New York Red Bull 2, Toronto FC 0
Q. Can you break that loss down for us? You guys, again, held the edge in possession. You had some decent chances but you gave up another early goal and that put you behind the 8-ball again. Can you break down overall how you thought the overall game played out?
SHANE O'NEILL: Yeah, obviously this is based on how it felt, so I would say first ten minutes it felt like a Red Bull game, chaos. They were kind of all over us, which is tough. Yeah, just chaos.
Then once we got the ball, I felt the rest of the first half was really solid. Moved the ball well. Created some good chances, good opportunities and I felt like we did a really good job coming in at halftime. I felt pretty confident we could get a result in the game, we all did.
I thought we actually started the second half decent but we couldn't find ways to get out of our own half for maybe ten minutes. I don't know exactly the minute they scored, but I felt like there was a seven-, eight-, ten-minute period where we couldn't really get out, and obviously they ended up scoring the second goal.
In situations like this, it's such a tough blow. And yeah, we couldn't find that goal to bring us back in the game, even though if we could have gotten one, it was a very winnable game. I mean, this was an opportunity for us for sure.
The way we were playing the first half, the way we played at times in the second half, just, yeah, the game in general, I thought it was an opportunity for us and it's frustrating to let these opportunities slip.
Q. There's been a lot of early goals in matches for you guys this season. Is there something in common with those situations or is each one sort of unique?
SHANE O'NEILL: Yeah, you have to look at it, if it continues to happen, whether it's the mentality we start games with or what, obviously this is a set piece situation which is a frustrating one to give up.
Yeah, I think we've talked about this in the past, making sure we're ready to go from the get-go. We've talked about this. Especially a set piece, definitely frustrating to give one up like that. Yeah, it's something that needs to be addressed.
Q. Obviously the Red Bulls when you play them, they are a team that likes to physically impose themselves on matches. How do you think you responded to that aspect of the game?
SHANE O'NEILL: I thought we responded well for parts of the game. I thought the only frustrating bit was at 70, 75 minutes, the game is still there. We're down 2-0 with the game still there for us. I think we have to collectively keep pushing, keep pushing, because I think all these games, there's opportunities, if we can get just one back. You could see there was openings. The spaces were opening up and we got threats to score goals and we've just got to keep going till the end. I think, yeah, I think towards the end maybe physically they impose themselves a little bit on us, but that's competing. We have to compete for 90 minutes. It's cliché but I think it's important.
Q. That's the team's final away game until July 13th. Does a five-game homestand come at the perfect time for you guys?
SHANE O'NEILL: Yeah, we know, it's a really important stretch. This is a really, really important stretch. We've got to be dialed in and we've got to, like I said, we've got to compete and we've got to be willing to do whatever it takes to get results in these next five games. It's a huge stretch for this team.
Q. Just wanted to get you real lick on Wednesday's game, your first taste against Montréal and semifinal of the Cup competition. How much are you looking forward to that and how much are the guys looking forward to that?
SHANE O'NEILL: Yeah, obviously we got a little taste with the 2020 game.
Yeah, it's obviously a good competition. Really cool competition. It seems like based on the last six, seven, eight years, it's been between us and Montréal. We know the importance of the game and they obviously to be seem to be firing on all cylinders this year. I'm not sure how they are doing tonight but they seemed solid. It's going to be a tough game. Make no mistake about it; there are no easy games.
DraftScripts by ASAP Sports
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports