Aron Winter- Head Coach & Technical Director, Toronto FC
How tough is this now?
Very tough because… all the respect for Chicago, the changes that you had in, don’t win the game…it’s tough.
Where are we now? Its 18 points given away.
I know, but we have 28 other games to play. But still its not a nice period. You are creating a lot of opportunities and but you don’t make the calls and it looks like you are making the same mistakes, to not be as sharp or focused or whatever. That you give away so very easy the game. The mistake that you make after 30 seconds. You give a bad pass and its 1 nil. And still after that we played well we made two goals but in a minute it’s impossible to give a goal away. And I think in the 2nd half we tried to play football, create chances, but at the moment when you have to be in the box or sharp for the 2nd ball or opportunity that you get, you are not make the goals and the opponent needs a half chance and there is always a goal.
Three bad goals on three defensive gaps what is that? Is it a lapse in concentration? Or causes it?
It’s not only concentration it could be also quality, it could be focus, it could be everything. But still it’s not good because it’s too easy that you are giving the ball way and its too easy that you are missing those opportunities to score.
Aaron but surely something has to change the defence?
Yes, of course I’m also trying to change and I thought also that we are looking forward but you have to work at this moment with the things that you have at this moment. It try to reinforce because we know that defensively we need some better players or we need some reinforcements.
Are you at the point where last year or going into the end of last year you are starting to get the guys that I want, the team, the depth that I need. Do you feel differently? After watching the defensive misatkes?
Of course…I’m not looking differently because we have brought some players in but still it is not enough to succeed . And we noticed last year and also now at the beginning of the season that defensively we need to reinforce and we still try to look for better players.
Why wasn’t that done at the start of the season?
We brought a player in like Cassado but it didn’t work out because at that moment he was not happy. We brought in Aceval but he still needs some time. But still its not that we didn’t bring some defenders. But still we need some other defenders and two other defenders like Decoy Williams and Adrian Cann that had long injuries that they should be back sooner or later.
Ryan Johnson- Forward, Toronto FC
Mistakes are putting goals in the back of your net and costing games.
I think if we score two goals we should win the game. It’s our fault giving up three goals, especially ones off of set pieces right after we score, a minute after. That’s on the players. We have to be more accountable of our markers. These mistakes are killing us, it’s killing Toronto and our fans. It’s hard to keep letting down our fans every week and it is really starting to get to me.
Talk about your luck a bit.
I’m hitting the post. Last week I got two balls cleared off the line, I mean it happens. I’m continuing to get myself scoring chances, I think I set one up today for Reggie (Lambe) so I’m trying to do my part. It’s really hard for us right now.
How does it feel getting behind so early?
It’s tough for Torsten his first game back. Those guys are quick; Domenic Oduro and Patrick Nyarko, those guys in my opinion are the fastest in the league. It’s tough on him. He acknowledged his mistake and we’re not mad at him or anything like that. It happens, its football and we still have his back and we are going to continue to fight for each other here no matter what happens, we’ll be fine.
Ashtone Morgan- Defender, Toronto FC
Lot of chances and you scored two goals and it’s not enough.
It’s not enough. Obviously something is missing and hopefully the coaches and all of us can come together and find whats missing. You can clearly see the passion, the fight, everything is there, the chances are there but for some reason the ball’s not going in the net and not getting the three points. So obviously something is missing and that’s what we need to find out.
You guys go up 2-1, then what happened on their second goal to tie it up late in the half?
Set pieces. Set pieces win and lose games. They are crucial.
Torsten Frings- Midfielder, Toronto FC
The team keeps conceding bad goals, preventable goals. Is the team ever going to sort it out?
We give the goals away with a lot of mistakes. My mistake too. We have to try and make it better. It’s not easy if you have 6 games that we lost. Now it’s very important that we keep improving things and working hard during training and try again next week.
Are the playoffs gone?
I think we don’t have to speak about playoffs now. The first points are very important and we can look at what’s happening in the next six or seven weeks. The season is still long, we have to look at getting the first points. That’s very important, not talking about the playoffs.
Frank Klopas – Head Coach, Chicago Fire
Thoughts on todays game
We knew it was going to be difficult for us because of their record and their start to the season. I know that they put a lot into the game, they have great fans that are behind them so it was important for us to have a great start so that we don’t let the fans get more into the game. Obviously we had a great start, they made a mistake and we were able to capitalize on in the first minute and then we let two soft goals in. I just felt that it was important that we got that one goal back off the set piece. They were pushing obviously, we knew that they were coming with numbers forward and we had to be good in transition and we got one and created an opportunity and went up three-two. They pushed forward which I knew they were going to do and at that time everyone has just got to fight until the last minute. It’s great for us to get the win in a very difficult place. It’s not going to be easy for teams to come here and get the result.
Did you say anything to your team at the half
I just felt that it was important with our frontrunners because with the back three it’s all about the movement. We wanted to make sure that when we got the ball we were playing out of the back and we actually worked on certain patterns and building our attacks in the back which when one forward is being marked to find the second option deep down in the channels. That’s where the space was because then if we have an opportunity with (Dominic) Oduro and (Patrick) Nyarko to get (Torsten) Frings on the one-on-one in the open space that would be to our advantage. And then defensively, they pushed Frings in the middle, but when he was in the back we wanted to make sure we kept pressure on him because he is the guy that kind of dictates the play and organizes their build up out of the back.
Dominic Oduro – Forward, Chicago Fire
Thoughts on scoring the fastest goal in Chicago Fire history
Well I’m glad to make history and that my name is now in history but at the end of the day I’m glad that we were able to get an early goal, get settled into the game. I’m also really happy and grateful that we got three points on the road.
What was your strategy against the TFC defense?
It is my job to make it as hard as I can for the defense. I have speed and I try to use it as much as possible. Their defenders don’t have much speed and they try and sit back and make in uncomfortable for me. I just believe that my pace works against their defense and I try as much as possible to get behind them. Every game I try and do the best that I can.
Patrick Nyarko – Forward, Chicago Fire
You tallied the game winner and your first goal of the season, what were your thoughts on the goal?
It was a desperate time, we thought we had a handle on the game, we took the lead and then for some reason we let our guard down and for a couple of minutes they came back and took the lead so we needed to refocus. Luckily we a goal back before half time and we had a little bit of momentum going into the second half. We weren’t ready to let this game go so we pushed it a little bit in the second half. They started to pressure us a little bit but then when we got the break I made that run down and Dom (Oduro) made a brilliant pass for me and all I had to do was beat the goalie and put the ball in the net and it worked out.
Usually you are the one setting up Dominic Oduro for his goals, how does it feel when it is the other way around?
It feels good. It shows that we can be dynamic together. Either one of us can play that pass, we can use our pace to get behind defenders. It’s a great team win today, we really fought hard. It was a nervy end but everyone worked hard to get this one.
Sean Johnson – Goalkeeper, Chicago Fire
Your team really bunkered down at the end with the flurry of shots the last 15 minutes. What did it take to preserve this victory?
I think it was an immense amount of concentration. We battled and we battled we got to 13 minutes left I turned to Jalil (Anibaba) and told him that we are just going to have to weather the storm and to fight through this battle, it’s not going to be pretty, they are going to push numbers forward and we will have to deal with the numbers. Just staying organized and communication was key as well in the last little part of the game where a lot of crosses or a lot of 50/50 balls were we have to be on the same page. We got through the last 15 minutes of the game were it was very difficult to put any passes together. Just knowing that we can battle and get a result on the road is definitely going to be good for us going forward.
