On the result against New England this weekend
CH: It was a good game. I think we dug in, and it was a hard performance for myself. We dug in and we got rewarded in the end, and I think it was deserved. For me personally, obviously, it gives me confidence to know that I can do what I do in training in the games and was just happy with the performance overall.
CL: The win itself three points is huge for confidence. We're just delighted for the players. They've been needing that. And the work rate that we've been putting in and their application in the last couple of weeks has been terrific. So just delighted for them to get that, to get the confidence from a win. But then also the manner of it, New England's a really good side, very experienced, it was a difficult game. And we had to fight and we had to scrap and we had to show a lot of character to get a result in that game. And we did that. And so the manner of the performance and how we won, I think that will give the confidence to the players as well.
On using momentum from beating a top 3 Eastern Conference team to taking on a top 3 Western conference team
CH: Nothing changes from our mentality on our side, we try and do the same things, if not better, and we know that we could have played better in that game as well. So we just need to put our head down and keep working.
CL: These last seven games we have, every game are with tough opponents, so a really difficult situation. [Seattle] have one of the best away records in MLS, so really tough opponent, I know they'll be very well organized. A tough game, but we're at home and we've shown against New England that we can cause teams lots of problems. So it's a good opportunity for us for four home games in the next five. So this is a great opportunity against a tough opponent to go and see where we are.
On using the Rapids' depth to face a busy schedule of 6 games in 3 weeks
CH: It's tough. Today was our first day back, we had a day off and then we've got one training session and are straight into another game. So the main thing is to do the little things right, and to keep the focus and carry the momentum on each game.
CL: We're all disappointed with where we were, we've talked about that before, and the togetherness of the team and taking ownership of it, of where we are. I think the application, some of the behaviors we saw in that New England game, people tracking back, desire to get back to help the team, those sorts of things, the little things that sometimes don't show up in stat sheets, but are very important to help winning football games. And we were delighted with those things that helped us win against New England and we're hoping those things will continue. And they'll definitely be needed against a tough opponent like Seattle.
On key tactics to shut down Seattle's top attackers at home
CL: Seattle's obviously very talented, but most teams are that we're playing in the MLS. The focus has really been on us. We have a reference point for Seattle, the players know some of the players and some of the things that we can expect, but it's really about us and how can we try and impose ourselves on our opponent and being at home. And can we can we get our fans engaged early, get the energy--which I thought was fantastic on Saturday--and carry that positive momentum and confidence into this game.
