MINNESOTA UNITED HEAD COACH ADRIAN HEATH
On how different it is from Orlando to here in Allianz Field with the same silence of a fanless stadium …
We know what type of atmosphere we generate here. Certainly, as the game was wearing on and we were getting free kicks and corners and putting the ball in the box, that certainly would have made a huge influence and difference for us. But, hey, I’ll never use the fact that there’s no fans here as an excuse. I don’t think we did enough tonight. I thought after the first 20 minutes of the first half we got about it a little bit more and started to play on the front foot a little bit more, and we looked like we might score goals. Before that, we didn’t look like that. I thought we paid them too much respect at the beginning of the game and allowed them to get some confidence in the fact that they’re playing away from home. We knew it was going to be tight. I don’t think there was really anything in the game. But, when I look at the amount of balls we put in the box and to know we put in the box and to not really make [Tim] Melia make a big time save was a bit disappointing.
On the first goal that was scored and if it caught Greg Ranjitsingh by surprise …
It’s one of them that you always talk about when you’re putting it in, swinging in, make sure that they stay in between the post, because that, that can happen. That’s one of them things when people look as though they’re gonna go for the ball and nobody touches it and it ends up bobbling in on the back post. I’ll have to have another look at it. It looked soft from our position on the bench. I don’t think we had enough pressure on the ball. I’ll have to have another look at it.
On what he needs to do to get on the end of some balls in the final third …
We gotta show a little bit more craft, a little bit more ingenuity and a little bit better movement. I thought the one Robin Lod put across the six-yard box, I would expect someone to be at least diving in or having an opportunity. But, I think we had three men in the box at that particular time and nobody was on the move. So, that was a disappointment. We’ll have a look and decide what we can do better.
On what more he wants to see from his strikers up top …
If you look, even the tournament down in Orlando, we’ve created a lot of chances and what did we score down there? We had a four, we had a two, we got two twos, I think. So, we can create chances. We know that. I’ll have to have another look at it, but as I say, I just don’t think we did enough to get on the end of things tonight. It was very little in the game if you look at the game over 90 minutes. I thought they shaded it for the first 20 minutes. After that, I thought we were far and away the better team in the second half. We haven’t worked their goalkeeper enough. We haven’t worked the penalty box enough. And we haven’t done enough when we’ve had a lot of the ball in the final third.
On what he considers both goals against us and what he thought of Greg Ranjitsingh tonight …
I’ll have to have a look. I thought, obviously, it was a cheap turnover, when we’ve got people in their half of the field for their second one. And, I don’t think we did enough to make it difficult for them. I don’t think we defended after the ball was turned over in their half of the field. I don’t think we defended well enough. But I’ll have to have another look at it. It’s very difficult where we sit to sort of give you a detailed answer on what went wrong. I’ll have to see them again.
On what he thinks led to the team’s passive start …
I don’t know. I don’t know. It’s something that we spoke about. I thought we came out a little bit slow. And when you’re on the road, the last thing that you need to do is give teams some importance and give them some belief that they can get something from the game. And that’s what we did. We allowed them to dictate the first 20, 25 minutes or so. And, you know, once we started to get closer to them, once we started to engage them higher up the field, and suddenly started to play more 1v1’s around the field rather than a collective, I thought we were a lot better.
On what he saw from Luis Amarilla tonight …
I think that when I look at where we are with Luis – what’s he got, three goals in seven games, eight games, something like that, that he has played in or started – that’s not a bad return. But obviously, we need to get, and not just Luis [Amarilla], we need to get most of our players playing regularly again. It’s interesting that we’ve been back now a week or so, you know, you give the guys a break because they’ve been in the bubble for 40 odd days. Sometimes, you lose a little bit of fitness. I know that they’ve been working really hard down in Kansas since they left the bubble. So, it’s not been ideal, the preparation. Now we’re getting into some more Saturday, Saturday, Saturday, Wednesday. I think we’ll benefit from the 90 minutes tonight.
On the frustration behind success on the flanks and getting balls into the box, but not being able to finish and what it would take to finish these opportunities …
Yeah, it’s frustrating when you get – I don’t know how many crosses we’ve had, I don’t know how many free kicks or corners we’ve had – but, when I look at it, I don’t think we’ve worked the keeper enough. I can’t really remember Tim [Melia] coming up with a big save. Other than maybe Hassani’s [Dotson] header. When you consider how much ball we’ve had in their box for the keeper to make probably one big save, is not enough. And we’ll have to look at it, we’ll examine it and we’ll see what we can do about it.
On what he noticed about the heated late interaction between the two sides …
Ozzie [Alonso] thought there was a bit of time wasting and didn’t think the ref was handling it well enough. But, hey, this is what happens. People get frustrated. Both teams would have got frustrated if you’re on the receiving end. So, that’s what happened. But, you know, sometimes the referees have got to start to understand that they can actually quicken the game up before it gets to the last few minutes of the game. That’s where a lot of frustration comes about.
On Boca Juniors’ tweet and the status on Reynoso to MNUFC …
Well, we’re hoping to get him in. Nothing has been signed yet. But, I’d be incredibly disappointed if it doesn’t happen. The kid wants to come. We want him. Everything has been agreed. But, nothing has been officially signed yet. That has to be done. So, hopefully we will get him in, get his medical and we’ll go from there.
MINNESOTA UNITED DEFENDER CHASE GASPER
On his general thoughts on tonight’s performance …
The team is definitely disappointed. To come back home and play at Allianz [Field] for the first time this year, we were really looking forward to the game, but, unfortunately the game just didn’t go our way. We started off a little too flat on the back foot. When you concede two weak goals like that, it’s tough to win games. So, unfortunately it wasn’t our night. We gotta congratulate SKC. I thought they did a great job moving the ball and the holdup play was really good on their end and that caused us some problems. We’re just gonna learn from tonight, work on it this week and get ready for our next game.
On what was behind the trouble of finishing tonight for the Loons and his contributions in the box serving balls in from the flank …
There’s no secret, I just have to have better quality. That’s all it is. I wasn’t too great tonight in the attacking third, so I’ve gotta do better in that aspect.
On the atmosphere tonight, playing a regular season game with no sound, no crowd …
It’s definitely a new experience. We got a taste of it down in Orlando, but to come back to our home, Allianz [Field], and not have the fans here. It’s not what we’re used to and we definitely miss the fans. We really felt it tonight. To play in front of the fans, you hear them cheering and screaming all game, especially in the 75th, 80th, 85th minute, dying minutes of the game, you need that extra boost. They’re giving you the life. We definitely missed that tonight. But, that’s no excuse for how we played. But, I mean, it’s reality and we have to deal with it just like everybody else in the world and we’re gonna go watch the film on the game, learn from tonight and be better next weekend.
On Gianluca Busio and what he saw from him tonight that threw the Loons off …
He’s an incredible young talent and I think he had a great game today. He’s good on both sides of the ball. He’s not just technical and good with the ball at his feet. He played great defensively and put in the work, put in a really good shift. One of the most important positions on the field for a really good SKC side. He’s a great young talent. American prospect. As an American, you’re rooting for guys like that to keep pushing themselves, keep improving and raise the level of American soccer and I think he’s doing that.
On if there is any effect on the game with a new goalkeeper going forward now …
Greg [Ranjitsingh] has been phenomenal at practice. I mean, he’s one of the best shot stoppers I’ve ever seen. And, so, we were very confident and comfortable with him in goal. He’s a great goalie. Tyler [Miller] did a great job down in Orlando and at the beginning of the season. He’s got to deal with the surgery and we’re supporting him and his decision to get that. But, I think that Greg is a phenomenal goalie and he’s going to step right up and get the job done. So, I think we’re just as confident and he’s a great goalie. So, no real change.
