Presented by:
MINNESOTA UNITED HEAD COACH ADRIAN HEATH
On continuing the unbeaten streak, finishing fourth in the Western Conference for the second straight year and what it means to him and the team …
“More satisfaction this year because of what we’ve been through. I know I’ve mentioned it, but, trust me guys, this has been the most stressful sort of five or six months that I’ve ever had in football. And I’m really pleased with the players tonight. And I thought my little conversation, shall we say, at halftime on Wednesday obviously had an effect because we came out on the front foot and we played the way I know we can play. When we get the right players in the right positions and move the ball the way we can, you know with Robin [Lod], with Kev [Molino], Ethan [Finlay] was there today, then Rey [Emanuel Reynoso], we’re very, very difficult to play against. Obviously, pleased for everybody. Pleased for all the staff. Pleased for all the supporters. Pleased for the ownership group. Because I think we’ve proved an awful lot of people wrong this year with the amount of adversity that we’ve had to come through. I get a lot of pleasure from that.”
On having no true striker tonight and the circumstances in playing the four starters together …
“I wasn’t worried about playing the four of them, but it’s just the fact that, say Robin [Lod] had have got injured, we put Foster [Langsdorf] out later, but, he hasn’t trained with the group. He probably didn’t know half the players’ names. So he’s been in quarantine and training on his own since he’s been with us. You know, that’s always a gamble. But it was great to see Noah [Billingsley]. Noah has had a really difficult year because of COVID, et cetera. He’s been on loan. So it was great to see him on the pitch. Good to see Chase [Gasper] back. I thought Marlon Hairston had a really good game in midfield as well. So there was an awful lot of pleasing things this evening. But the biggest one is the attitude of the group to go and grind it out and come away with another win.”
On his comments on wanting to see more effort from his team after the last game and if he saw that from his team tonight …
“I didn’t question their effort. I thought it was a little bit misguided and I thought that at times we took a backwards step when we could take a forward step. That’s virtually not happened all evening and it just makes so much of a difference to a football team when you’re being positive and you’re playing on the front foot rather than giving the initiative to the opposition. And going back towards your own goal. I thought we played forward. We ran forward. All the things that we ask of the team. I just spoke to the players, and I watched the [Manchester] City, Liverpool game this morning. All the best players are the people who run forward and are positive and I know they’re far better than us, but the principle of doing that and making it difficult for people and making people run towards their own goal, rather than coming and running to yours, makes all the difference in the world and I thought we were very good at that this evening.”
On if the late scoring in other games to finish the final seeding in the table this Decision Day is a good representation of how tight of a race it has been until now …
“The thing is, it’s been so unpredictable. And then the last day has been so unpredictable. I actually did an interview on the field and somebody told me we got FC Dallas and I’m thinking, there you go. Then, I get told it’s Colorado. We know it’s not going to be easy, we played them here recently. It was tight. But, you know, the one thing about Colorado is they’re probably really fresh. They missed that many games. They haven’t traveled. They’ve been at home. So, hey. And I don’t think they’ve got any internationals either. You know, it’s going to be tough for us, but, hey, if we show the same commitment and desire that we’ve shown this evening, anything is possible.”
On how valuable the week off to get some players healthy is for the squad …
“Well, yeah, as I said, it’s a week where we can get some real work into two or three players, and it’s a week where we can give some others a rest. And, it’s a week where Aaron Schoenfeld, the likes of Ozzie [Alonso], et cetera can get that much closer to fitness. So it’s a welcome break. I, for the life of me, I can’t stand, our players are leaving today to play an international game on Wednesday and we’ve got to bring them back and they’ve got to have nine days before the next game. I just, like, it must be a different COVID in Europe. I don’t know.”
On Kei Kamara’s status…
“Kei [Kamara] tweaked his groin yesterday at the very end doing some finishing and he tweaked his groin. He didn’t want to make it worse, which I understand, he’s going away. He thinks in three or four days he’s going to be fine. So he’s going with our permission to play for Sierra Leone. At the end of the day, as I’ve always said, I will never stop players from playing for their country. I know how much it means to them. And it’s important that we support everybody.”
On given the stress of this year, how he’s going to celebrate with his team going forward celebrating …
“It’s COVID. It’s back on. No celebrations. You know what it’s like. Obviously, I said to the players, you know, we’ve got to prepare now. And, I think everybody has got something different on their plate for the next week to 10 days. We’ve got the guys going away. We’ve got the people like Hassani [Dotson] who got through tonight, but now needs to get some work in. And hopefully the guys who have got minor knocks, some of them playing and some of them not playing, it will give us a little bit of time to sort of regroup and see where we are. And see what we’re going to do for the playoff game.”
On how important Kevin Molino is to this team and this attack …
“A fit and healthy Kevin Molino is as good as anybody in the league. I honestly believe that. When he’s fit and healthy. I think that’s his 18th, 19th game of the year. When he plays, he has something different. But the one thing I did know, with the changes that we made, that they were all on the same wavelength. Robin Lod, Ethan [Finlay] and Kev and Rey [Emanuel Reynoso]. You know, I’ve seen all that little tiki-taka play around the penalty area in training for the last few months. So, I wasn’t concerned about that. I was more concerned about how we’re going to get through it because of the reasons I mentioned, about fitness levels, et cetera. That group, when they play, they’re as good as anybody.”
On Brent Kallman’s decision to stand instead of kneel before kickoff and if he has heard any conversations being had in the locker room around this decision, if Kallman gave the team any explanation …
“He has. And I fully support him. He has his reasons. Brent [Kallman] spoke to his teammates. He can express himself the way that he feels is right. The one thing that we all know is he’s a great guy, he’s a great teammate and he stands for something different. So, I just think that we have to respect that. Last time I looked, we’re in a democratic society where people are free to do what they want to do. But his teammates know what he thinks of them. He knows what the social issues is that he thinks about. So, you know, he does it with our support.”
On the players clapping to nobody in the stands after the win to acknowledge the fans and supporters and if anything seems strange anymore this season …
“Yeah. But, what you didn’t see, that end was full. Didn’t come across on TV. I’m only kidding, I’m only kidding. Seriously. Obviously, they know what our supporters mean to us and obviously playing that ‘Wonderwall’ at the end of the game was their little appreciation of the support we’ve had. I know they haven’t been in the stadium, but the players have all spoke about what they’ve been seeing when they see people around the city. So I think that was their little bit of a thank you. Hey, hopefully, we’ve got a few more home games and hopefully that end will be full next year with some of the best supporters in the league.”
MIDFIELDER EMANUEL REYNOSO
On creating a relationship with the attackers, Kevin Molino, Ethan Finlay, Robin Lod…
[SPA] “Primero que nada, feliz por el partido que hizo el grupo, la verdad que fue un partido muy bueno de todo el grupo. Creo que nos juntamos mucho con los chicos, nos justamos mucho, tratamos de asociarnos mucho y cuando tengamos la pelota, ir para adelante, eso se dio. También fue un equipo muy ordenado donde estábamos bien parados cuando no teníamos la pelota. Creo que estuvimos muy fino arriba así que eso me llena de orgullo y muy feliz.”
[ENG] “First, really happy with the game from the group. Honestly, it was a great showing from the entire team. I think we mesh well together [Molino, Lod and Finlay], we try to get to know each other and when we have the ball, to move forward and that happened tonight. Also, we were a well-organized team, well placed when we didn’t have possession. I think we were great up top and that fills me with pride and I’m happy.”
On his first goal with Minnesota United…
[SPA] “Feliz, lo busque mucho y contento porque sirvió para poder ganar y creo que fue mi primer gol acá así que muy contento. Me voy a mi casa feliz. También el pase que me dio [Robin] Lod fue espectacular así que agradecido con él por el pase que me dio.”
[ENG] “Happy, I had been looking for it for a while and content because it helped us win. I’ll go home very happy with that goal. Also, the pass from [Robin] Lod was spectacular and I’m very grateful to him for that pass he gave me.”
On his interplay with Kevin Molino…
[SPA] “La verdad que es un jugador importantísimo para nosotros. Tiene muchos goles, llega al área, que para nosotros es muy importante. Cada vez me estoy sintiendo mejor, me estoy asociando mucho al lado de el y me estoy entiendo mucho así que a pesar que por no me puedo comunicar mucho en la cancha por el idioma. Creo que hizo un gran partido, los dos goles que convirtió nos sirvió para el equipo. A felicitarlo y muy contento por el. Se lo merece y es un bueno jugador, la verdad que es muy importante para nosotros.”
[ENG] “Honestly, he’s a very important player for our team. He’s scored a lot of goals, gets to the right spot and that’s really important for us. Each time, I’m feeling better with him, getting used to playing alongside him despite the fact that it’s hard for us to communicate because of the language barrier. I think he played great tonight, his two goals helped the team a lot. I want to congratulate him and I’m happy for him. He deserved it, he’s a great player and very important to the team.”
On being nominated for MLS Newcomer of the Year…
[SPA] “Muy feliz. Vine a este club a dar lo mejor. A seguir aprendiendo, del técnico, a seguir aprendiendo de mis compañeros. La verdad que eso me llevo al esfuerzo que le llevo metiendo, el sacrificio que estoy haciendo. Muy contento y feliz por el premio.”
[ENG] “Really happy. I came to this club to give my best, keep learning, from my coach, from my teammates. And it shows the work I’m putting in and the sacrifices I’ve had to make. Really happy for the nomination.”
On how he sees the MLS Playoffs…
[SPA] “Lo veo muy difícil. La verdad que los que clasificaron son equipos muy importantes. Nosotros tenemos que estar tranquilos, tratar de recuperarnos – recuperar los chicos que vienen lesionados, los chicos que están con COVID. Tratar de recuperarnos como debe ser y a descansar y a corregir errores que ahí cometimos, hoy o en el partido pasado, tratar de corregir los errores y seguir metiéndole con todo. Va ser muy importante los playoffs y el partido que tenemos va ser muy duro así que a descansar y a pensar en el partido que nos toca.”
[ENG] “I think it’ll be tough. Honestly, every team that qualified are very good. We need to stay calm, try to recuperate the team – get the injured guys healthy, get the guys sick with COVID healthy. Try to rehab the best we can, rest and fix the errors we’ve made, whether it was tonight or from the last game and keep giving it our all. The playoffs are very important and the next game we have will be tough, so we have to rest and prepare for the next opponent.”
MINNESOTA UNITED MIDFIELDER MARLON HAIRSTON
On this moment of joy amidst the chaos this week …
“It feels great. To see what we’ve been through this year with [coronavirus] and weeks at a time where we haven’t been able to train as a team, and to be able to finish the season off like this, the regular season, with a home result like this and a performance like this, it was huge for us. I’m proud of the guys in the locker room for coming out and doing what we did tonight.”
On Adrian Heath’s motivational speech after the last game…
“Yeah, definitely. The way we ended the last game, the second half, we feel like that was 45 minutes, one of our best performances of the season. You know, we were on the front foot from the beginning of the second half, putting them under pressure, winning second balls in midfield, and when we do that we give our attack good opportunities to score and to help our team. We have one of the best front four, front five, front six in the league and I’m just stepping in to help do my part in a position I haven’t played in a while. But, for us to carry that performance over this game, it meant a lot for each one of the guys in the locker room. We’re just proud of the result and happy to get the shutout.”
On playing with no true striker tonight, but watching the front four move the ball…
“Yeah man, it was fun to watch. You know, all those guys are playmakers and just watching them use their creativity to help the team get forward. They’re all guys that are comfortable with the ball. They can help us relieve pressure. And just watching them work their magic around the box, it’s a great feeling. If we continue to do this going into the playoffs, we give ourselves a good opportunity to win games. But also credit our backline, today, tonight, they were huge and it was just a solid performance overall.”
On if he saw the extent of Jan Gregus’s injury…
“Yeah, it was just a weird challenge. I don’t think the Dallas player [Thiago Santos] meant it, but it just looked like the guy came down on Jan when he was on the ground and, like you said, it was a cleat to his face and it left a mark, but I think Jan will be fine. Once he taped his head up, he was good to go.”
On the team applauding the supporters…
“Yeah, this year has been a crazy year for everyone, but the support from the few people that are allowed to come to the game and cheer us on, it meant a lot to us. It’s empty, but you know, they were huge for us. We could hear them and their support took us through 90 minutes today and we appreciate them. And we are going to continue to need their support, and from the fans at home, going into the playoffs. What better feeling then for us to have a home playoff game?”
