WHAT A WIN
This picture, by Jamie Squire of Getty Images, says it all. Wizards celebrating in front of the hometown fans.
Holy cow that was fun. Ryan Smith is an impact player. Jimmy Nielsen pitched his first MLS shutout in his first MLS game. Tonight marked our best-ever margin of victory in a home opener, and was the first time four different players scored goals since April 14, 2007 when we beat United 4-2 at RFK in Onalfo's first game as our coach. Goal scorers that day were Michal Harrington, Sasha Victorine, Eddie Johnson and Scott Sealy.
Since we scored more than three goals and won, the Planet Sub Hat Trick Special is in effect tomorrow. Mention the deal at area Planet Sub locations and receive a Planet Sub sandwich, chips and a cookie for just $3.
Quotes:
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS MANAGER PETER VERMES
On the game
“We talked as a team that we spent 62 days getting ready for tonight. We knew we were going to make some mistakes, but we had to come out with all the ideas of how we wanted to play and stay disciplined to that, and the guys did an excellent job of executing.”
On what impressed him the most
“We got four goals, which is great, but one of the biggest positive is that we also got a shutout. That is one of the most important things moving forward.”
On Ryan Smith’s debut
“He’s an extremely dangerous player, especially one versus one. It’s hard to control him, you could say that by how many fouls were created by him. He was also very locked into the game defensively, so it was a very good debut for him.”
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS WINGER RYAN SMITH
On his debut match
“4-0 is a very emphatic win, and that’s definitely a great way to start the season. Scoring that goal was one of the best feelings I’ve ever had.”
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS STRIKER TEAL BUNBURY
On his debut
“The atmosphere was amazing. It’s really hard to describe just how great it felt to go out there. I was wondering before the game how it would feel to go in, and my family was here, so it was really cool that they got to see me play.”
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS DEFENDER JIMMY CONRAD
On reestablishing a home field advantage
“It was a point of emphasis for us. We wanted to make sure that we put our stamp on things here at home. This game is hopefully a good indication of where we’re heading, and if we can win 4-0 every game, we’ll be happy men.
On the improvement from last year
“I think we have a distinct style. It’s something we’ve been working on throughout the whole preseason. It’s a good system; everyone is on the same page, and that makes a big difference.”
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS STRIKER JOSH WOLFF
On the team’s offensive explosion
“Tonight you got to see a variety of different ways to score goals from us, which is good. The opportunities are coming, and we’re excited that we’re converting them. I thought we put them under pressure from the get-go, and we reaped the rewards from that.”
D.C. United Head Coach Curt Onalfo
On the loss
“For me, at the end of the day, for whatever reason we stepped on the field thinking we were just going to win the game. In real life, we actually need to roll up our sleeves and fight and earn it on the field. It was a disappointing performance. Having said that, it’s one game and we have to put it behind us quickly, learn from it. You know, we made a lot of youthful errors. We struggled with the size of the field, we struggled with the surface, we struggled with clearing the ball. A lot of things went wrong in one evening.”
On Andy Najar’s debut
“Andy is a young player. He’s got a real bright future and he’s going to learn with each opportunity he gets on the field.”
On the goals
“All of our guys need to a better job of recognizing danger. It’s a wet, slick night and just need to make sure we get the ball out of play when we need it.”
On the lack of cohesion of the team
“It was a little bit of an odd week. We had Julius sick all week with stomach issues. Devon McTavish going down with a groin issue. It was a little bit of a fragmented week. Christian Castillo was sick most of the week, so it made for not a very cohesive week, but I figured still the guys would step in and be able adapt, but at the end of the day we didn’t. We have to move on. It wasn’t a good performance, but we know we have good performances in us. We should that as early as a week ago, down in Charleston. We just have to learn from our mistakes, move on, and get ourselves ready for Saturday. It’s as simple as that.”
D.C. United goalkeeper Troy Perkins
On the loss
“Yeah, we just weren’t sharp. Little things like getting to rebounds, on both ends really, hurt us tonight. Little things like that we have to clean up, and overall it [tonight’s match] was an eye-opener for us. In the preseason we won games and played well, but coming into the season it’s a different story - a different ballgame. This is a good lesson to learn early, and we will move on from here.”
D.C. United forward Jaime Moreno
On Kansas City
“They were better tonight, there’s no question about it. They were hungrier, and controlled much of the game. We had a couple of moments where we really tried to play, and we had a good chance in the beginning of the game, but overall they were the better team.”
On moving forward from the loss
“This [tonight’s loss] is a slap in the face, because we have been playing pretty good soccer, and it is clear that this team has a long way to go to improve. We feel strongly about it [improving], and things happen during a season, and we are lucky this [tonight’s loss] happened early. We are going to go back to work and sort out all the things that were missing today.”
On the game
“We talked as a team that we spent 62 days getting ready for tonight. We knew we were going to make some mistakes, but we had to come out with all the ideas of how we wanted to play and stay disciplined to that, and the guys did an excellent job of executing.”
On what impressed him the most
“We got four goals, which is great, but one of the biggest positive is that we also got a shutout. That is one of the most important things moving forward.”
On Ryan Smith’s debut
“He’s an extremely dangerous player, especially one versus one. It’s hard to control him, you could say that by how many fouls were created by him. He was also very locked into the game defensively, so it was a very good debut for him.”
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS WINGER RYAN SMITH
On his debut match
“4-0 is a very emphatic win, and that’s definitely a great way to start the season. Scoring that goal was one of the best feelings I’ve ever had.”
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS STRIKER TEAL BUNBURY
On his debut
“The atmosphere was amazing. It’s really hard to describe just how great it felt to go out there. I was wondering before the game how it would feel to go in, and my family was here, so it was really cool that they got to see me play.”
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS DEFENDER JIMMY CONRAD
On reestablishing a home field advantage
“It was a point of emphasis for us. We wanted to make sure that we put our stamp on things here at home. This game is hopefully a good indication of where we’re heading, and if we can win 4-0 every game, we’ll be happy men.
On the improvement from last year
“I think we have a distinct style. It’s something we’ve been working on throughout the whole preseason. It’s a good system; everyone is on the same page, and that makes a big difference.”
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS STRIKER JOSH WOLFF
On the team’s offensive explosion
“Tonight you got to see a variety of different ways to score goals from us, which is good. The opportunities are coming, and we’re excited that we’re converting them. I thought we put them under pressure from the get-go, and we reaped the rewards from that.”
D.C. United Head Coach Curt Onalfo
On the loss
“For me, at the end of the day, for whatever reason we stepped on the field thinking we were just going to win the game. In real life, we actually need to roll up our sleeves and fight and earn it on the field. It was a disappointing performance. Having said that, it’s one game and we have to put it behind us quickly, learn from it. You know, we made a lot of youthful errors. We struggled with the size of the field, we struggled with the surface, we struggled with clearing the ball. A lot of things went wrong in one evening.”
On Andy Najar’s debut
“Andy is a young player. He’s got a real bright future and he’s going to learn with each opportunity he gets on the field.”
On the goals
“All of our guys need to a better job of recognizing danger. It’s a wet, slick night and just need to make sure we get the ball out of play when we need it.”
On the lack of cohesion of the team
“It was a little bit of an odd week. We had Julius sick all week with stomach issues. Devon McTavish going down with a groin issue. It was a little bit of a fragmented week. Christian Castillo was sick most of the week, so it made for not a very cohesive week, but I figured still the guys would step in and be able adapt, but at the end of the day we didn’t. We have to move on. It wasn’t a good performance, but we know we have good performances in us. We should that as early as a week ago, down in Charleston. We just have to learn from our mistakes, move on, and get ourselves ready for Saturday. It’s as simple as that.”
D.C. United goalkeeper Troy Perkins
On the loss
“Yeah, we just weren’t sharp. Little things like getting to rebounds, on both ends really, hurt us tonight. Little things like that we have to clean up, and overall it [tonight’s match] was an eye-opener for us. In the preseason we won games and played well, but coming into the season it’s a different story - a different ballgame. This is a good lesson to learn early, and we will move on from here.”
D.C. United forward Jaime Moreno
On Kansas City
“They were better tonight, there’s no question about it. They were hungrier, and controlled much of the game. We had a couple of moments where we really tried to play, and we had a good chance in the beginning of the game, but overall they were the better team.”
On moving forward from the loss
“This [tonight’s loss] is a slap in the face, because we have been playing pretty good soccer, and it is clear that this team has a long way to go to improve. We feel strongly about it [improving], and things happen during a season, and we are lucky this [tonight’s loss] happened early. We are going to go back to work and sort out all the things that were missing today.”
3 comments:
Great photo!
LMAO - Onalfo still complaining about the pitch - it's not like he didn't know the size at CAB - after all he lost there plenty of times before - you would think he would have prepared his little boys for it!!! and to blame the surface is even better - Curt, do you mean the best professional soccer field in the country gave the handball boys problems? hahaha...loooozer then, loooozer now. Good riddance.
GO WIZARDS!!
Great opening night! The Wizards really looked hungry for goals tonight. 1st Place! :)
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