Toronto FC Media Conference

Sunday, May 8, 2022

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Shane O'Neill

Media Conference


Vancouver 1, Toronto FC 0

Q. Just get your thoughts on your team's performance, you went into the game with a very depleted roster and your third game in a week and you guys looked like you were going to win it and they scored in the 90th minute. Can I get your thoughts, and what the mood in the dressing room is like at this point?

SHANE O'NEILL: Yeah, it's tough. That was a really tough game. I thought we had a lot of control for most of it. Obviously the game was there to be won and I feel like we, yeah, if we had just raised our level a little, we would have won the game.

Obviously we had big opportunities, like the call that was not given, the penalty, Jayden had a big opportunity. So there was chances to win the game but it's just so frustrating to give up a late goal like that.

Yeah, in those moments, and myself included obviously, we just have to raise our level just a little bit because that game, that was a winnable game.

Q. Past couple weeks been asking a lot of the defense in terms of stepping things up. How did you guys fare this evening in your opinion?

SHANE O'NEILL: I feel like guys were really committed. You know, Lucas made some big plays. Alex made some big saves in the first half like he's been doing, and collectively, I thought we were a lot better. We were a lot better dealing with dangerous situations.

Obviously in the last minute, two, we started to really throw numbers forward and the game got a little bit heck in this case. Those are the moments where you've got to be really dialed in defensively, so to give up a goal like that is really, really frustrating.

Q. Just wondering what kind of view, if any you had for the Nelson goal that wasn't ultimately given?

SHANE O'NEILL: Obviously I was pretty far away from it. Saw on the big screen and given a lot of the reactions since we've seen it coming into the locker room, it's tough to see it.

And look, obviously we hope that the Vancouver goalie is all right and there's no big injury there or anything like that, of course. But yeah, that was a tough decision.

Q. Is it important to have a bit of a short memory as a professional athlete? A lot of people will be wondering about that game, but you guys have to sort of put it behind you and move on.

SHANE O'NEILL: Definitely. Yeah. Look, obviously the last week has been challenging. It's been a big challenge. It's a mental test. That's what it is, really. It's a challenge of everyone's collective spirit and our togetherness and how much belief that we have.

I thought today we took a step in the right direction because I thought we started the game strong and obviously the last few weeks we started games slowly. I thought we backed ourselves from the very beginning and we beliefs in ourselves and that's extremely important. I know those are buzz words but at the end of the day it's really important.

Now we've just got to find a way to raise the level when the game is tight in the second half because I think if we had done that we would have for sure won the game, and we created big opportunities regardless. We have to be happy with that aspect of the game.

Now it's just about a little bit more when the game is tight.

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120095-1-1003 2022-05-08 22:46:00 GMT

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