Inter Miami 1, Toronto FC 0
Q. I disappointing result in a game where you guys John said you guys did everything but score. What was your take on the performance?
DERRICK ETIENNE, JR.: Yeah, very disappointing. I would have to go back and look at it but I think we did a lot of things right. Kept them at bay for large parts of the game and unfortunately weren't able to get that goal which is very disappointing to reward ourselves.
Yeah, I mean, it's hard to say we'll take stuff from it. You know, at this point in time, guys are really frustrated. It was a performance, we went out there and tried to go after the game and get results, and I think in many ways, we were close, but, yeah, we didn't -- we didn't succeed today.
Q. It's out of your hands but do you hold out any hope?
DERRICK ETIENNE, JR.: There's always hope. Yeah, I mean, I know the teams underneath us have some difficult games. We know we've just got to go home and pray that they don't win or tie or anything like that, and we're able to get into the playoffs.
But yeah, we won't lose hope but at the end of the day we understand how difficult it is and the situation we've got ourselves in.
Q. How frustrating has this season been for you personally?
DERRICK ETIENNE, JR.: Yeah, it's very difficult. You always want to make the playoffs and it's always a difficult run of games, especially with how the schedule is and all that stuff but that's part of the game. It's just unfortunate. Always seemed like at certain times, guys were gone, guys were injured, stuff like that. But like I said, that's part of the game. Other guys missed players as well.
So you just have to look at this, reflect, and you know, if God blesses us, we make the playoffs. If not, everyone has a hard look in the mirror and we fix the things that we could have this year because we had the group to get in the playoffs. We've showed in many games that we could be a dangerous team to play against in playoffs, as well.
But we fell short in aspects of the game that we just can't, and at the end of the day, as you saw today, good teams will punish us, and when we don't take our chances, we leave ourselves open at the back end. And I mean, it's hard to put into words right now.
Q. What did you make of the atmosphere tonight? The joint was jumping but it was kind of strange after which shows the appeal that Messi has, when your home crowd is chatting the opponent's name.
DERRICK ETIENNE, JR.: The fans have been great all year to be honest. We felt their presence at all the home games and we're disappointed because we weren't able to reward their faith and their hard work with results. So again, we want to look at that and we want to fix those things.
Yeah, Messi is arguably the greatest player of all time, so obviously you're going to have people coming out in the thousands to cheer him on.
But for me, it was good because, hey, I mean, they are all here watching. So doesn't matter who we are watching. We just wanted to get a result. I liked it because, hey, you can chant his name all you want but we are going to go out there and do what we need to do and all those things. But like I said, the fans have been great all year, and we need to do a better job to reward their faithfulness.
Q. Seem to have found a home with this team and they appreciate your skills. Do you feel that?
DERRICK ETIENNE, JR.: Yeah, definitely, I felt it from the moment I got on the phone with John and Jason. They had a plan. We talked about how I can fit into the plan and all I had to do was come in. And I think you can see what happens when a coach and a staff and a club show their faith in you, and I was just glad that I was able to at times reward them.
But again, I feel like it's only the beginning, and I'm excited to be here. I'm excited to come back, and hopefully we get a chance to go to the playoffs. But if not, to come back next year stronger because I don't like not going to the playoffs. That's unacceptable for me.
Q. Do you see light at the end of the TFC tunnel?
DERRICK ETIENNE, JR.: Definitely.
Q. What do the next two weeks look like?
DERRICK ETIENNE, JR.: Yeah, it's difficult. The competitor in me doesn't want to watch those games but I'm going to be glued in. It's going to be difficult. I know I'm going to be screaming. Might get some noise complaints. But yeah, just, I'll probably be watching hopefully some teams taking care of -- and hey, a couple of guys that are not messing around today, it's tough. But it's the reality we're in right now. God willing, we'll be in the playoffs.
DraftScripts by ASAP Sports
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports