Veljko Paunovic, Chicago Fire Head Coach
On how disappointing today’s result was for Chicago:
“First I would like to congratulate New York City FC on a win; I wish them the best of luck in the playoffs. On the other side I think we made mistakes defensively, very important mistakes that ended up deciding the game. Offensively, I can only pride our team on the fact that we pushed hard to equalize the game. It was 2-0 and we made it 2-1. Even when it was 4-1 we had some chances to score goals; we had opportunities. Defensively, I think we had a really bad game. It’s just that this year we are making all of the mistakes that one team can make. That of course is why we are where we are. And yes, we always say that it’s a learning process and everything but you know, you have to learn from the mistake. If you’re not learning from your mistake then something is wrong. That is why we are here to fix that. We will fix it, and we will come back next year.”
Luis Solignac, Chicago Fire Forward
Thoughts on the match:
"Tough match. I’m really disappointed. We came here to get a different result. We need wins. All I can say is that we tried our best and it didn't work out this time."
On scoring the goal:
"I am trying to do my best. I train every day to score goals; in my position, that’s the most important thing. Hopefully I can score goals to win [games in the future]; it’s pointless, this goal, so hopefully next time we can win."
On the importance on winning some games before season ends:
"At this point it does not matter how we play, we have to get the three points. I am really frustrated, but as they say, we have to keep fighting and get results, because we really need it."
Arturo Alvarez, Chicago Fire Midfielder
Thoughts on the match:
"I think it was it was a tough start for us. Going down two goals in a span of a minute or two – that brought us down a bit. It’s always tough when you go down like that, but I think we had a decent response to score right away. We knew that New York had strong players up top, players that if you give them a half a chance, they’re going to put it away; that’s what happened today."
On hitting the post:
"I wish that ball would have gone in. That's the way soccer goes sometimes. We had few other good looks at goal and we should have done better. We just have to make sure that we keep pushing and hopefully those chances will go in for us next time."
On playing Seattle next:
"We have a long trip ahead of us. We play Seattle away. We know how tough that is. We just have to make sure we recover well. We let our bodies and mind refocus and go out there and try to get three points on Wednesday.”
On finishing the season strong:
"We have five games left. We just have to make sure that every game we play from now on we have to win. It's been a tough season for us. We have to get better. We have to keep pushing and show people that we can be that team to beat next year."
