Toronto FC 2, Charlotte 0
Q. Alex, how big was this result? We are getting down to the nitty-gritty here. Was this not one that you guys really had to have?
ALEX BONO: Yeah, definitely. We have to have all of them but it's important that we take it one at a time. We know that we have to win pretty much all of our remaining games, but we also know that we can't win on Wednesday without winning today.
So we have to worry about today. You know, I thought we battled really well in a tough environment in some hot weather with some adversity, and I give the guys a lot of credit today. It's not easy to win on the road in this league. For us to come in to this stadium and get three points is really exciting.
Q. What did that win and clean sheet -- I know you're a team guy, but what did that mean to you personally, especially the second half, you stood tall and made some key saves.
ALEX BONO: No, honestly, as we get down the stretch here, everyone has to kind of carry their own weight, and no surprise, I was a little disappointed with the weight I wasn't carrying over the last couple games. Felt good to get back in there and feel confident, and the guys around me played awesome. We defended as a unit, and you know, I felt it was a good bounce back game, and now I'm just doing my part to help the team get three points, as always. That's the goal here. Collectively everyone putting in the work and a hard day's effort, I thought we did that well today and defended well as a group and that made it clear as a goalkeeper and as a defender what our responsibilities were.
Q. Are you still surprised by some of the quality the new additions have been able to bring to some of these finishes we've seen over this last little while?
ALEX BONO: Nothing surprises me with those guys. I've seen enough in training to know that anything is possible when they get out on that field, and it's a delight to see the things they keep pulling out.
Obviously each of the three has done some pretty special things over the last month and a half, two months since they have been here. It's a joy to share the field with them and etc. Exciting to be a part of it.
Q. I just wanted to take you back, I think it was the 15-minute mark in the game where Vargas hits that backfield shot that you at this point over the crossbar and he generated a surprising amount of power on the shot for a back heel attempt. I certainly wasn't expecting it. Were you? What did you see on that play?
ALEX BONO: No, of course not. Whenever balls come into the box and I make a decision that I'm not going to come for the ball, come for the cross, it's just important to set yourself and know that any deflections, any sort of touches -- they are just trying to put the ball on net at that point, and then whatever happens is going to happen.
You know, once you decide you're not going to go, it's important that you're back in a good position and you find yourself in a set position and you just kind of react to whatever happens in front of you. That's what I did there. It came off the his heel. I had a clear view of him making the touch and I saw the ball roll away. You know, I was able to tip it over.
Q. Chris Mavinga has been a player that's dealt with some health and confidence issues the last year and a half off and on but lately seems to be on a run of really good form. What have you seen from him?
ALEX BONO: Yeah, I'm happy for Chris. When he's on his game, you know, I really think he's one of the top defenders in the League. He's shown that over the years.
Everyone has a personal life. Everyone goes through challenges from time to time and credit to him for being open about it. He seems like he's in a good mind space. He hope that he is. I hope that he has a clear head about things, and you know, if his performances are any indication, I'd say he's feeling all right. I'm happy for him. He's obviously a big part of our defensive unit and he has been for a long time. You know, he made some big plays for us.
Yeah, we're all behind him. Everyone has issues. Like I said, credit to him for coming out and being open about it, and we're all supportive and we're all behind him and I hope that he's doing better, and he's been playing well.
Q. Curious as to what was said in the locker room at halftime?
ALEX BONO: We came in and we knew from the beginning that it was going to be a grind. The temperature is pretty warm down here. It's a surface we are not used to playing on and a surface some of our guys have rarely played on their entire career. We came in at halftime. It's a good chance for us to regroup. We came in 0-0 and again they didn't really have a ton of chances on us the first half. It wasn't like we were getting battered by any means. We took it as a bit of confidence in the first 45, and we knew we had another gear.
And credit to the guys, we came out in the second half and showed the next gear we had. Second 45, two really good goals from guys that we expect to score them. It was really uplifting in that way and I know that all the guys are happy with the three points. You know, now we're moving on to Wednesday.
Q. Another busy week, Galaxy on Wednesday and Montréal on Sunday. What's on your mind?
ALEX BONO: Six points. Three points on Wednesday, three points on Sunday. Have to take it one at a time and recover well. Wednesday, they are a good team and some familiar faces coming back to BMO Field. But we are on a mission here and our goal is to keep moving forward and take three points off them.
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