Toronto 0, Cincinnati 0
Q. Really credible point to earn on the road in a place where it's really hard to pick up points. Just wanted to get your overall sort of thoughts on the team's performance tonight.
JONATHAN OSORIO: Yeah, I thought I had a really good performance. When you start away from home in a difficult place to play, the reigning champions, it's not easy playing here and get results here, and I thought the team fought really hard.
First 20 minutes I thought we were the better team. For the most parts of the first half. It was really, really positive.
They kind of found their way into the game. I thought we weathered that storm really well. We stuck together. In the second half I thought we started well. Yeah, you know, a team like that, a good team like that is going to find their way into the game. They're going to work off of the crowd and stuff. So they found their moments, but I thought we were really solid defensively.
Yeah, it was quite a professional performance from the whole group collectively. I think a very good point won on the road.
Q. Jonathan, a fine performance by Sean Johnson, a landmark 100th career shut-out for him. What's it like playing in front of a solid keeper like that?
JONATHAN OSORIO: It's huge. I think it's huge for any successful team to have a keeper that is going to keep you in games and really be a huge reason why you steal points, like a game like this.
I mean, Sean has proved himself in this league for a long time. He showed again today why he is one of the best keepers in the league. Yeah, to be a part of that milestone for him is great for everybody here. Yeah, he's one of the leaders of the team, and he really showed why today in the game.
Q. Just a follow-up, if I may. The TV commentary made mention of your captain's armband, that you had something on the inside of it. Is that true? Can you detail what that is?
JONATHAN OSORIO: Yeah. On the inside it's a little bit personal, but I'll tell you a little bit of it. On the inside I have the logos of each of our supporter's groups. I wanted it in there.
I had a meeting with them before the season started, and I just wanted to show them that I carry them with me onto the field and that I'm really one of them being a hometown kid and a kid that used to sit in their section way back when. So, yeah, I have each of their logos on the inside to play with me onto the pitch every game.
Q. Richie returns on Friday. On Sunday nearly wins a penalty inside of a minute or two. Picking up exactly where you left off, eh?
JONATHAN OSORIO: Yeah, it's no surprise. That's why we wanted him back. We value him a lot. It took a lot to get him back, and today he showed why we were willing to go through all of that.
Yeah, Richie is going to be one of the most important players of this team going forward. He is here for the near future now for a while, and he's going to establish himself as a leader on this team on and off the field.
So for a guy that hasn't really had a really preseason and to come in and to play the way he did is just testament to the level of player that he is.
Q. You've played against Deybi Flores. I'm curious, what's it like having him on your side as a teammate? Does he offer something that maybe the club was in need of compared to last year? Does he bring something new?
JONATHAN OSORIO: It's much better having him on your side, of course. You know, he's always on top of you. He doesn't let you breathe.
Yeah, of course, he gives us a different dynamic now that maybe we've missed. He's a dog in the middle of the field. He bites, and he covers ground and recovers so many balls for us.
So he gives us a little bit of calmness there in the middle, just that reliability in the middle to know that whenever the ball does come through the middle against our team, it's going to be difficult for the other team to play. He's a big part of that.
But the other big thing about him is that he's bringing that out of other players. I think you see a lot more bite from the whole team this year, and that's coming from him. That starts from him.
An amazing debut from him, and looking forward to many more performances like that from him.
Q. There were a number of differences that caught my eye today. Fede at wing back was one of those, but I think the thing that struck me most was the willingness in the group to work for each other. How much of that was an emphasis heading into this new season?
JONATHAN OSORIO: Yeah, of course, I think we've been working at that starting from after the end of last season. We knew that going into the season, one of the main things was making it a united group, making it a group that was together and fighting together. So that took a lot of work from end of last year and then this preseason.
Yeah, I think everybody, now we're all fighting for all collective goals, goals that are now that we all want to reach together, and we have the same mindset. So I think that showed on the pitch.
Everybody was working for each other. Everybody knows the system and knows their jobs and what they have to do, and I think we want to show that we really care. That's important this year. We care. We care a lot, and we fight, and we want to fight for this club. We want to fight for these fans. This is a really good first step.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports