12. FC Dallas – Daniel Hernandez apologized for his pair of yellows. Blas Perez’s red, which left Dallas two men down for almost an hour? No one around the Texans’ ground was apologizing for that one. Said manager Schellas Hyndman: “I did see it as a 50/50 play, and I don’t think there was anything intentional. It was simply two players going for the ball and it is what it is.”
11. Montréal Impact – You’ve got to hand it to Impact manager Jesse Marsch. Going into Livestrong Sporting Park was tough enough; having the confidence to dip into the roster and hand some new faces a chance in a busy week, that was something else. It paid handsomely in 2-0 upset over previously top-ranked Sporting Kansas City. Let’s hear about it, coach: “There’s a lot of confidence in our group and we know that we have a lot of options. It makes my job a little bit tougher to figure who to put out on the field at different moments but I’m also very proud of our group for everyone really staying focused on what we’re trying to do here”.
10. Chicago Fire – Chicago moves up a spot after a quality win, even if it took some late heroics from Marco Pappa to give the Fire all three points at Chivas USA. Chicago manager Frank Klopas watched from a luxury suite while serving a one-game suspension. But he didn’t need a field-level view to appreciate Pappa’s late game-winner: “It took a special player to make a special play at the end,” he said.
9. Colorado Rapids – Omar Cummings’ ankle injury just plain stinks, especially when the formerly feared and well-balanced Cummings-Conor Casey strike combo was about to join forces again. Casey is getting closer to his first start of 2012, at least. Here’s how he summed up Sunday’s 2-0 win over nine-man Dallas: “We caught a break, but we also took advantage.”
8. New York Red Bulls – The team barely (barely!) hung on at home against New England two weeks ago. But what the team accomplished in a 1-0 weekend win at L.A. was hardly “hanging on.” And manager Hans Backe was giving full credit: “The whole team just worked their ass off. Normally when you have so many starters out you are forced to defend and they did in phenomenally. It was a definite team effort. They were under pressure but didn’t allow them a real opportunity, a lot of crosses and half chances, and Ryan once again was phenomenal.”
7. Houston Dynamo – It’s all about the new digs ahead of Saturday’s grand opening of BBVA Compass Stadium. Dynamo president Chris Canetti: “I’m a New York Yankees fan and I have spent many days at Yankee Stadium, and no one’s better than the Yankees at making their stadium a shrine for tradition and history. That was my vision for this stadium. This place tells a story about our club and brand and those pillars are a representation of that.”
