Orlando City SC Head Coach Oscar Pareja
Opening Statement
“I thought after the performance, especially that we had in the first half and part of the second half until the red card came, we felt that we lost those two points. It was a team that we dominated, but this is another experience that we have to learn from. How can we kill those games when we have the chances and be precise and lethal? We are good when we are in that mode. Unfortunately, today we weren’t. After that I have to say that the willingness of the players and the commitment to the game, and you saw all the metrics, and that performance is probably the best that we have had against this club. We really feel that that precision just kept us away from winning those three points. Obviously, it is another story when the red card came, and obviously [New York Red Bulls] pushed and then we had to congest a little bit in the middle of the field. Then it was another game played there; it was not the same game.”
On the team finding the balance between scoring and defending at a high level
“We said when we were unbalanced on the other side with scoring a lot but giving away a lot of goals, that our individual performance needed to be improved. But as a collective, I have to say that we played so well today. But if everyone just raises that part, that is part of our individual responsibility, we're going to be that team that has balance. Today, in the first half, I don't know if they [New York Red Bulls] took a shot on goal. We had our opportunities to score where we needed to be the team that killed the game, and we didn't. And then again, the second half after the 56th minute, it was a different game because there was the red card. But we have to raise that individual performance. Defensively, we have to keep doing what we are doing, we are looking much better than what we looked like at the beginning of the season.”
On the difference between today’s match versus the last match against New York Red Bulls
“I think the evaluation of our game today was cleaner. I have to recognize and highlight the performance of those two midfielders that we had today, with Joran [Gerbet] and Dagur [Dan Thórhallsson]. They absorbed that pressure, and they cleaned it up in a way that we could advance to the next phase of the game or put the team into deeper situations. The ability to connect them was there, because I think the forwards connected very well, and we hurt them. We got in behind them and we created many chances. So, I say, that we were a cleaner team with the ball. It was something that we are going to appreciate much more during the week, because right now, we are not happy with the result. That phase just makes our team go to the next level.”
Orlando City SC Defender David Brekalo
Opening Statement
“I felt like we played an awesome game, while dominating most of it. It's just disappointing that we didn't get three points today, but I think with this attitude and these qualities that we showed today we are going to be successful in the long term.”
On how the red card affected the team in the second half
“I think when the opposition has an additional player you're forced to move lower on the field and wait for your chances to counterattack. Many times, we tried with Duncan [McGuire] or Ramiro [Enrique]. Like I said we don't have to be afraid of anything we just need to keep going, doing the same things and maybe have a little bit more patience or find that last touch before shooting the ball. But obviously we also know that we scored so many goals this season that it's just a small problem on a successful road.”
On if anything has changed with the last two games resulting in clean sheets
“We focus a lot of it in the training sessions because we know we conceded too many goals in the first six games. So yeah, nothing major but again just much more concentrated on every clearance, on every situation being present at the moment. We are obviously happy with the second clean sheet now in a row and like I said when we don't score it's just a little bit disappointing but it's going to be ok. I know we are on the right road.”
Orlando City SC Midfielder Joran Gerbet
Opening Statement
“I felt like we had a really strong 60 minutes until the red card. It was pretty obvious that we were dominating that game. I felt like we played really well. I felt like we had strong chances to score, but we didn’t. So, I guess we just need to push, to push. We didn’t find the net today, but we were strong defensively so that’s the point. Of course, we are very disappointed with the result because we need to get back with the three points.”
On finding rhythm in his third Start for Orlando City
“Yeah, I’m just calm as always. So, I just tried to be calm, tried to learn as much as I could during the week coming into the game, I just feel good. It’s just, like you say, my third start of the season, so I just felt like I can keep going and going and being in better shape game after game.”
On if the team’s mindset changed after the red card
“I mean I felt early in that game that you had to be careful because it’s still like 30 minutes and 10 men. We know it’s a lot of running for everyone. So, you have to cover more space from everyone, so I felt like you have to be cautious. But we took the result at home, so I felt like we did a pretty good job in the last 10 minutes in the game. I felt like trying to push, trying to push, trying to score. But at some point, you also have to be true with yourself that you have to not lose the game. If you cannot win, you don’t need to lose. So, I felt like we responded really well. Like I said, we’re disappointed, but we took care.”
