Toronto FC Media Conference

Saturday, August 20, 2022

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Lukas MacNaughton

Media Conference


Inter Miami 2, Toronto FC 1

Q. Second straight game where you pretty well out played your opponent against an Eastern Conference team and this time you didn't come away with any points. What's the feeling inside the locker room after that game?

LUKAS MACNAUGHTON: We're disappointed. We played so well for the majority of the game, and when you give two disappointing goals away -- and you have to come back and fight back against a team that's just sitting in the box, it's tough. They play here; they know how to play here. They held a good block.

And yeah, it's tough when you have the ball, you're putting pressure, and it would be a completely different game it if we stayed 1-0, and we just dominated the game. They would have to step out, create spaces, and we probably would have put a couple more past them. But when they are up, they are able to just sit there, and yeah, it's hard to pick teams apart when they are like that.

Q. Can you break down what happened on the second Miami goal? Was it just a defensive lapse? What exactly happened there? Seemed like they caught you a little bit off guard.

LUKAS MACNAUGHTON: I'm sure you've seen it better than me. Like I said, shouldn't have gone in (ph).

Q. I think you sort of touched on this a little bit, but you guys responded well to that first goal and that second one before halftime was a bit of a backbreaker. What was some of the conversation in the locker room at halftime to get you guys back out there in the second half?

LUKAS MACNAUGHTON: Just keep playing how we are playing. Go in there half, stay high, and when they do get it, don't let them run and counter and get behind us, which I think we did a pretty good job of in the second half. Yeah, keep putting pressure. Keep creating chances, running behind. I think Lorenzo gave us a few but it's hopeless.

Q. How did it feel to go up against your former teammate in Alejandro Pozuelo?

LUKAS MACNAUGHTON: I'm sure for other guys it was probably a little bit different. For me, I didn't play so long with him but of course it's always nice to see people that you play again, familiar faces. You always wish them -- even though they are not on your team, you wish them well. We know what kind of a player he is. He's a great player, so it's nice to see him, yeah, for sure, regardless of what team he's on.

Q. As a center back, do you guys say anything to your goalkeeper after that first goal or what do you usually do when your goalkeeper let's in a goal that --

LUKAS MACNAUGHTON: This is -- this is sports. This is sports. That's going to happen at every single level around the world. Look, everybody is going to make a mistake at some point in their career, at some point during a game. So we just say, heads up, we are going to keep going and we have your back no matter what happens. Obviously we don't want it to happen but it's just going to happen. It's part of sport. So we have his back and we keep going. That's all it is.

Q. A second disappointing result of the week. How do you shake this one off and focus on Charlotte coming up next weekend?

LUKAS MACNAUGHTON: Every single game that we have coming up is game by game. Every game is big to get into the playoffs. Every game matters and every point matters. As soon as the game is done, that game is done. We are on to the next game. We are not thinking four games ahead. We are thinking the next game, and that's what the mentality is no matter the result. It's game by game.

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