Head Coach Adrian Heath
On his reaction to the 4-1 loss against Austin FC…
“Hugely disappointing because anybody who watched the game – it certainly wasn’t the four-one reverse for us. Conceivably could’ve been two or three [goals] up before they [Austin FC] scored their first goal so that’s really disappointing. But we didn’t defend well. That’s something we’ve been through with the guys. Collectively and individually, I didn’t think we were at it defensively. But there’s no getting away from the fact that we created enough opportunities to win a game of football and we didn’t.”
On the positive takeaway of creating chances despite not getting a result…
“Ever since I’ve been here and I’ve been a soccer coach and in management, we always talk about a level of performance that’s acceptable because you can win games when you don’t play well. When I look at our last four games, [CF] Montreal… the second half we were the better team. Two-nil up in [Real] Salt Lake and they score two after 90 minutes. We beat Portland [Timbers] four-one. This weekend, we could’ve been two or three [goals] up before they [Austin FC] scored a goal. Our performances have been better than the points we have collected. What we have to do is turn these opportunities into goals and then start to get everyone going because it’s that stage of the season [where] there’s not a lot of room for error. Every game is going to be important between now and the end of the season.”
On Teemu Pukki and Ismael Tajouri-Shradi’s performances on Saturday…
“We know what we’ve got. We’ve got a guy who has consistently scored one and two throughout his career, Teemu [Pukki]. And Izzy [Ismael Tajouri-Shradi], I didn’t realize his goal record was so good, until I looked at it, in MLS. He’s one-in-three for a wide guy. He’s done really well in this league. Obviously, he’s chasing his fitness a little bit more than Teemu, but I think it [Saturday’s match] showed is that they’re both good and talented footballers. They both like to get in between in the pockets, and certainly Teemu – his little angled runs behind their last man was there for everybody to see. What we need to do now is start to have a bit of time where we can work on that final third movement for everybody.”
On the Houston Dynamo season under Ben Olsen…
“I think they brought 18 new players in and we all know that’s not easy to integrate 18 new players in one offseason. I talked to Ben [Olsen], he’s done a great job with them. I think they look really well coached, well-organized, and they’ve got game-changers. They’ve got game winners. [Nelson] Quinones, he’s incredibly quick. [Hector] Herrera is probably playing as well as anybody in the league. The goal he scored at the weekend: the little combination, one-touch play – that’s my type of football, I loved watching it. So, we’re going to have to play well. Our form in Houston has been patchy. We’ve either been really good or really bad. I know we’re going to have to be really good to get a result tomorrow night.”
On the reason Houston is a difficult place to play…
“It’s not an easy place to play. I think it’s going to be over 100 degrees come kickoff time. You don’t get used to playing in those type of temperatures, for anybody. So, it comes with its own challenges. You’ve got that and then you’ve got a team that’s in a particularly good form at the moment. It’s going to be a big challenge for us but one that we’ll have to step up for.”
On expecting player rotations during a double game week…
“We’ll have a chat with the players and see how one or two feels. Teemu [Pukki] maybe could start. Izzy [Ismael Tajouri-Shradi] I’m not sure he could start from the beginning. But Boxy [Michael Boxall] is back, Sang Bin [Jeong] has been out training this morning. Manny [Emmanuel] Iwe has been out. We need to get everybody fit and healthy and then I’m looking forward to the weeks after the LA[FC] game as we can start to do some work on the training pitch because we don’t get back from Houston until dawn, three o’clock. Then it’s a regen the next day, then it’s Friday before you’re playing again on the Saturday. Not a lot of time to do a lot of work but that’s the way it is.”
On how he will approach to the LAFC game on Saturday…
“The same. They are one of the biggest names in the MLS. The likes of [Carlos] Vela and [Denis] Bouanga. They’ve got lots and lots of quality players, a really well-coached team. They’ve done brilliant the last couple of years. It’s going to be tough for us but as we’ve proved against them before, we can get results against them. We’ve done it away and we’ve done it at home. I’m looking forward to it.”
On the importance of the home games…
“If you look at nearly everybody’s schedule, most of the time teams create and collect most of their points at home and that’s normally been the case for us. This year, we’ve got more points on the road. We have to change that. We have to get back to making Allianz [Field] what it’s been in the past. I can’t fault our supporters, I thought they were magnificent again at the weekend. Now it’s up to us to start to give them something and it’s payback time at home.”
Midfielder Ismael Tajouri-Shradi
On his integration with the team…
“It’s been amazing. The team helped me a lot since the first day I came in. They welcomed me well and I’ve already very welcomed and can’t wait to get to know the guys more and get started.”
On his debut for Minnesota…
“It was kind of a mixed feeling. I’m very happy about my debut at home but I’m not happy with the result. We’re looking forward to another home game to win with our fans. Overall, I’m very happy with the debut and can’t wait to get more games at home.”
On the importance of a win on the road at Houston Dynamo FC…
“It’s going to be an important game, especially after the loss at home. We need to turn this around as a group and we need to get the three points away. There’s going to be another home game on the weekend that will also be important. First of all, we need to get the win against Houston and then looking forward to the other game.”
On getting a result against LAFC at home on Saturday…
“It’s going to be very, very important especially after the loss against Austin [FC]. It was not the best game especially since we could’ve easily won with the chances we had. First of all, we are looking forward to the Houston game and after that a very, very important game against a good team, LAFC. At home, I think we can win against every team and it’s going to be very important to get those three points.”
