Head Coach, James O'Connor
On the match:
“Obviously we’re bitterly disappointed not to get anything from the game. We felt we had a decent amount of possession and caused them some problems. Overall the killer instinct in the final piece - we just needed more. Great little bit of magic from Chris [Mueller] – a great goal. The players showed a lot of fight I thought. It’s really rough for them because I thought we deserved a little bit more than we’re getting at the moment. On their second goal, I think we were a little bit lax, but overall, I thought the effort and the commitment that the guys showed was very, very good.”
On the performance of the young players:
“I thought the young guys – great credit to them. It’s an intimidating atmosphere and we wanted to see how they’d cope. I’m really pleased with how they’ve come and performed. The older guys did a great job of helping them along. I really feel for the players because I think over the course of certainly the last two games, if you look at the level of effort and the level of commitment that we’ve had in the games and the level of fight that we’ve shown – I feel as if we deserve more than what we’ve got. To get nothing from both of those games is pretty hard to swallow. And ultimately it’s results that we want so that really compounds things for us. For the players, for the level of commitment and the way they played, it’s just that little piece of quality tonight that we missed.”
On turning their focus to the next game versus Cincinnati:
“Obviously it’s a long trip back. We’ll get up early and it’s a six hour flight. For us, it’s just trying to manage that and we get back pretty late [Thursday] night. We’ll have to get some rest and recover and get ready for another tough game on Sunday.”
Midfielder Benji Michel
On his first MLS start:
“To be honest, at first I felt nervous, but then as the game went on I felt confidence.”
On his performance:
“I felt I did well. I have been staying ready waiting for my opportunity. The guys have been helping me build my confidence so whenever I play, whenever the time comes for the call up I’ll be ready, so I feel like I did well.”
On your thoughts on the team’s performance:
“You know, a little bit unlucky on the goals, but I felt like we fought hard, we didn’t give up till the final whistle.”
Midfielder Dillon Powers
On his performance:
“It was fun to be out there again especially with that group in particular. I have tried to maintain a high level in training all year to be ready for this opportunity. Unfortunately, I thought we had some good spells but I think we need to start getting results here.”
On his veteran leadership for the younger players:
“You know I try to encourage guys especially in the harder moments. There are always moments in games when you are under it a little bit, when the team has a lot of possession. I think in those moments it’s easy to lose your head a little bit. So I think I try to just keep the group positive and encouraged and just through my play.”
On the team’s performance:
“Again, I think we have had another good team performance and we have had good performances all year, but I think we need to really get serious with ourselves and start to really commit to results rather than just performances. At the end of the day that is what matters and that is what this is all about. We are happy to play good football but at the end of the day we need to win games.”
