Head Coach Adrian Heath
On how he’d sum up dropping three at home …
“It’s difficult. One, when you consider the goalkeeper’s performance today was unbelievable. I feared the worst when he made the save after about two minutes because sometimes it sets people up for the way it is. But, no. The game was… I thought was going to be really tight. I thought it was going to be tight margins. And that’s the way the game proved. I can’t fault the players, because they kept going and kept going. Other than for what, four, five unbelievable saves from the keeper? We would have got something out of the game. So, overall, obviously disappointed in the results. Incredibly pleased with the player’s efforts and desire to do well. And, as I say, when the opposition at the end of the whistle will run over to the goalkeeper, you know he’s had a good game. But, no, it’s disappointing to lose in that manner because we had… I can think of three or four opportunities that we had and then the keeper has come up with three, four great saves. When I’ll look back. Disappointed.”
On what he said to his team after a performance like that from an opposing goalkeeper …
“Well, not a lot. We’ll look at the video. We’ll take the positives out of the game. We’ll take the negatives and we’ll try and move on and work again. We played one of the better teams in the league. Their league position shows that. They’ve spent a lot of money. They’ve bought good players. They’re a good team. Well coached. Well drilled. And we’ve given a really good account of ourselves today. And, on any other day, I think we take something from the game.”
On how he assesses the goal conceded …
“I’ll have to see it again, but I thought he took a backwards step rather than a forward step. We spoke about before the game that preventative marking against the pace that they have was going to be really, really important. And on the whole, we did a good job of it because they have got players with an awful lot of pace. So, when I think of that, I can’t really… [Kévin] Cabral had a chance late on with the counter attack. Did he create an awful lot more after that? Probably not. So, there’s a lot of good aspects out of today’s performance. The only disappointment will be the result. I’m sure that when I’ll look back at the game this evening, I’ll think that we’ve done okay.”
On Robin Lod, Franco Fragapane and Niko Hansen all out and if this raises the level of trying to bring another piece in …
“We’ve been trying. We’ve been trying since the window closed. And people who are out of contract. Just trying to find the right player and the right position. And if that player comes available, then we’ll do something. We’ve got the cap space. Got the overseas slot. So, we have got opportunity to do it. And if the right player becomes available, we will do it. Obviously, injuries, suspensions, whatever it is, dictate the urgency of that. But, obviously, we couldn’t have formed any more injuries at this moment, especially with the attacking pieces. Niko [Hansen] has come on and given us a lift in games. Franco [Fragapane] was starting. And Robin [Lod] is leader goal scorer. So, that doesn’t help us. But, I thought the attitude and the way that the players went about the game against a really good side speaks volumes for the rest of the group. I really do.”
On if he saw what he was looking for from Hassani Dotson on the left side and his combination play with Chase Gasper …
“Yeah. Obviously, we all know that’s not Hassani’s [Dotson] best position. But the great thing about the kid is he gives us everything he’s got wherever we play him. He kept breaking in that inside left channel a few times first half and I thought he was going to get it a couple times, but it wasn’t to be. But, you know, wherever we play him, we know what we’re going to get out of him.”
On what the next steps are with Adrien Hunou on what he wants to see from him …
“Well, I think he probably needs to get a goal and have a really good performance behind him to start to give himself some confidence. To get some self-confidence. I’ve had a 20-year career playing up front. I know what it’s like when not much is going right for you. But, hey, you have to keep working. Keep working hard and come in every day. Try and make your luck. And that’s what he’ll do. He’s a good professional. He trains hard. I actually thought Juan [Agudelo] gave us a lift when he came on. The keeper made a great save for him and, he had a couple of nice little moments. So, that’ll be good for Juan.”
On Franco Fragapane’s status …
“Well, we all hope sooner rather than later, but he’s got one of them injuries that you know if he goes again, it’s a three or four months job. So, we’re hoping. He’s very close. You’ve been at the training ground, he’s out every day on the grass. The next stage for him is maybe four, five days of really intense work. If he comes through that, then maybe he’ll be available. But, there’s still an awful long way to go in this season.”
On preparing for San Jose right away on Tuesday with short rest…
“It’s never easy. It’s not easy for anybody and obviously with the travel, especially San Jose, they’re in a little good run of form at this moment in time. Really difficult to play against, full of energy full of running. It’s a little bit different game than most games. We’ve done okay against them in the past but they’re in particularly good form at this moment in time. We’ll be in tomorrow. Have a regeneration day and get a bit of work in to the guys who have not played and see what we do in terms of team selection. Do we feel as though we need to freshen in up? We’ll see."
On Michael Boxall’s availability…
“He’s available now. But as I said to you, the fact that Brent [Kallman] has played really well has given us an opportunity to make sure that [Michael Boxall] plays when he’s 100 percent.”
Midfielder Wil Trapp
On how it felt to concede one after a great stretch of wins …
“Disappointing, right? If you just look at the play, I mean, it's in their half we have just a little breakdown of possession. It's one ball. We kind of step off, they play a decent run behind the half pace and the guy hits a strike that goes between I think [Brent Kallman]’s legs and it's a tough play for Tyler [Miller] to make. So, unfortunately I felt like we had a really good handle for the most part on the game, especially as we went into the second half but it's those little moments right, especially right before halftime that can really change your game.”
On the quality of Jonathan Klinsmann goalkeeping skills tonight …
“Jonathan [Klinsmann] had a great game. We certainly put a lot of threatening plays together to test him, but I mean if you look at the deflection and you look at the saves in the first half off Ethan [Finlay], he did a wonderful job and it's difficult when a goalkeeper is having a good day to score but we still feel a little bit disappointed that we didn't get one.”
On how the team bounces back when they have back-to-back games…
“Recovery is key, of course. So, for us it's getting in tomorrow, being ready to move the bodies and then be on a flight on Monday, and we're in San Jose. It's a team that we know fairly well that tied us here and we feel like we owe them something going there.”
On what he thinks worked well particularly in the second half …
“I think the urgency, as we made some changes in the latter part of the second half, especially bringing a guy like Justin [McMaster] and Juan [Agudelo], I thought did a really good job of helping us hold up balls, but it was just playing forward and running forward, right? The tempo of our play increased, the speed of our decision making and being aggressive to go forward I think was a big difference there.”
On what is lacking in continuity when the attack has so many injured players …
“Well, look, Robin [Lod] [being injured] it was like two days ago so it's one of those things where it's sprung on us, unfortunately, and I think guys have to step up. I mean you look at a little bit of a reshuffling in the lineup to start, but a natural winger coming in like Justin [McMaster], I think just gives a little bit more continuity of that position. Hassani [Dotson], for all his qualities, he would probably prefer to play in the middle of the field, but he still does a great job when he's out there. It's really just about damage control for that first part, and really getting guys comfortable and confident in what their role will be then hopefully, Justin just came back from the COVID protocol so getting him minutes I think is important.”
On the effects of a loss to a team like LA Galaxy …
“Leaves us? It doesn't change where we're at mentally, I don't think. If anything, it just shows that we need to do the little things that gave us opportunity after opportunity in this game more consistently because if we do that, the dam will break open and we'll score goals. And then ultimately, it's realizing that a team like LA [Galaxy] has quality. They have quality to break you down and score on one opportunity or a couple opportunities that they're dangerous so I think for us it's understanding the danger of a team like that, but also that we can hurt them.”
