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Notable Quotables | Orlando City vs. Portland Timbers

Notable Quotables | Orlando City vs. Portland Timbers

Orlando City SC head coach James O’Connor

General thoughts on the match...
"Yeah I mean look, very proud, the players I think…very difficult for us when you got a centerback who goes off after five minutes or six minutes or whatever it is and then to have to adjust. Great credit to Kyle Smith and Will Johnson, but all the players; I thought we defended really well. I thought there was a great togetherness to the team. I mean look, they're a very good team, the Timbers. They put us under a lot of pressure, but we coped really well and defended excellently, made it very difficult for them to get the three points."


On conceding late in the second half...
"It goes into Santi and I think he tries to keep possession. They break, and again the ball comes in and the first touch of Fernandez, who's obviously trying to shoot, and we get a little bit unlucky because he flicks it right to the guy at the back post. So you know, we were a little unlucky with that particular play and we can break it down and say we should've done this and he should've done that but they got the roll. And you look at the level of commitment that the guys have shown, I mean it's been outstanding to see two guys basically rookie centerbacks playing against the talent that they have. They deserve a lot of credit."


On how they withstood the constant pressure put on by Portland...
"I think the biggest thing is if you look at a lot of the shots, they're shooting from 25 yards. So again, it's dangerous because they have players who can score from 25 yards. But again, when you have guys who are getting into such strong defensive positions, the majority of plays go wide... so for us, we were actually managing the game really well. We just got caught a little unlucky but when you look again and I keep repeating myself, when you look at what happened tonight with Alex De John going off after five, six minutes and the adjustments that you're forced to make, the guys deserve enormous credit."



Orlando City SC forward Santiago Patiño


On the environment within Providence Park...
"Yeah I mean, I think it was a great experience for us…for myself, it was nice to play in a city like this. You dream of this when you're a kid. It was a tough game for us, they had a lot of possession, we couldn't really, it was hard to keep the ball in the field. We're happy we leave with a point in a tough place and now recover and focus on Sunday."


On fitting in with the team throughout the season...
"Yeah I think for the last week I've been more involved and I think I'll get more rhythm with the game, more rhythm with the team and just help me more with confidence... and just working hard to start seeing results."



Orlando City SC midfielder Robinho


On his efforts leading up to the opening goal of the match...
"I saw him decelerating a little bit and I knew that I could get to the ball if I didn't give up. Thankfully he thought the ball went out of bounds but it didn't, and I didn't give up and got the ball. And thankfully I was able to get the cross and Santi was able to get the goal."


On the pressure to score with limited opportunities throughout the match...
"Yeah, there aren't that many chances so we have to be focused and we have to be expecting that the chance is going to come. And good for us that we were able to get that goal."