Orlando City SC Head Coach Oscar Pareja
Opening Statement
“I think it's very obvious that I cannot talk about many of the good things that the boys presented throughout the game today because the final just shows us one more time that we are not a team that can close out games. It’s such a frustration that at this point, we highlight the negativity and the feeling that the game slipped from our hands again. I said to the players what I want to say to you as their coach: we have to respond. The players did a bunch of good things, but I don't want to point out anything from them. I’m responsible for the performance of the group, and today we are still not finishing the games, and we need to fix that.”
On struggles finding a second goal
“I understand, I have been in this industry for all of my life. In a game like tonight, it is difficult after the game to talk about the good things the boys did, but you mentioned the metrics of what they did, it will probably be another day that we need to highlight those things but I was really surprised that we did not close the game with that many chances. But the game is not just that. The game is much more and the two goals that we conceded, and the lack of the control of the game, from us all starting with me again. It was the last 15 minutes where we probably could have extended the score by much more, we ended up just losing an incredible game. That has to have an answer, it doesn’t come from luck, it has to come from something that we are not doing right and we have to be responsible for that."
On recent home struggles
“It is true that that's the reality. We are not winning at home; we're losing these points, first with Montreal, in three days, and now New York, a direct rival. It's very frustrating, but if you see the volume of the entrances and the chances that we had tonight, we have to mention that and say that we couldn't finish. If you ask me what needs to be improved, I think we need to be more lethal and more precise in those finishes. But I think deep in the game, what I feel like is that sometimes 1-0 has to be enough. We can or we can talk about those options and how many shots that we had, how many entrances is clear, very clear. But also, we didn't close the game, and two balls are even more frustrating because that's something that comes from errors that, for us, is a giveaway game.”
Orlando City SC Defender Alex Freeman
Opening Statement
“Well, obviously, we didn't win. So, I guess we just have to be able to bounce back.”
On the end of the match
“I feel like as a team, obviously, the corner happened. Corners, especially in those situations, are easy ways for teams to come back. Obviously, we conceded that corner, and then on the other side it was on a set piece as well, just the counterattack. So, those are the things that we need to be more sharp on, especially at the end of the game when you need to take the most advantage of it, and I feel like the last five to 10 minutes, it was literally just those two set pieces they had, those two chances.”
On how to unlock the offense going forward
“I feel like that’s something that we want to do, score a second goal and seal the game. I feel like, myself, I should have had a goal as well. And I feel like that is just something that we need to improve in training, some sort of finish, and just be able to be sharper. And that third, I feel like if we have a second goal, we could have more comfort, be more comfortable in the game.”
Orlando City SC Forward Iván Angulo
Opening Statement
“It’s difficult to find the words now. It was a hard game, a loss that hurts us. I think it was a game that we controlled. We had a good first half. The second half as well, we were also in control. We had a few chances to win the game so it’s difficult that we lost.”
On being more clinical
“We just need to be calmer to find teammates that are in better positions for these chances. We had a lot of shots blocked by their defense, so I just need to be calm and find those teammates that are better positioned.”
On New York City FC’s second goal
“We were looking for the win on that corner kick. Maybe we didn’t have the counterattack in mind, which is obviously wrong, not to be cautious on that side of it, but we just have to work through it, analyze the game and correct that.”
