New England 2, Toronto FC 1
What's your take on the performance?
JAVIER PEREZ: I think I always like to focus on the positives, even if we left empty-handed tonight, but the positive is that the key -- in the second half last week, again this week for 19 minutes consistently, and then I like to think that if it's a good performance of the team, that we face the best team in the league, the most effective team in the league they have two shots, they score two goals -- two shots on target. I think we have obviously 64 percent of the possession and we have plenty of chances to get more goals but sometimes it goes like tonight. But I think we have to stay positive because we have two very important games ahead of us, and I believe that if we have now, if we keep playing like this, we will definitely have more wins than losses and ties combined.
So we have to stay positive. We have to think forward and keep playing the way we played tonight.
Q. Not often that Michael Bradley doesn't start game. Can you just give us the rationale behind that decision?
JAVIER PEREZ: Yeah, I think I made already the comment. With the stability that we have as a team, we start to give some time off to some of the players. So in that case, if we can find players at 100 percent instead of finding players playing for the whole time, 85 or 90 percent, we are looking to find a starting lineup that brings energy, that is fresh, and like tonight, that we can put the opposition under pressure when we are in possession, when we are not in possession, reduce the time that they can have the ball. In order to do that, you need fresh players, and what you have a calendar like we have this year where we have a game every few days -- regardless the player and how important is that player.
Q. Priso looked in a lot of pain when he left the field. Is there any early word on his condition?
JAVIER PEREZ: Yeah, at the moment he is being examined by the medical staff. We will have more news in the next few hours if not tomorrow. But we stay positive that he can be back with us, maybe one or two games, but it doesn't look like it's very severe.
Q. You mentioned before about how the performance was there tonight, and that seems to be the case in recent weeks so how do you go from converting sort of the advantage you have to collecting the full points on offer? What are the small little differences that have to be made?
JAVIER PEREZ: We keep conceding goals. We have to minimize the mistakes we make at the back, that's the first thing, and the second thing, up front probably move the ball a little faster into the danger zones. Make runs behind challenging the back line of the position, like we did at times tonight. I'm getting players inside the box like the goal we scored, we have a couple of players inside the box. But fundamentally, we have to minimize the mistakes at the back.
Q. Is one of those mistakes having 5-3 Soteldo trying it Marc 6-0 Buchanan on the opening goal?
JAVIER PEREZ: Yeah, I mean, we can see that we make mistakes -- it's not about that. I think you can see as well the calls. The calls have not equal on one end and the other end. I think we can read in between lines, we can pick little details, but at the end everybody can see how the game is managed, as well.
Q. Could you give an update on Jozy? With his foot discomfort, how long of an absence meeting be facing?
JAVIER PEREZ: We don't know, this has been going on on a daily basis. He is been dealing with pain and with discomfort, and obviously it's difficult when a player deals with discomfort to perform. So we want to have players that they are in good form, players that they can feel right to play. Jozy at the moment, he doesn't feel good. We don't know how long it's going to go. Hopefully we can find a solution and the medical staff can help him and he can be with us soon.
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