April 28, 2007 MLS Toronto FC lose 1-0 to Kansas City quote sheet (from MLSnet.com)
04/28/2007 5:26PM
Wizards 1, Toronto FC 0 -- quote sheet
MLSnet.com Staff
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER QUOTE SHEET
SATURDAY, APRIL 28, 2007 -- KANSAS CITY WIZARDS 1, TORONTO FC 0
TORONTO FC HEAD COACH MO JOHNSTON
On improved play from the last game:
"Obviously we're still looking for that added blend, in terms of having the guys together for a long time. It was Danny (Dichio's) first game, and Maurice Edu's first time in the middle, and then obviously (Paulo) Nagamura, who doesn't play on the right-hand side. We're filling some gaps and hopefully we can get Ronnie (O'Brien) back, but I was very pleased in the first half."
On the fans:
"I felt our fans were magnificent. For the first time in a long time, I had goosebumps for a game, and I felt they were wonderful. I felt really bad sending them home losing 1-0."
On the play of goalkeeper Greg Sutton:
"I'm very proud of Greg Sutton, he's a tremendous goalkeeper. He came up and their guys came up big as well in the first half. We had them on the rack and we just couldn't get the ball over the line. Obviously the last four games we haven't scored, and we need to step up to the plate and score some goals, there's a lot of hard work to be done here."
TORONTO FC FORWARD ALECKO ESKANDARIAN
On playing in front of full house:
"Any time you get 20,000-plus supporting you like that, you just want to give it your all and get a good result for them, so that was my main focus before the game and even during the match. I was oohhing and aaahhhing with every chance we had. It just hurt that we couldn't get a good result for them. The fans were truly remarkable and I want to thank every single one of them."
TORONTO FC MIDFIELDER MAURICE EDU
On playing on FieldTurf:
"I think the more we play on it, it might play to our advantage for us against opponents who play on grass, and the better that we do on it, it will just benefit us in the future."
On the fans:
"I thought it was amazing. You know ... I was more anxious than nervous to play. During warmups we saw the crowd going crazy, and you hear the chants, it's an amazing feeling. It was the biggest crowd I've ever played in front of before so it was a real exciting moment for me."
TORONTO FC GOALKEEPER GREG SUTTON
On the team's play:
"We've got a lot of guys here that are getting to know each other, and unfortunately it's going to take a little time before they can really gel. You see it, when you see passes that are intended for somebody else, and a guy will make a run down the line and a pass will end up out of bounds. We can't stress it enough that we need (the fans') support. When you're playing in this league, winning your home games is vital."
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS HEAD COACH CURT ONALFO
On the result:
"Firstly, from our standpoint, I was extremely pleased with the result. It was a gutsy performance; we defended well and kept our shape very, very well. We had an awful lot of opportunities to score, and it didn't frustrate our guys until we finally put the ball into the back of the net."
On Eddie Johnson's form:
"Eddie's playing excellent soccer and he's enjoying himself. He's taking risks and that's what we want him to do. I will add that you guys have a great venue, and you're going to win a lot of games here."
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS FORWARD EDDIE JOHNSON
On the atmosphere at stadium:
"It was great. You know, this is what MLS has been trying to build -- a league where we can get soccer-specific stadiums that will bring a lot of fans to the game and sell out these games. Having the team in Canada, we couldn't have asked for a better place where soccer is really big and where the fans really want to come out here and support the team. These are the games you get pumped up for. From the moment we walked out, it was an environment where this is what we live, eat, breathe and sleep for."
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