent. The guys are a little disappointed not to win. But I think they'll wake up in the morning and feel better about the way they've played, the spirit, the endeavor. We've got some guys coming back next week to strengthen the group. We've got some tough away games. But what you know about this group is that they're capable of winning anywhere and we've got to pick up a couple of results away from home and we're back on track."

On Omar Cummings and Andre Akpan up top...

"I thought the pair of them was great. There's always going to be a little miscommunication. There was one in the first half. It was a terrific buildup - the ball got played into Andre [Akpan] and instead of just letting it run he tried to flick it. Even in the second period there were one or two occasions where the understanding of their runs wasn't quite there. It was probably Omar's [Cunningham] fourth partner up top. We've got four other forwards injured and at the moment it's our time of the season to dig deep and tonight I thought they did that."

On playing against Chicago Fire...

"They're not a bad side. They're not having the greatest of times but they're still not a bad side. They've shown in fleeting glimpses there that they have some very talented guys. [Marco] Pappa, and [Diego] Chaves up front is a good footballer. They left us a little bit wanting for the goal. They broke very quickly and made the most of it. But I don't remember too many shots at goal. I think Pappa had the only other very good chance when it went into the side netting. For me it was more about what we were going to produce and when we scored. There were chances to make a little bit more of the possession but it didn't quite come off. I really felt as if it was going to be us getting the win at the end and I definitely thought we could."

On ending the three-game losing streak...

"Three defeats on the skid, I think it might be the first time that's happened since I've been here. It wasn't nice. If you look at the circumstances that surround the loss in Salt Lake that I keep going on about, it was not a goal and we get beat. It counts now of course. And then last week was a very difficult challenge and with 10 men it was tough. So tonight's the first opportunity in a long while for the guys to go out and display what they're about with 11 men. Honestly I thought a lot of the play was very decent. I'm excited to get back on the sheet again, and it was a great goal. I thought Andre was wonderful tonight. He really put in a shift and looked very well balanced. He showed some nice touches and some creativity. When all of our forwards are fit I've got a bit of a choice. The challenge is getting them all fit. The way that the week's unfolded from last weekend and from the defeat, I think the display tonight will put a smile on everybody's face again. Whilst it hasn't given us all three points, it should give everybody a shot in the arm to move forward. We've got chances to win games away from home and with players coming back I would hope that we're not going to be too far away from that."

On the injured players...

"I see no reason why guys like Marvell [Wynne], Caleb [Folan], Quincy [Amarikwa] (shouldn't be back soon) - maybe on Wednesday and probably looking towards the following weekend. By the way we can add Wells [Thompson] into that, he had food poisoning just before the game. So Wells will be available Wednesday as long as he doesn't do anything stupid again before the game. And then probably beyond that you're looking at Conor [Casey] not too far away so the choices are going to start coming back into the group and with that you get more strength and depth and the ability to rotate a little bit."

Andre Akpan, Colorado Rapids forward

On getting the chance to start...

I've been waiting for nearly a year and a half just to get the chance to start and really put my impact on the game. Finally I got a start, unfortunately it's because of injury, but I was called upon. I thought if I could just get in and contribute and maybe get a goal I could be in the mind of the coach for the next few games. I was able to do that (score) so hopefully I can continue that (playing).

On scoring his first goal as a pro against Chicago in Open Cup play-in game and scoring first MLS goal against the Fire tonight...

"I think that warrants some more time against them, next time we play them. I think maybe I just built a little confidence from the first game, and I went out there and did as much as I could to try to get my touches early. I was able to get into the flow of the game and it worked out.