“Unless there’s a blow out , it’s going to end in Houston”

Kinnear Relaxed but Pacing his Side for the Long Game

Dominic Kinnear put his side through its paces at Qwest Field this morning and they couldn’t have failed to notice they weren’t in Southern California anymore. So the whole squad had been outfitted with sky blue bobble hats, which represented just about the only sky blue on a typical Pacific Northwest October morning.

Nonetheless, Kinnear was in a relaxed mood as he spoke to us about tomorrow’s game, his next opponents and how he didn’t see the tie being resolved too early.

PROST AMERIKA: Houston become the first team to play this side for the 4th time. Does it get any easier to play an expansion side as the games come?

DOMINIC KINNEAR: An expansion side is a name for these guys because they’ve only played together for a year. They have a lot of experienced guys like Sigi. They have front office staff who’ve done good job of going outside America to find some very good players.

We’re happy with the play-offs, where we finished in the standings. It would have been nice to finish a little bit higher but that’s the way the table ended. It shows the guys’ consistency through out the year.

PROST AMERIKA: There’s one point between the teams with Houston being ahead. Would you reckon the squads are equal, or does one have an edge?

DOMINIC KINNEAR: It’s pretty even. Both teams are pretty deep; not too many many weaknesses surround either side. It will be a hard 180 minutes.

Unless the score’s a complete blow out one way or another, it’s going to end in Houston. You can’t panic or lose your discipline – Although it’s 180, every minute has some meaning. You can’t take any plays off. You have to be ready. You’re going to be under pressure and put them under pressure. There’s going to be swings and good plays on both sides of the ball. As long as you remain calm, you’re in good shape.

PROST AMERIKA: How does your approach to the first leg of a two leg game differ to your approach, to a one off game?

DOMINIC KINNEAR: I don’t think you can talk about the game in Houston just yet, because we haven’t even played here. If it’s a one off, you have to win it. This game, we’d like to win. We don’t want to say we’re going to lose, but normally one team goes home. This time, both teams are going back to Houston.

You really have to try and look at this and say ‘ok it’s 180 minutes, 90 in Seattle and 90 in Houston.’ We’d love to get out of here with a win. It’d be nice.

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Stuart Holden Relishing the Qwest Field Environment

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