Head Coach Adrian Heath
On any takeaways from the Chicago Fire match and his message to the team that followed…
“Not a lot to take away. The message was, ‘it wasn’t good enough’. I think we forgot what has got us a little bit of success in the early weeks, which has been our defensive organization, our attitude, application, determination, and we were lacking in most of them departments. I can’t think of an area of the game where I thought we dominated. Obviously, the last 25 minutes was a lot better, but you’re already 2-0 down and have given yourself a mountain to climb.”
On Sang Bin Jeong’s debut appearance last weekend…
“We’re looking forward to working with him more. Last week was the first week in and the beginning of this and the proper chance that we’ve had him in training with the rest of the guys. Obviously really talented, very creative, very smart player. He looks sharp, looks like he’s got a goal in him. Yeah, we’re looking [forward] to working with him.”
On a nearly-full roster of healthy players to select from…
“I think now for the first time we have options in a few positions. So, now we’re going to be at a stage, the last two weeks, where we’ve got two weeks, four weeks training, and now we can start to get an idea where we want to play, how we play and what we want to do with the group. I’m like most coaches. It’s nice to not be traveling, and have a full week and nice to be outside, which is the first time.”
On the approach to facing Orlando City SC at home this weekend…
“Well, they’ll [Orlando] come in nice and fresh, and Oscar’s [Pareja] teams are always well organized and physically very demanding. It’s not going to be easy; we know that. But, we’re at home. If we can carry on the form that we had prior to the game on Saturday, we’ll give ourselves a chance at winning the game.”
On any messages to the defense after giving up two goals last week…
“What I did after, you look at it, you look at where your mistakes were. We didn’t defend well but that wasn’t just the back four. I don’t think they had a lot of protection from the six in front of them and it’s as I’ve said before. We attack them as 11 and we defend as 11. At the weekend, we didn’t do either very well.”
On the challenges Orlando presents…
“They’ve got a lot of talent. They’ve assembled a really good squad of players. They’ve got the likes of people like Torres and people like that who have come for a lot of money. It’s like anybody. They’ve got their individual threats. I think they’re always good in wide areas where they try and get overloads, their fullbacks join in nice and high on your side of the field. I just think that they’ll cause us a lot of issues and we’ve got to play well. We’ve got to play better than we did in Chicago. If we did what we did in the previous four or five weeks, we’ll give ourselves a chance. But, we’re going to have to play well.”
On training on real grass under a sunny sky…
“Well, seeing a couple of the guys walking up to the shower room with no tops on, which is a first this season. I think we’re the last team in the league to be out on the grass and you can obviously tell there’s a little buzzing from the guys this morning just to be out in the fresh air, blue sky and no snow at the moment. It’s going to be good.”
Defender DJ Taylor
On takeaways from the loss against Chicago Fire FC last Saturday…
“I think we were all super disappointed. We wanted to keep that undefeated streak going. Definitely think we didn’t deserve to win, I think we were slacking from all points in the energy standpoint, from a defensive standpoint and an attacking standpoint. Now, it’s just about reflecting on what happened and how we improve from here on out.”
On training outside in Minnesota, on real grass, for the first time this season…
“It’s more just like a mental uplift. It’s really nice to finally get out. In Minnesota, you’ve got to take what you can get. I think everybody’s vibing with the sun and just getting tan.”
On what to anticipate when facing Orlando City SC this weekend…
“It will be a tough game. Orlando has quality players and their style of play is tough to defend against. But, we’re at home and we’re going to put our foot down on who we are and finally get that home win.”
On what it will take to get the first home win of the season…
“It’s going to take a lot more energy than what we saw last weekend [against Chicago Fire FC], a lot more collectiveness than last weekend. Getting back to what we’re best at, which is running forward, playing forward, defending with our lives and finally finishing off plays.”
On the importance of competing against fellow teammates in training…
“I think it all pushes everyone to be better because you never know who Gaff [MNUFC Head Coach Adrian Heath] is going to choose on the weekends. Everybody’s pushing to fight to stay in their spot, or the next person’s fighting to get their opportunity. So, I think it just raises the level of our training even more with the amount of depth that we have this year.”
Defender Miguel Tapias
On the result against Chicago…
[SPA] “Fue un partido complicado, ¿no? Sabíamos que el rival era fuerte en casa. Tuvimos un primer tiempo malo, en mi opinión. Grupalmente, estuvimos mal el primer tiempo, pero creo que el segundo tiempo salimos con otra cara, con otra actitud y eso es lo que tenemos que mantener durante el torneo, en todos los partidos.”
[ENG] “It was complicated game, no? We knew our opponent was strong playing at home. We had a bad first half, in my opinion. As a group, we were bad in the first half but I think in the second half we came out with a different mentality, with another attitude and we that’s what we need to maintain throughout the entire season, in all the games.”
On the changes the group needs to make this weekend after their first loss…
[SPA] “No hay que volvernos locos, no? Como bien dices, ese es el primer partido que perdemos. Vamos en una posición buena, que cualquier equipo desearía estar. Hay que tomarlo con calma, cambiar el chip y no volver a cometer lo que hicimos el primer tiempo en Chicago. Tener la actitud que hemos tenido y afrontarlo de la mejor manera.”
[ENG] “We don’t have to go crazy, no? Like you said, it was the first game we lost. We’re in a good spot, one that other teams would like to be in. We have to stay calm, change the chip and not have a first half like we did in Chicago. Have the attitude we’ve had and face it in the best way.”
On playing at Allianz Field…
[SPA] “Es un estadio increíble. Yo ya lo conocía, hace cuatro años vine. Ya de ahí tenía una impresión grandísima. Es un estadio que impone mucho. Igual, le gente en un espectáculo. Eso al jugador lo tiene que motivar. Contento con la afición, contento con grandioso estadio.”
[ENG] “It’s an incredible stadium. I was already familiar with it, since four years ago. Since then I already had a great impression. It’s a stadium that imposes a lot. Also, the people are spectacular. That’s what a player has for motivation. I’m happy with the fan base and happy for a grand stadium.”
On looking to secure first win at Allianz Field this weekend…
[SPA] “Hay que hacernos mas fuerte. Estando en casa, con nuestra afición, yo creo que el equipo se tiene que hacer mas fuerte. Como dices, tenemos dos empates en casa y esperemos este sábado sacar los tres puntos para que la afición se vaya contenta.”
[ENG] “We have to be stronger. Playing at home, with our fans, I think the team has to be stronger. Like you said, we have two ties at home and we hope on Saturday to get the three points so the fans can leave happy.”
