Orlando City SC Head Coach Oscar Pareja
Opening Statement
“First, I want to recognize the players and their effort in the incredible heat today on the pitch and in the humidity. I think everyone noticed it at the end, but the effort was constant, and I want to acknowledge the players’ effort to take these three points out of a game that was very well played, especially in the first half. We had the majority of the chances, we scored three goals, and we could have scored more, but we ended up conceding two goals and making them believe in the game. That became a challenge for the second half, where we started more timidly and they gained some confidence. But at the same time, in that second half, we played very smart and did what we needed to do. We contained the numerical superiority that they tried to create, and in the moments when we got in behind, we were very dangerous. I think we were the team that had the most chances, and as I said at the beginning, we could have scored more goals. The fourth goal came, and it gave us more tranquility with the result. It was a great game, a great three points for us, and we take it back to Orlando.”
On fighting through adversity
“I thought we had two very clear chances to put the game even further away from St. Louis and we missed it. In those moments, they reacted well. They scored that first goal and it seems like we lost a little bit of control of the ball that was remarkable in those first 30 minutes. When we lost control of the ball, St. Louis started believing in the game and they scored the second goal of the game on a mistake that we made. I want to recognize the matureness of the group in the second half. It was a game that we could probably score four or five goals in the second half and ended up being a challenging second half. It is the game. It taught us today that the game doesn’t finish until it finishes and you have to be consistent especially when you have clear options.”
On Alex Freeman making the MLS All-Star Roster
“We are very proud as a Club as is the team and the fans. As the Orlando City family, we congratulate Alex [Freeman] for such achievement in a short time. It is well deserved. I think he represents us in a great manner. We have so much joy to know that Alex is progressing that much and really representing the academy, the coaches and the people who have been involved with him in this process. We are proud and congratulate Alex.”
Orlando City SC Forward Ramiro Enrique
Opening Statement
“Very happy tonight for the team, especially to get this win out here on the road and in the heat. It was a good three points for team so really happy and ready to go.”
On the first goal he scored
“It was a goal that was a transition goal and was something that we worked on a lot this week in training. It was a great transition by the team. We brought it forward well. Once [Martín Ojeda] arrived in the spot that he did I know that he is always going to like to move it towards the center and open up space so as soon as he did that I was able to get in the right spot and push it towards goal and push us ahead.”
On St. Louis’ high press
“It is another thing that we trained on this week. It was something that we told ourselves we could score from because they had a lot of confidence in the way they were building out. We have worked with the high press and the back press as well. We were able to take advantage of that tonight and get high up the field and thankfully I was able to score on the chance that we were able to turnover in that situation. Like I said, it is something that we trained and worked really hard on this week.”
