SPORTING DIRECTOR AND HEAD COACH GREGG BERHALTER
On the loss of momentum in the second half…
I think it starts with defensive pressure. I think it starts with individual defending and collective defending, and I don’t think we were there. The first half was fantastic. A really good performance. And the second half, we allowed them too much space, we weren’t shifting quick enough, we didn’t put enough pressure on the ball, and they can hurt you. So overall, [I’m] extremely disappointed with the effort in the second half.
On Orlando City’s pressure up top…
We had 87% passing completion, so I don’t think it had to do with what the opponent was doing. I think it had to do with what we weren’t doing. And we weren’t getting enough pressure on the ball. [Our] individual, one v. one defending was very bad. And to me, I think it’s about the mentality. Winning is not an accident. Winning is about the mentality to compete on every single play, and I didn’t see that today.
On Federico Higuain playing in the match…
You see what we’ve been missing this last time since June. He can make it happen. He’s very smart, very good with his passing, and I like how he got integrated right away and created chances. I think that’s a good sign for us moving forward.
On where the team goes from here…
That’s done. It’s time to move on. From here, you dig in. From here, you dig in and see what you’re made of. You accept the challenge, you rise to the challenge and you go after it. Again, we’re a decent team. I think when you see some of that today, that’s not good, that’s not a good team.
On the breakdowns in individual defending…
Again, I think it comes down to what do we want. If we want a victory, we need to sacrifice more. We need to put more into it. It’s every play, like I mentioned. It’s going after it, and realizing that every moment in the game has an impact on the game. I think when you talk about mentality, it’s competing for 90+ minutes.
On if Kaka changed things in the match…
His quality. He has quality. You see his movement. What I like about him is he passes the ball and he moves very quickly. He’s very difficult to get a hold of. And he created some chances, no question. But I think if you’re organized, and you have a tight defensive lock, you can nullify some of that. And it wasn’t good from us from that standpoint.
On what he can do to save the season…
That’s a good question. And that’s a great way to put it, ‘if losing the season isn’t enough.’ And we’re going to have to ask some hard questions these next couple of days, and hopefully come up with some good answers because as you said, up 2-0 coming out in the second half, it should be burning. Every duel we should be going in like it’s our last one. We have a chance now to start rising. And I didn’t see that. That’s a problem.
On if the playoffs are still possible…
We’re not going to give up. We’re not going to give up. Seven points back now, we’re going to keep fighting. I guarantee you; you’ll see guys on the field that are going to keep fighting. We’re not giving up.
On if they take anything from the first half…
No, I’m not taking anything from that. The reason why is because it’s that fantastic, you have a lot of momentum, and the will and desire to now finish the game and compete and get the victory overshadows all of what was played in the first half. Absolutely. Everything that was played in the first half is overshadowed by the competing that I saw in the second half.
On if this feeling is the same as when Orlando won last year…
Well, I think there is a message. The message is what I’ve been saying for the last five minutes. It becomes now about mentality. That’s what this thing becomes about. It becomes about the will to win. Winning is not an accident. It’s the work you put in and the commitment you have on the field to compete on every play. That’s when you get victories. And we’re going to play guys that show that, that demonstrate that.
On if he’s noticed good individual play…
I think there were some good individual performances. Some good goals. Some good offensive moves. But again, not enough to single anyone out and not enough to give compliments right now.
On if the players on the team can get them in the playoffs...
I hope so. I really do. And that’s what we’re going to have to take a look at. I think everyone, the staff, the players, everyone, we’re going to have to take a good hard look at what we have and what we want and move forward from there.
On the challenges of playing Cyle Larin…
I think his physicality. I think I said before the game, I’m a huge Cyle Larin fan. I think he’s a fantastic striker, brings tremendous physicality, very good movement inside the penalty box, strikes a good ball. I think he has a bright future ahead of him.
On if he is worried about leadership…
No.
FORWARD OLA KAMARA
On the change from the first half to the second half…
You kind of summed it up there. We had a good first half. I think the first 10 or 15 minutes were good as well and then we lose it after that and we can’t keep the shutout. That was not good.
On the mentality after giving up a goal…
I think it’s a mentality that we might need to make some changes when its 2-1. I don’t know if it’s small things, like we drop a little lower or something. We maybe need to make some small changes to hold that lead and maybe counter attack them instead because right now we were pressing them high and then it didn’t work in the end. They apparently played through us and then they got two goals so it’s not good.
On how you make sure he doesn’t give up…
I think I’ve shown in many games that I don’t give up … I’m always hunting so you maybe can get that winning goal or something like that, but I think everybody ran a lot today and tried to do everything defensively as well but it wasn’t enough today. That’s it.
GOALKEEPER STEVE CLARK
On the mentality of his team . . .
I think that everybody on the team needs to look at themselves in the mirror and think, ‘it’s the 55th minute, do we keep playing our game or do we want to shell up?’ For me, it’s about continuing to play our game. It’s time to do exactly that. We got to go.
Onwhere his team goes after this game . . .
Up, up. I understand what has happened in the last three games, but we have a lot of character. I said last week that I know it’s a broken record, but I don’t care. I believe in what we are doing, I believe in the character of our guys, but at the same time it’s time to go. We can’t keep having this happen.
On what he thinks his team’s problems are . . .
I think that we should, as a group, get back to work on Tuesday. I mean, I can’t really speak to too much about that, but like I said we need to take a hard look at what we are doing. We got to go.
Onhow each player sacrifices . . .
Like I said, to a large period of the game we were in charge there. We just need to bring a lot of work this week and individually we need to step up.
