Philadelphia 4, Toronto 2
Q. This seemed to being a game that got a way from your team from the get-go. What was your take on the evening?
BOB BRADLEY: Definitely got away. They came out with more intensity. We were second to every ball. We made some bad mistakes and you know when you come here, you understand that Philadelphia is a team that they play both forward, they run really hard and they get guys in the box. They put really good balls across and so your understanding of what kind of game it's going to be.
I thought that we had managed to get that point across but obviously we didn't start in a way that we were ready for the game and dug ourselves a big hole. Had some moments in the first half where I thought we were getting it going a little bit but every time, the second and third goals come, you know, in ways where obviously you know, if you can just sort of survive a little bit and get to halftime, even at two, three is really hard, I thought we had moments in the second half that got better. But look, we have got to look hard at ourselves because the way we started the game in the most half wasn't good enough.
Q. Any positives or anything that you can take way from this game that you can point to as being positive that you can sort of build ongoing forward?
BOB BRADLEY: A little bit of a response in the second half. We played at a better tempo. We stepped up a little faster. But now we have to understand that that's got to be a regular part of the way we play against teams like this.
There's other games where we have been able to tactically to do certain things and stay in games but the next step of the tempo and the intensity to go with the football is something we've really got to -- it showed tonight that we are not there.
Q. What's the halftime message to the team after the first 45?
BOB BRADLEY: Yeah, not good enough. Second to every ball, not enough intensity, and that if you allow a team to beat you to every play, come away with every duel, you know, Philadelphia plays with a physical edge. We didn't respond well. You know, you can't win a game like that just because at times you move the ball quick.
I'm sure, I haven't looked at the statistics, but I'm sure we had a lot of possession. But when you play Philadelphia, that doesn't matter. Your ability to compete with them on every play; your ability to make more out of your chances, and physical duels that come up, your ability to come away with your share of them, be ready for second balls, it was all that kind of stuff at halftime.
Q. Wondering if you can explain the rationale behind the double switch at halftime, where assuming, was it tactical, was it jury related to Fede? What was the thinking there?
BOB BRADLEY: Fede has been in and out of training this week, and so physically, he's not been 100 percent, and then Lucas came out with a lower leg issue.
Q. Lorenzo hasn't had many minutes. What did you think of his play tonight?
BOB BRADLEY: Some good moments. You see -- and good to get him the number of minutes, so that's positive. You know, it's still -- to get him to be more complete, to get an understanding of how we can utilize him the best way possible but there were some good moments. He got himself a good goal. He had some other chances, so those were positives.
Q. We saw some good outings from Kobe and Alonso. Just maybe your thoughts on some of those young guys. Jahkeele had a good night.
BOB BRADLEY: Look, when I speak about the fact that in the first half, we lacked intensity, we didn't get to enough balls, we weren't sharp enough, we didn't contest enough plays; that's pretty much across the board.
So you're not going to go around and talk about in the first half a lot of great performances, all right. Yes, as the second half got going, we saw some guys give a little bit more. I thought when Kobe and Alonso came on at that point in the game, we had stepped things up a little bit and they were able to contribute.
Q. What do you say to the centre-backs in particular, Lucas came off at halftime -- with Sigurd?
BOB BRADLEY: Lucas came off as I mentioned with a lower leg issue. Obviously he had a tough first half. He knew it at halftime. So we will look at the video. We'll show him certain things. You know, stepping out faster, dealing with certain situations better.
You know, Sigurd is still -- when you play against Philadelphia, Carranza and Uhre, they run. They run the channels. Look, I still think that Sigurd had a lot of tough moments to deal with, but if you look particularly at the second half, that part was pretty good. I think Sigurd has been a really good addition to our team, solid guy, good competitor, and I think it was good to give Shane O'Neill his first minutes of the year.
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FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports