Orlando Pride Head Coach Seb Hines
On the thoughts of the match
“Obviously we are disappointed with the result and the goals we conceded, but I think there are a lot of positives to take away. We came here and tried to play the right way. We tried to control the game in possession and when you do that there has to be an objective to score and I don’t think we created enough opportunities to score. That is something we will review and look back at with video and ultimately toward going into the season we want to possess to score goals. Credit to Portland, they got us in transition and were very direct and front footed. We will just have to evaluate moving forward."
On the decision to go with the backline pairing and how he think they performed
"Yeah, I mean they are both making their NWSL debuts and it's a great environment to do it. Playing in front of a big crowd against the champions and you have to put young players in positions where they feel uncomfortable. And I thought they did well, I thought we were good in possession again. It's a lot to learn from the playing against the MVP of the league. Probably one of the best players in the league. And, again, we were direct in transition. She's [Sophia Smith] a threat and I thought they dealt with it pretty well. I think as a team we have to look back on how the transitions happened, where we overplayed and can we have played over their line ? I think Emily [Madril] and Caitlin [Cosme] can form a good relationship. And that's important. Having that partnership where you can communicate and learn from each other and b ig thing for me is in possession as well. So Caitlin gives that balance with a left foot to play out wide to Kylie Strom and they can start a lot of attacks from that position.”
On how important it is to get young players minutes and out on the field
“It's really important I mean, they have to play that's the only way they're going to get better. Giving them an opportunity so they can thrive, learn and develop. Now do it early, where the nerves are out the way. Again, this is the first game there's plenty of more games coming up, it’s a difficult environment to come [to]. But, it's great that they get exposure they can only get better from getting time on the field. So I think everyone should be excited of what the future holds for every player that we have here.”
On adjusting to the press of the Thorns
“Yeah, I mean two-nil is a scoreline that the next goal really matters. We believed that, at halftime, we could score the next goal and get back into the game. Unfortunately, it didn't happen. But I think, in terms of their press, I thought we got in good areas, we beat their front line. Now is it can we turn, can we drive, can we get some end product or it's going wide or going through the heart to then you shoot or cross and get numbers in the box? So yeah, that's something that we'll look at this this week leading up towards Angel City at home. I mean, yeah , it's a tough result, of course, but I think we should keep our heads held high. Because we had to go trying to play the right way.”
Orlando Pride midfielder Haley McCutcheon
On the thoughts on the match
“Yeah, obviously disappointment. Everybody wants to start the season off strong. And we were more than prepared to do so. And you know, this is a tough place to play, but we're going to keep our heads held high because we came here and tried to play the way and we want to be happy with.”
On if the pregame festivities affected anything
“I think that you expect a great crowd in Portland every time you play. I don't know that that had a great effect on making us extra nervous or anything like that. I think we respected our opponents, and we know what they can do, but we also came in confident knowing what we can do as well. And so yeah , we were prepared for that it was just a matter of execution.”
On managing the pressure from Portland
“At halftime, we felt like we were in this game. We were doing well in possession but just progressing that into the final third was something that we talked about and control of transition moments. They obviously punished us on transition this game and that's something we're going to take away and learn from. But overall, I think we can be happy with what we have established today and we can build on that. The goals will come, and we need to just be confident in what we’re building here.”
On the backline and some of them making their NWSL debut
“I'm really proud of them. I think that they did a great job. All things considered , this is one of the hardest places to play and they handled it and we all tried to help each other. I think it's, again, just something that we all can learn from by being prepared and being better and executing next time, but I'm really proud of how they came out in their first cap and really tried to do the right things.”
