Head Coach Adrian Heath
On the mood of the group after the win…
“Well, it’s better than it has been the previous two games. There is nothing like winning a game of football to instill a bit of confidence in the group. Little bit more belief in what we are trying to do. I’ve had the chance to review all three games and for large parts for all three games we’ve been far and away the better team. The disappointment is that we haven’t maintained that for the full ninety minutes. In terms of the first half against the [New England] “Revs” we dominated the game. In Miami we created numerous opportunities. Then I look at the game the other day and some of the play in the first half was exceptional. We didn’t listen to what we spoke about at halftime. I said to them ‘whatever you do, don’t let [Efrain] Álvarez come in on his left foot’ as they would say about Reynoso and you know you have to listen and take those bits of advice on. They prove costly if you don’t. I said at halftime that if they get the next goal, at home, they will start playing very desperate football and keep men forward and play man-for-man at the back and that’s what they did. Even then we still had four chances on the break to finish the game, but we didn’t. The most important thing is that we got the three points. It’s a justifiable reward for the work the boys have been putting in on three difficult away games.”
On if you are taking any credit for Reynoso’s goal…
“Well I’m not sure I’ll take any credit for it because the finish was exceptional. I just that he starts to believe in what we are telling him. He’s a really good finisher. I get when people get in there if they are not a good finisher they want to make the next pass, but Rey has got every conceivable finish in the bag – chipping the keeper, bending it like he did there, hitting it across the keeper, power, pace – everything he’s got. I said to him, him shooting at that distance will open up the next pass if he wants to do it. Because then people will start pressing knowing he will have a shot. All around it will be beneficial to him.”
On injury updates for Luis Amarilla and Kervin Arriaga…
“Kervin [Arriaga] had an MRI [on his ankle] last night and he’s got a bit of ligament damage. We will probably have a better idea tomorrow about the length of time. I would probably say minimum of two to three, maybe even four weeks, which is a huge blow. Joseph [Rosales] reacting the way he did has not helped us this weekend.”
On if he had a chat with Joseph Rosales following his red card…
“I don’t think chat was the right word, but yes we addressed it. We addressed it, I think that’s the best way of saying it.”
On if Jacori Hayes will come into the lineup…
"We will see where we are. Luis [Amarilla] came off with a slight adductor strain, he’s feeling a lot better today so we will see, that might have a bearing on what we do with the group.”
On All Star voting wrapping up and the reward for players being selected…
“There are two or three players that are worthy of being an All Star. You know my feelings about [Emanuel] Reynoso. He showed you a little glimpse of it the other night. I think there’s not been a better keeper than Dayne [St. Clair] this year. And Robin Lod from wide right gets double figures nearly every season. So, I would think they are the three that I would think might have a chance. And they will have a chance because I do have a vote!”
On whether Emanuel Reynoso will have to worry about being selected…
“Well I’ve got twelve [All Star] picks, so I think he will have a good chance.”
On the challenge facing Real Salt Lake…
“Since Pablo [Mastreoni] took over they have done particularly well. They are a very, very solid MLS outfit. They are like Colorado last year. They have started well and they have kept that momentum going. The games against them are always very tight. I don’t expect anything different, especially with the few injury situations we are dealing with. I’m always glad to get back home. I know this year has been a bit challenging for us. At home we are more than a match for anybody.”
On if it’s too simple to say this team goes as Emanuel Reynoso goes…
“It is. It’s a bit disrespectful to everybody else. When you look at the contribution of our back four over the last couple of years we are always in the top third of defensive units. Robin Lod, Fraga [Franco Fragapane] has looked more like himself the last couple of days… so yeah, I think it is too simple to say that. There’s no doubting that Rey [Emanuel Reynoso] is a quality player. Now we’ve got to try and maintain the level of performance and the output he had the other day. And if we do it will be a huge boost for us in the second half of the season. As I said after the game, we are very close to being very good. If we bring in a couple of players in, which we are hoping to in the next few weeks, that will help us.”
On how close Bongokuhle Hlongwane is to breaking through…
“That’s part and parcel of his evolution of a player. A lot of stuff is new to him. There are a lot of things that we are asking of him. People underestimate him leaving Africa for the first time and arriving here. It’s going to be a process and we know that. I think we have all seen glimpses of what is there. The one thing is he’s a great kid, he trains really hard and he wants to do well. We will keep working with him because we think there’s a proper player in there.”
On the injury update to Romain Metanire…
“He’s day-to-day. With what’s going on with the last six to eight months with him we’ve got to think he’s still a few weeks away from being in contention.”
On shot selection…
“At the end of the day we’ve been creating chances. I put a video together the other day, where there were fourteen, what I would say are ‘clear cut chances’ this season. If we score four or five of them we are probably three or four points better off and were sitting in a different spot. Now we can’t keep talking about it we have to start taking some of these chances. If you look at the other night Franco [Fragapane] has two other great chances, Robin Lod has had a great opportunity. So, let’s keep going, keep doing what we are doing, keep getting in the right spots and believing in each other, as we will do. I think you will see a big, big improvement in the second half of our season.”
On what the theme was for the fourteen chances…
“[They were all missed chances], Yes. One of the things we were talking about is getting in the right spots. Franco’s [Fragapane] goal was where again? Back post. Getting under. Think of the two or three chances he had against LA at home, in exactly the same spot. We are just trying to reinforce the message to them, that this is where you score goals, this is where you’ve got to get. I played there [up front], and sometimes you don’t want to get in there for the fear of missing. The pressure starts to mount and they can’t think like that. They’ve got the confidence of everybody here. Keep getting in the right spots, keep persevering and the goals will come.”**_
On seeing more out of Kemar Lawrence…
“Yes, [he had] a great cross and a couple of times [in the] second half we could’ve put him in but we didn’t. But now he’s starting to play regular football. He’s starting to get in the final third. I think defensively he’s been excellent since he’s been here, but we do know there’s more in his offensive game. I think the fact that he’s now getting fit and getting a string of a run of games together, now we start to see him as an attacking force as well.”
On what USA Cup, Everton FC friendly and MLS All-Star week means for soccer in Minnesota…
“Well it’ll be good if you like it. There will be plenty of opportunity to watch some really good football. The competition [USA Cup] up here for years has been incredibly well supported. Obviously a big game [Everton friendly] for everybody with getting a [English] Premier League club Everton’s stature. And, we’ve got a lot of home games. I said to you guys, the next 10 games before the three away games started are going to be huge. I think we’ll have a really good idea where we are at the end of this next little month of July.”
Defender DJ Taylor
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On returning back home to Minnesota with three points against LA Galaxy…_
“It was super satisfying. Obviously after our performances and unfortunately having mistakes and not getting rewarded for those performances was tough, but to go play in LA and get those three points was massive for us.”
On the team meeting in LA and the impact it had on their play…
“I think it helps the guys, being able to reach out to each other and us to connect and just build our trust in where we want to be the rest of the season and make sure we finish it right. I think it was important to definitely help us moving forward.”
On Emanuel Reynoso’s first goal Wednesday night…
“It was a golazo. I was behind it so I kind of got to see the flight of the ball as it happened. He’s [Emanuel] something special.”
On learning from Adrian Heath’s teaching moments…
“For us, it’s about when you get to see yourself actually playing. You don’t really recognize it while you’re playing about situations that you’re in or you may not see a perspective that you couldn’t see while you’re on the field. Being able to see it from that out-of-field perspective is good and allows us to understand what he specifically wants for us. The things that we were doing weren’t necessarily terrible, it just wasn’t allowing us to have success on the field and him showing us that now obviously translated to when we played LA. The guys are in the position and know what they’re going to do without even thinking about it.”
On letting shots fly more often when in scoring position…
“I think a lot of times in our attack, we’re getting into the box, but we’re not being decisive in the box or right outside the box. A lot of guys try to make an extra pass instead of shooting. A prime example is Rey [Emanuel Reynoso]. I think coach has been going on about shooting outside the box and finally you see he does it and it’s a golazo. We just need to work on being killer mentality in those moments.”
On not having Kervin Arriaga and Joseph Rosales in the lineup Sunday…
“It’ll be tough, but it doesn’t matter for our team. We have a lot of depth. Whoever is coming in to step in, I think anybody is ready to play. I think that’s a good thing about our team is we that have good depth and we have guys that may not be starting all the time, but they have the right mentality that they’re going to help the team and be ready.”
On returning to Allianz Field…
“It’s been a long time, so it’ll feel good to be back at home with all the fans and I’m excited to play in front of the fans again. They deserve to give them three points.”
**Goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair
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On getting three points at LA Galaxy…
“Going on a long road trip like that, we wanted more points, especially how the Miami [Inter Miami CF] game went. But, to bounce back like that and to get three points against the Galaxy was big for the team.”
On the impact of the player’s meeting in LA…
“Anytime you can sit down and talk and be honest with each other, I think that was good for us and kind of allowed us to move past the Miami [match] and not live in the past.”
On potentially being in the MLS All-Star lineup and being rewarded for his play…
“I think everyone in the league definitely wants to be a part of that game. Like you said, it’s the All-Star game and has a lot to do with fans, so their voting is important, especially being in Minnesota. Playing in front of our home fans would be wonderful.”
On if he is working Adrian Heath for one of the coach’s All-Star roster spots…
“He’s the coach, so I’ll let him decide. Whatever’s meant to be will happen.”
On if his highlight reel of saves could get him into the All-Star roster…
“Yeah hopefully. I feel like I’ve made quite a few [noteworthy] saves this year. Hopefully that helps me out.”
On how certain saves can be momentum swings in a match…
“I think anytime we talk about game changing moments and I think momentum swings, so I think anytime you can get a big save or even keep them [the opponent] out the net – I think last game we scored our second or third goal from they cross the ball, I catch the ball, I give it out to DJ [Taylor] and leading into that buildup, we score – so any time I can keep the ball out of the net and help the team I think is beneficial for us.”
On how long it has been since last playing an MLS match at Allianz Field…
“It feels like definitely a long time, especially with the travel of having two away games. But, I’m definitely looking forward to being back at Allianz in front of our fans for sure.”
