💬 Seb Hines: 'I thought we did enough to win the game' after narrow loss to San Diego Wave

Orlando Pride Head Coach Seb Hines

Opening statement  

“It is a strange one. I thought we did enough to win the game, but football doesn’t always work out like that. We have been in this situation before or I sat in this seat multiple times where we felt like we had done enough to win the game, it just hasn’t fallen our way. I think the first 20 minutes of the game, we were kind of passive. We changed that and had more intensity to our press, putting them under pressure and caused a lot of problems with turnovers and we got ourselves back into the game. It was a brilliant goal with Marta’s brilliance and a great finish from Adri[ana]. Second half we started fast and also put a lot of pressure on San Diego and then they punished us off a set piece and we just couldn’t get ourselves back in the game. Just fallen a bit short, but I am proud of the players and the effort they put into the game.” 

On giving up two goals on set piece situations 

“It is extremely frustrating. Anytime there is a situation like that, there is sometimes a lapse in concentration or a moment where you relax, and I think they punished us in that moment. Other than that, we were pretty comfortable other than the first 20 minutes. It is frustrating. We will move on, we will learn from it. We all know we can’t allow ourselves to concede in that manner and hopefully that will put us in a good position moving forward.” 

On making two substitutions at halftime 

“Just [wanted] energy. They did extremely well when they came on last game against Chicago and I felt we were a little tired in the midfield. They came on, made an impact and had lots of energy. The pressing that they put into it, as well, caused a lot of problems and turnovers. Viv[iana Villacorta] and [Kerry] Abello have been brilliant for us and have been first class. I said from the start, it takes a whole roster, it takes a whole squad, and everyone has to play their part. It is another moment where we relied on our bench and I thought they did well and got us back into the game and got us into a moment where I thought we were going to win it, but obviously we fell short.”

Orlando Pride Defender Kylie Strom

Opening statement 

“Obviously a disappointing match for us, we knew how important this was going into it, we could have gotten into a playoff position, which is what we’re really aiming for. To give up two set piece goals is disappointing as well, it’s something we’ve been really good at all season up to this point, so we just need to get back to our ways and keep pushing.” 

On the resilience of the team after conceding first 

“I think resilience, like you, said is one of our strengths even when we went down early, we were never in doubt. We know we can get the equalizer and even in the end it felt like we were going get an equalizer. We’re always threatening with the players that we have, unfortunately it didn’t come off today and we didn’t always get an end product. But this team is built strong, we work hard every day in this heat. We can outrun teams, we can outwork teams, so it’s a bit of a setback for us but we’re still ready for what’s next and we’re still fighting.” 

On the way the team came out in the second half 

“The first half we sat off a bit, we knew that they’re a pretty direct team, they wanted to go long and find Alex [Morgan] for the flick on, and I think what we spoke about at halftime is one of our strengths is our press and our mentality. When we went after them they struggled a bit and we were able to read the long balls better, they were kicking it out of bounds and weren’t as successful. I think that’s part of our identity, we’re hungry, we like to press and it caused them a lot of problems.”

Orlando Pride Goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse

On the communication of the defense 

“I think in the beginning of the game it’s always, ‘What are they going to do?’  and you have to get used to how a team is going to come out and play. I don’t think we were ever under that much pressure from them playing over the top. I think they tried a couple of times and we dealt with it. I don’t think they really broke us down during the game. They didn’t really have any clear cut chances they created themselves. They had the one in the first half but that was through individual errors, but I thought we dealt with them well all game, they just scored on two corners.” 

On dealing with teams that press high 

“Whenever a team presses there is always something they have to give up, because we have a goalkeeper and they have to leave the goalkeeper behind. So, it’s always 11 v 10; they have to give up something we just have to find what it is they are giving up and I think we did that well tonight.” 

On bouncing back after a goal is scored  

“I try to forget about the goals that go in, it’s not time during the game to analyze them. I don’t really think about it during the game. It’s just we give ourselves a mountain to climb because they didn’t want to come here and score goals, they wanted to get a goal and sit off and not really do anything with the ball after that. It’s always difficult when a team sits off and they sit back, it’s harder to break teams down like that.”

Orlando Pride (7-9-1, 22 points) at OL Reign (7-6-3, 24 points)

When: Sunday, 6:00 p.m.

Where: Lumen Field, Seattle, WA.

TV: Paramount+ (subscription required), FOX 35+ (local broadcast)