Dawid Bugaj
Q: How are you doing Dawid?
DB: Not good.
Q: A tough result tonight, what explains this and especially in the second half where things got awkward and tough on the field?
DB: First, I want to say sorry to the traveling fans that came here. The game didn’t go like we planned, and they basically scored on everything they had. I think goals that we should never concede. Also, we had our chance in the second half where we didn’t score so that’s how it ends. In the in the end, we tried our best and we fought especially first half but then we conceded stupid goals in the second half.
Q: What did you think of the team’s effort during the first half?
DB: Well, I think we were fighting and doing our best. We were running and fighting for each other then we conceded one goal. If we hadn’t conceded that, I think zero-zero in the first half would have been good. Like I said, if we hadn’t conceded the goals in the second half, the game would be completely different. I don’t know what happened, it’s difficult to explain.
Q: How can you explain the lack of focus in the on the second and third goal? It seems like the second goal was Joel Waterman’s fault, but on the third goal, it seemed like everybody stopped playing and Lucas Orellano scored on that long ball?
DB: I don’t want to blame anyone but there was probably some lack of focus. I don’t know, I haven’t seen the goals after the game, but I do remember them. Like I said before, they’re goals that we should not concede. I don’t know what really happened, but it’s hard to explain. I don’t even know what to say.
Q: What was the message going into the second half after the first 45 minutes?
DB It was to keep going just like we did in the first half and continue standing together and fighting. We said that our chances were going to come, but obviously they scored on everything they had in the second half, so it didn’t go as we planned.
Fernando Alvarez
Q: What can explain this result today, especially in the second half?
FA: I think it’s difficult to explain this result. When I was a kid, I was always a supporter of one team and it’s so painful for the fans to feel this. For the most part it’s us, we’re not doing the things that we need to do. If you are doing the perfect things, the results are going to come but we’re not doing enough. We need to work more. I’m only going to talk about me. I need to come back home and start working on what I need to do to help the team and this club, they deserve more than this.
Q: Speaking of the fans that traveled from Montreal to Cincinnati tonight. What can you tell them?
FA: I can tell them that it’s also painful to me. I’m only going to talk about me. The coach, the staff, the players know me and I’m not the guy that will be talking too much in the team. The only thing I’m going to say is that it’s disrespectful for him from my side. I need to work more, run more, push more, and win the battles. I need to do better passes, better long balls. I need to work more and that’s just it. What can you expect from me? Work and respect, thats the only thing I can do. Respect for them and respect for the people that are waiting at home and in my country.
Q: Do you feel the rest of your teammates feel that same way?
FA: I hope so. I’m not going to talk on their behalf. I’m just going to say that hopefully we will come back to training and give our best because we’re not doing enough. We need to work more, every single person that is involved in this result needs to work more. If you’re not getting the results that that you want, it’s because something’s missing. For me, I need to work more.
Q: I know that you’re taking on a lot of the responsibility, but in the last two games, a 5-0 loss and a 4- 1 loss. Do you believe that you are playing as a team? Yes, or no?
FA: No sir, for sure we are not working as a team. I’m not talking about the 11 players on the pitch. I’m talking about every single person in this club. We need to work more as a team. We need to make this more like a family and not just with the club or inside of the club, but also with the fans. For me, it’s disrespectful to see that every time Stade Saputo is full, we’re not giving the results that the fans deserve. We need to work more, run more, and this is the last thing we can do. Everyone knows what is missing. I know what I’m not doing, so I need to give my best since I come out of this room.
Laurent Courtois
Q: Your team’s performance was certainly disappointing. To what do you attribute this face, even this double face? Because the first half was this defeat, and this performance overall follows on from the loss to DC United.
LC: It’s different. There, I think the lads were generally in the game plan and after, as you said, a rather interesting first half, we conceded a very unfortunate goal, even if I think we can always do better. But overall, I think it’s hard to concede like that at half-time. The lads were aware that we were in a position to do some interesting things, and we were very ambitious and positive, but afterwards, I don’t know if you can call it bad luck, but the second and third goals were very disappointing, and nobody was expecting them, and I think everyone took a blow. I can’t blame the guys for not having tried and for having fought. I’ll have to look at the fourth goal again, but for me the first and second goals are really things you can’t do. The guys were in the game plan, and they gave it their all. We’ve still got seven games to go and if they put that mentality into it and we stop conceding goals that are a bit too much, the lads know they’re capable.
Q: Your team has scored one goal in three games and there were few shots attempted tonight, or at least few before the end of the match. How can you explain the fact that your attack has been on the decline lately?
LC: We played a good team away from home and still managed to create a few good chances, but we also managed to neutralize them overall, apart from “those flashes”. Yes, of course we could create more chances now, but they’re a great team. We’ve rarely been able to put together coherent, consistent trios and line-ups, and some of us are getting to know each other a little through experience, so there are some positives.
Q: Talking about the second and third goals, I want to ask you again, is it normal for players at this time of year to lack so much concentration and urgency in their play? The second goal is Waterman with a soft play that leads to a free-kick and the third goal looks like everyone’s asleep and another free-kick, what explains this?
LC: It’s a bit complicated. Nobody was expecting that, and from nothing we end up conceding the goal and you don’t understand. It’s complicated to concede in those conditions, with the efforts they’d tried to put in. What you say is true, but now I’d like to set a cautionary note because there were some good intentions, but it was unfortunate tonight. It’s completely different from the second half of the last game and I’d like to separate the two performances.
Q: It’s happened several times this season, but this was another team who has been in a difficult run of form and then when they go against you guys, they have a big game. Is this a trend that you guys have been noticing this season and if so, what measures are you taking to take advantage of teams that are on your schedule that are struggling just like you guys?
LC: Yes, we did notice. We have a style of play in which teams that are trying to bounce back think they can maximize their chances against the stuff that we try to do. I don’t think we will give them those opportunities today, but we were naïve at times. It doesn’t change the fact that we’ve too often this year given opportunities to teams that are struggling and looking to bounce back.
Q: You seem satisfied with the first half, but the stats are nine shots for Cincinnati against zero, six corners against zero, six crosses against one, then 62% against 38% possession. My question to you respectfully is what did you like about your team in the first half?
LC: After the game we came out of last week and the morale of the troops low, we were able to put the new players in place today, so we set out on a game plan where we wanted to be the team in transition. We wanted to be the team that forced the opposition a little.
In terms of player profiles, new players and returning players, that was pretty much the idea. We thought we were doing what we wanted to do and that we could capitalize on two or three key moments that we wanted to see, but unfortunately the scenario in the second half put us in different circumstances.
Q: Can you go back over some of the changes you made to Jules-Anthony Vilsaint’s side, was it a tactical change or a question of fitness for his half-time exit? Also going back to the exit of Joel Waterman, one of the players you use the most, was his exit due to his performance simply something else?
LC: Yes, he was under a yellow card, and we didn’t want to force something where he’d be sent off. As for Jules, he’s coming back from injury, and we didn’t want to put him at risk. Again, it’s happened to him a lot this year, so we wanted to take it easy.
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