Canadian Championship
Toronto FC 4, York United 0
JAVIER PEREZ: Thank you, yes, I think it's been a solid performance. We needed this. Everybody was engaged. And I think it's one of these games that we knew from the beginning that we needed to match the intensity. We need to match the level of effort, and then get the result at the end.
It looks like it's an NC game but it's not; it's far from that. All the credit to the players that they took it really serious, this game, and they wanted badly to go to the next round.
Q. Pretty miserable night out there but was it an evening where your team's quality just shone through?
JAVIER PEREZ: Yes, the night, it was rainy, and you know, for fans that were here, it's greatly appreciated. We're happy to see that everybody was engaged.
And at the end, as you mentioned, the quality imposed, but the quality comes after the effort. I think the effort, the intensity, the mentality of the team was there tonight like I think it was in the past few games.
Really good performance. I think the team starts to click. Thankfully now towards the end of the season, it's been a difficult season for us. And we need it. We need it because I see that the players really want it. We go every day to train, and everybody is making good training sessions. Everybody is engaged and I think it's time to be rewarded for that.
Q. Obviously you watched game film so you had some idea how they played. Now that you saw them in the flesh, what did you make of them?
JAVIER PEREZ: Yeah, I think it's exactly what I thought about they were going to be, because it was a lot of speculation that maybe they were going to come and they would sit back. But it's against their DNA. It's a team that they have like a good flavor of football. They like to play good football, and tonight they were faithful to their style.
And to be honest, I think they gave a good game. At the end, the result reflects maybe the difference in quality but I admire that they came and they presented a game that is faithful to their style and they gave us a really, really good and strong game.
Q. I wanted to get your thoughts on Jacob, two performances in the League back-to-back that were strong performances and he comes out tonight and bags a couple assists and was dangerous tonight in the left wing. What can you say about his performance tonight?
JAVIER PEREZ: Jacob I think is in the same boat as many of the younger players. I said previously that this is probably my toughest season in my career, so it's for many of the experienced players and coaching staff in this locker room. And I think it's not that bad for younger players to go through an experience like the one this season because I can see many of them, they are maturing, and one of them is Jacob.
I think this season he is maturing a lot, and I think now that he has been putting consistent, good performances, one game after the next, and tonight I think is the first time that he gives two assists in one game. He was a threat from the first minute and creating a lot much 1B1 situations. I think when he gets the assist, to Achara for the goal, it's an excellent cross. The other one, he made a really good cross, as well, to Yeferson inside the box when the pair of the center backs from York United, they are all a bit deeper. I think it's he's becoming a really class player. So I'm looking forward to seeing more of him in the next matches.
Q. Wondering how important it was sending out the message to put out a strong lineup like that on a night like tonight.
JAVIER PEREZ: Yes, it was very important. I think putting a strong lineup, send the message to everybody in the team, in the club, how important this competition is for us, how important was the game for us, and there is no small opponent. To take it seriously, you have to send that message. You have to put the strongest team and let them know that we have to go and get the result, get the job done.
And I think the players tonight, they show up and I'm very happy because it's another game that they show a strong performance, and as I said before, the team looks to start clicking. If you want to see results and win titles, you need to have solid and consistent performances one after the next.
DraftScripts by ASAP Sports
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports