ORLANDO CITY SC COACH JAMES O'CONNOR
Opening statement:
"Look, it obviously feels like a defeat when you concede so late. It was such a cheap goal. We defended resoundingly, and I think when you look at the commitment and the way the guys were defending, if they would've scored a quality goal from maybe 25 yards out then maybe you can just say there was nothing we could do, but to concede a goal like that so late was just incredibly frustrating for everybody."
On what he think keeps on breaking down in the final minutes for this team...
"I mean when you look at this specific instance: it's the 92nd minute, it's a throw in, it's a set piece, it's something that you can manage. We need to do a way better job, because we didn't manage it effectively. It's slung in there, we haven't picked up the flight of the ball, it ricochets off of one of the guys and it drops to him, and then he sticks it in the back of the net. It's a really cheap goal. At that stage we need to be on our toes and we need to just head the ball clear."
On how the end of this game changes the attitude surrounding this game despite being able to come away with road points...
"It's like a loss. At this moment in time, our expectation is to win the game, and in the 90th minute we need to win the game. If they shoot and it's an incredible goal, you accept it, but when it's that cheap, that's really hard to swallow. The players are devastated, and I look at how hard they've worked to not get three points, but we only have ourselves to blame. We have to come out and look at ourselves, it's on us."
On what Nani is able to do in high pressure situations like his penalty tonight...
"It's a fantastic piece of skill, and I think it was great. Not quite sure what happened on the second one, I think they said it was offside and maybe it was offside, but then the free kick that's taken following the offside and at least let us get our defenders back in shape. The free kick was taken and we obviously were out of shape because we were expecting it to be a penalty, so I'm sure when the referee looks at that he could've handled that a bit better, whether it is or isn't a penalty. For the restart, at least wait until we're back into our position."
On how Mauricio did in his first match with the team...
"I thought he did a good job at keeping the ball, and I think that's where he's good. I thought the field tore up pretty bad and it made it quite awkward to do a good job at keeping the ball. It's definitely going to take him a little bit of time to get used to the style of play, the heat, the humidity, bit of fitness there as well. We signed a good player in Mauricio."
ORLANDO CITY SC MIDFIELDER MAURICIO PEREYRA
On being able to play with the team for the first time...
"Of course I am happy because I had my debut today but I'm not happy with the score because we cannot get this goal in the last minute. Of course it is bad and usual for us."
On meshing with the team so far...
"No of course it is my first game, I need to know more my partners and maybe I'm not in my best physical moment now but I am getting better every day and I need these minutes to get better every game."
On building a connection with Sebastian Mendez...
"Yes I think he is a great player, maybe if I was in better shape or better physical condition I could get better balls from him. Of course it's important to know all the players, all the partners and how they play and this takes a little bit of time."
On the final minutes that lead to the equalizing goal...
"Of course maybe its unlucky for us, we should be more concentrated. We made a great show in the ninety minutes and we lost two points in this last ball but of course we need to look forward and work harder every day and now we need to think about the next game will be difficult like every game. Atlanta is a great team but we need to work that's all.
On making the most out of the few opportunities tonight...
"Of course it was a difficult game, Minnesota has great players and they played at home. In defense we made a great job and maybe we need to keep a little bit more the ball to create more chances of course this is coming with work like I said before. If I know more the players in the moment we can create more chances and get more goals."
