Orlando City Head Coach James O’Connor
On the difference in the team to get the result
“I don’t necessarily think it was a big difference, I thought we were extremely unlucky to be going in 2-nil down. I think when you look at the balance of play first half, we had a lot of possession, we were countering in their half, we had multiple good opportunities. I think we were all a little frustrated to be going in 2-nil down because, I think when you look at the balance of play and the way the first half went, we felt that we didn’t deserve to be 2-nil down. But we were 2-nil down. We said ‘You either sit and feel sorry for yourself or you go out and you keep believing and you keep pushing and you keep doing the things that we’re talking about’. I think we were very unfortunate not to go on and win the game at the end. I think there’s some kind of controversy, some handball or something. We go from 2-nil down to having a real opportunity to go and win the game. That was something that we always felt, even at 2-nil down, that we could go and win the game because, candidly, when you look at the players and the supporters, we felt if we got one goal that the supporters would really lift the roof and obviously Nani and Dom [Dwyer] coming on, that got the crowd into it as well. I think that’s the opportunity that we have here with our supporters to really impact the game as well.”
On dealing with adversity in terms of the deficit
“I think when you look at the intensity that we played that first half...Just glancing at the stats here, we’re camped in their half
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we’re making it very difficult for them to get anything off on our goal. They have a shot from 23-24 yards that goes in off the post, we go 1-nil down after 12-13 minutes. Up to that, we were the team that was really pushing and getting after it. Even after that, we still were the team that’s really in control and trying to dominate the game. We felt as if we were hard done to go in 2-nil down, but the belief that they showed second half to keep fighting and keep pushing was something that we can be really pleased with. The encouragement of all the players, the togetherness and the work ethic was great to see.”
On Brian Rowe’s performance
“Very good. I think his concentration was excellent and as you said there was two big saves there he made in the second half that we can be really pleased with. I think again character-wise, he’s someone that has an outstanding character, great for the locker room, great experience. I think that’s something that maybe a lot of people undervalue is people’s character and their values and their morals and their principles. It’s something I pay a lot of attention to because I want the group dynamic to be a certain way.”
On Chris Mueller’s value to the team
“I think he’s a great kid. He’s someone that has the ability to adapt and I think that’s the biggest thing for Chris, there’s still some development there. He’s someone that we’re very passionate about trying to develop. We think he’s a great young man. We said earlier in the week we’re creating individual development plans for all the players and we’ve gone through his
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Again when you have someone that’s very open and very coachable, it gives the player a great chance because we feel as if we want to be able to teach a certain way. He’s someone that I’ll go as far to say in the next years, he could go and achieve some really great things.”
Orlando City Forward Chris Mueller
On five chances created and team performance
“I felt like overall the team’s performance was really good. It definitely hurts not to get to three points on the first day but I think that we showed a lot of character fighting back and as far as I go I feel good, I feel confident and I was proud of how the team fought back”
On cross into Dom Dwyer and handball controversy
“I haven’t had a chance to take a look at the play yet. From my angle, even I couldn’t really get a good look at it. I was even surprised when they went to the VAR. I wasn’t sure what was going on but I definitely am intrigued to see what happened.”
On approach on the free kick
“I just wanted to put it into a dangerous area and make sure that if no one got a touch honestly, it would creep into that back post area and that’s exactly what ended up happening. So it was good to get the team back into the game.”
Orlando City Forward Tesho Akindele
On his health after scoring a goal
“Yeah, it was just a cramp, nothing serious. I think a lot of people were cramping. It was just hot, kind of the first real hard 90 minutes, so nothing serious. I’ll be back.”
On the addition of Dom Dwyer and Nani in the second half
“Tremendously. I thought they made a huge impact. I think one of Nani’s first touches was the pass that sent Dom [Dwyer] through. One of Dom’s first touches was an assist so that just shows the quality they bring and the depth we have up top.”
On the relationship between him and Chris Mueller
“It’s really good. I mean we have played, I don’t know, like, four full games in preseason together like with me as striker and him as the attacking mid and with Sacha [Kljestan] as well. The three of us are constantly talking about strategy, what’s working, what’s not.”
Orlando City Midfielder Nani
On how close he is to starting
“I think it’s not so far. I think I had a very good week of training and I hope to start.”
On responding down 2-0 and getting a draw
“I think it was great. We started the game very well, good football, we showed on the pitch the confidence we wanted to bring in the game. Of course, we concede two goals and that can’t happen. We don’t want that to happen so often but it was a great shot from the opponent and of course, we reacted very well in the second half and I think it was fair for one point. We could have won the game with a penalty on that challenge but the ref had to make the decision and we have to respect [the decision]. But it was a very positive game for our team. We have to continue to work hard as we have been doing. I’m so proud of the team and I am happy to help the team as well.”
On fans wanting to see Nani play
“It’s fine for me. I wanted to play, but as you know I was not ready to start the game, not ready to play more minutes. But then it was all good for the fans so that’s the most important.”
New York City FC Head Coach
Domènec Torrent
On his general thoughts on the match
“It was a tough game because we played 10 days ago against them. It is not easy to play here in this temperature, a long trip we had a long trip last night and all but I’m very happy for our players.”
On his thoughts being up 2-0 at halftime and then leaving with 1 point on the road
“It’s a shame for us because when you won 2-0 at halftime, you expect about that, everybody knows you have more possibilities to win the game- but the game is not over. We got one point so it’s not bad when you play in Orlando away. I’m not very very happy but we got one point.”
New York City FC Midfielder James Sands
On feeling at the end of the match with an unsatisfactory result after being up 2-0
“Yeah, I think it’s always disappointing when you see two goals especially when you can kind of see the end and see those three points. You know but it is not a bad place to start, a point on the road, it’s a tough team and a tough place to play. I think maybe it is a good starting point and we can definitely improve.”
On finding out he was starting for the opening match
“I think earlier in the week, I was just kind of working with the first group and I didn’t officially know until this morning but I had a pretty good idea.”
New York City FC Midfielder Alex Ring
On the feeling of getting a point on the road after being up two goals
“Probably, if you lead 2-0, it feels more like a defeat at this point to me.”
On scoring a goal in the match
“Yeah, I’m not playing as a six at the moment, I’m playing higher and I get closer to the goal. So, maybe now and again I’ll find the woodwork. But, playing the six, of course, it’s completely different. I won’t be close to the opponent’s goal so I’m happy for the goal but it didn’t get us the three points so in the end, it doesn’t really matter.”
