Toronto FC 1, New England 0
Q. Some pretty big saves in the second half, especially the one right at the end there. Can you take us through the play at the end? What did you see and how difficult of a safe was that to make?
SEAN JOHNSON: Yeah, it's just one of those where you rely on your instincts and the amount of games and amount of hours in front of the training pitch. Try to get in a good spot and do my best to get ahead of it. Struck it well and was able to get something on it.
It's one of those up-and-over and you're thankful the ball ended up where it does. More importantly, I think the defensive effort tonight was second-to-none. I haven't seen a defensive effort like that in a long time.
So to play my part was necessary. These guys ran so much on a day where we got our GOAL and really hunkered in. I was happy to contribute to the performance and ultimately the win.
Q. It's early in the season but the team already seems to be showing real grit, backbone, determination. Again, just two games in but are you liking what you're seeing in front of you?
SEAN JOHNSON: Yeah, I think we have a new profile. It's a different team. Completely different mentality. I think it's a team that's worked for everything we've gotten so far. We have players that have put in the hours and who have committed to being the team that we want to be and ultimately it's a new look, and we're proud of the team we are.
But I think it's a team effort because we are going to remain humble through it all. I think everything we get, every result we get, we have to earn and we have to put the work in. You see the work pay off. Today we'll enjoy it but I have no doubt in a couple days we'll be right back in and everybody will be ready to get ready for the next game and ultimately put in another performance.
So good mindset of the group. That's the most upon thing. I think the biggest shift for us has been mindset and overall the humility that we have.
Q. Just wanted to get your thoughts on that finish from Lorenzo. As a member of the goalkeeperers union, how does it feel so see one of your opposites succumb to something like that?
SEAN JOHNSON: Yeah, tremendous finish. I've seen -- to be honest I've seen that one too many times in training faced against him. It's nice to see and witness against an opponent. He's got unbelievable ability attacking.
He and Fede, what they do for us, they were unfortunate not to get a second goal there but they have really, really taken the responsibility on the shoulders to really set an example for this group. They have been really great and I think everyone is following the lead. They are putting in the work. Yeah, we rely on each other. We trust each other. Those two guys are a big piece of what we have going on this year, and I think it's even more so the end product. I was so happy for Lorenzo to get that goal and first of many, I'm sure.
Q. Sean, you've been known to be a vocal leader throughout your many years in the MLS and I just wanted to get your thoughts on how you've seen the back three or back five, whatever you'd like to call it, communicate with one another and also with yourself, just to keep the strong mindset going throughout the 90 today.
SEAN JOHNSON: Yeah, I think ultimately the guys that have stepped on the pitch, not just the guys today, but we have a roster full of guys who understand exactly what it's going to take to get results, and we're not just a team of 11. We rely on everybody that steps on the pitch.
So today, the effort was massive, and we had to communicate the entire game. We were there for each other. We trusted that in moments where we needed somebody to be there behind and cover and we made sure to do that.
Couldn't be happier with the group, but then I think it's just the starting point and building blocks of every single game continue to get better. We had to suffer this game together and ultimately, you know, it will feel good and we can get on the front foot but we have to be able to win games like this on the road, and we did that tonight.
Q. You touched on this a little bit there but the Insigne goal, a big tackle from Raoul coming before halftime to keep it 1-0 going into the halftime. Big block from Gomis on saves and long getting his head on balls. How much does a result come down to a thousand little moments and individual battles over the course of a game?
SEAN JOHNSON: Yeah, I think, like I said, everything that we've earned as a team is just a product of the work we've put in. We've come in with the right mindset. We know the individual efforts make the collective and ultimately what you do for somebody else, not just yourself.
You said it yourself. You know, we had a group of guys that put in a performance that was -- I don't think of a bad performance tonight from any of the guys. It was a game of big moments and it was a game of individuals showing up and taking the responsibility to do what was necessary to contribute to getting a result on the road. You know, I can't say enough about the guys. Everybody stepped up in a big way tonight.
Q. Earlier in the season, John relayed something you said to the group about how when we were looking at the MLS standings, the predictions, John said you told everybody that you didn't have to worry about proving everyone else wrong. You just had to focus on proving yourselves right. Have these two games been a step in that direction for you guys?
SEAN JOHNSON: Yeah, they have been two steps on the journey. I think we as a team, we know who we are. We know what we've committed to each other and ultimately, I think if we do those things every single time we step on the pitch, we have nobody to answer to but ourselves. We have a tremendous support in our support group in our club. It's a family, and we're doing everything we can to make sure we continue to build and we continue to climb.
Yeah, I think it was important just as a group to really just almost just stay steady and ultimately just trust in ourselves. We started off the year together. We'll finish the year together. But every single game is it a building block, so just trusting everything that we do for each other is the most important thing and the rest will take care of itself at the end of the day if we can stay true to that.
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