St. Louis 0, FC Dallas 0
BRADLEY CARNELL: Yeah, really, I would say an entertaining 0-0 draw where today I felt a little of control, a level of comfort on the sidelines, and yeah, just unfortunate we couldn't score a goal tonight. I thought we did enough. I thought the boys put in an excellent effort, both sides of the ball and just the last bit of momentum, the last bit of, I don't want to say luck, but yeah, just something was keeping it out of the net tonight.
You know, if you can't score, don't concede. And I think that's what we did tonight, a really good, solid performance defensively. I thought the game was played exactly the way we wanted to play the game against a very stingy, greedy Dallas team who usually are difficult to play against, and we've seen this before. But credit to the boys. I think it was 27 shots if I'm not mistaken. So again, we have to -- we just couldn't break them today but I thought it was a really good performance.
Q. Is there frustration on the offense on nights like that, Klauss, the number of chances, seemed like the good chances are going to go in and just don't?
BRADLEY CARNELL: Yeah, again, we have a couple of different looks from a couple of different players tonight, which tells me the game plan was really good. I think the performance was really good. I think the opportunities and getting to those areas; I'd be posing a lot more questions if we weren't getting into these dangerous areas.
Eventually it will come, all right. Eventually, Paes had a really good game in front of goal for them tonight and kept Ernie's (ph) team in the shutout. We'll continue to be us and we'll continue to develop and evolve and control these types of games, and yeah, we just need to now get that one over the line or take that last jump over the hurdle to get the three points.
But again, I thought we had a very controlled performance tonight.
Q. Another game where Bürki comes through with a couple saves in a two-minute span.
BRADLEY CARNELL: Sure, you're never going to be able to control everything, right, and there are going to be moments in the game. Whether it's big plays from the centre-backs, whether it's big plays from the outside backs or whether it's big plays from the goalkeeper, Roman. But he shows his value, shows his quality, and today I can think about two really big ones, one if the first, one in the second.
Again, I think levels of control. You know, the game was played where we need it to be played.
Q. Was it the most aggressive game you've played offensively this season so far?
BRADLEY CARNELL: He's getting sharper and sharper, right. You know, and I see his level of commitment. I see how long he can last and I can see he can last 90 minutes now and the more sharper he gets the more dangerous he gets as well because then he's got some oxygen left in the body to execute the shots. Now he's getting the shots on frame. He's very dangerous. He's got the respect of the opponents. I think it's just a matter of time. I know it's a matter of time before this narrative changes, and then once it does change, I think there will be a lot of reward for the guys down the line.
Q. After last week's loss, are you happy with the team's response and the performance tonight?
BRADLEY CARNELL: Yeah, I think so. I don't know how many times we've had over 60 percent possession. But possession is one thing. If it's played in our half and is it sideways, backwards, and you have no threatening power out of it, but can you use now the possession if the opponent gives you to create -- to use it as a tool, to create chances, and I thought the game plan worked really well. I was proud of the boys for the adaptation of the game plan because we knew going into this game, Dallas had played a couple of times in a back three or a back five and the last couple of games in a 4-4-2, so we didn't really want to focus too much on them. We wanted to focus more on ourselves. I think by doing that, it gave us more clarity on what we wanted to do, and I saw a lot of good execution tonight.
Q. Five straight games of anything but a win. Do you think you are playing 0-0 soccer or are just getting unlucky?
BRADLEY CARNELL: No, it's a really good question, thank you. I think if you just look in that stats column, 27 shots, eight or nine or whatever it is on target, HG'S 2.5 or whatever it is, I don't think you just have to look at the results of a 0-0 to think that the team is playing negative.
You know, we are playing the game in the opponent's half. We are putting them under pressure. The opponent has to work really hard to keep it out of their net. So I thought it was like some games, you get the feeling where you play really well and the result doesn't go your way. I think this is one of those nights.
Q. Can you break down a little the game plan and when you're against that big of a team -- why you wouldn't let Klauss start --
BRADLEY CARNELL: Like I said, we are focusing on ourselves, right, and this wasn't sure -- Tafari or Gonzalez, so does that change the equation and does that change the game plan? No. But if you look at I think the last ten goals Dallas have conceded, I think seven of them have come from crosses.
You know, crossing was a big part of it. Getting into certain areas was a big part of it. I thought the boys executed that really well. You know, so we can talk about some of the quality of crosses, you know, when it's on the ground or whether it's cutbacks or back post, but as long as I see an adaptation or an interpretation of the game plan, and that was on the menu tonight.
Yeah, that's one of the reasons.
Q. Tomáš Ostrák had a good game out there. Was it a decision in the off-season to give him more time at the center mid spot or was that more early in the season when Löwen was still getting going in the Houston game?
BRADLEY CARNELL: I think we've seen over time that Tomáš Ostrák is a really talented soccer player. Obviously we knew in the off-season what was going to be happening with Edu and his green card absence and what have you.
But players have to earn their spots and earn their minutes, and Tomáš has been playing away in training and doing really well and committing to everything, whether it's been in the six, the eight or the ten, he's a really good counter presser first and foremost. When we lose it, he's the first won one to jump on the scene and to counter pressure, regain possession, and I think you saw that tonight.
We had been chatting in the off-season or during the start of that preseason where we can utilize him. So yeah, we want to create more minutes for Tomáš but Tomáš has to earn them, and so far he's doing that.
Q. You play really fast and direct and obviously Dallas challenged you guys to create something with the ball, and the team looked very, very patient in the buildup and not so direct, really moved the ball. Was that part of the messaging throughout the week? Was that something you really, really harped on to stay patient and wait for a result?
BRADLEY CARNELL: Yeah, I think you just have to see ask take what the game gives you, if there's no space to play vertical direct through the lines, then there's no space, so you have to come up with another plan. You know, we want to have a balance and a control to games.
I just don't want to be on a knife's edge every single time and I saw that control tonight which was really good, and then eventually Dallas started opening up and then it becomes a game that we are used to, right, so we have an ability to find an acceleration to the game.
I thought, yeah, Durkin -- Chris, was really brave to play through those lines. I think Ostrák was really brave to play through those lines, and I think AZ Jackson was brave to put himself between those lines and to progress the play.
I spoke about the east-to-west possession. Yeah, we have a stat for that. We don't like that and I don't think you saw too much of that but I saw a brave team trying to break a good defensive team down. Yeah, I'm happy with tonight's approximate of.
Q. What were you hoping to see -- inaudible.
BRADLEY CARNELL: Yeah, Rasmus just has an ability to put team under pressure with his energy, right. So I think Célio has a big upside on the 1v1 side. Rasmus can get you on a 1v1 but direct, pacing, getting behind. His reactions are really sharp and he can whoop in a really good ball. So Célio offers more the in isolation one versus ones can solve those problems alone, can be threatening to cutting side. But Rasmus has a good link-up plays and sees the next pass and has the ability to wreak havoc on a defense that's sitting deep.
Q. The substitution for Josh Yaro?
BRADLEY CARNELL: Yeah, I'm still waiting to see what is going on. So yeah, as we are getting guys back, meaning Josh as well, he had a hammy injury a couple weeks ago. We hope it's nothing reoccurring. We just have to see that and hear from the medical guys to what the status of that is. But we have full trust in Kyle Hiebert and thought he came on and did really well.
Q. Edu, the fourth game he's missed, the corner kicks, are getting not as he effective? Edu was great at corner kicks.
BRADLEY CARNELL: Yeah, I think in the last couple of games in, Indy gets an assist or Edu gets an assist or AZ gets an assist. I would say we have actually grown in that department and really happy with the sort of messaging from Alex, the goalkeeper coach and set piece coach.
But also, yeah, we want these guys to solve these puzzles and solve these problems. You look at the first one, AZ gets a nice flick on, falls at the back post for a tap in. Unfortunately we weren't there.
In terms of what we are trying to do, it's happening.
Q. You talk a lot about the attack today, a lot more passes in their half than your own. Is the finishing, is that last touch, is that the only thing the offense was missing tonight or was there another thing that you guys can do to unlock ask crack these teams when they sit back and allow you to go at them for the whole game?
BRADLEY CARNELL: Yeah, I mean, listen, we want to look at the value of the chances we get, right, the value of the 27 shots, and see, you know, which are the ones that got a way from us, which were the ones.
But I think we can go to the last ten minutes alone or Klauss on the crossbar, Klauss on the side foot, Sam against RSL a couple weeks ago, Sam cuts in and does the same thing with his left foot. I know this time he chooses to go to the outside of the boot but it's millimeters, and that's the balance of a soccer game. Sometimes you can control it. Sometimes you have more times. Sometimes, yeah, it just doesn't go your way, and I think tonight was one of those nights it just can't go our way. FastScripts by ASAP Sports ...
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports