Austin 1, St. Louis City SC 0
Q. On the goal they scored, a defensive lapse there on that?
OLOF MELLBERG: Yeah. Yeah, I think we could have had a free kick the moment before. I think it pushed Conrad a little bit in the back. Gave them the goal kick.
The referee had four, five, really strange decisions in the first half, I thought which brought them back into the game a little bit. I thought we started the game really well. And those decisions, I don't know, I have to look at them, but they looked really strange. Brought them back into the game a little bit. Gave them initiative and a little bit more possession.
For the goal, they made a move exactly like we knew they would, and we didn't do what we agreed upon, so, disappointing.
Q. That's not the first time you said that; "we knew they were going to do that and we didn't stop it." Is that concerning to you?
OLOF MELLBERG: I don't know. I mean, I think they had one more chance in the whole game. So obviously we are doing a lot of things right.
I think we overall dominated this game and probably deserved the win, but always disappointed when they do something that we know about. Obviously we have to have respect for them, as well. They are good players and they have good players up front. So it was a quality move from them. But we should have done better.
Q. Is there enough attack in this team?
OLOF MELLBERG: In our team?
Q. In your team, yes.
OLOF MELLBERG: I mean, I thought today as a team, we created enough chances. We had a lot of entries in the final third. I thought our positioning was really good. Our game plan was good. Things were working really well.
We just lacked the quality in the final third. I think you could see that; the amount of entries we have, and half-chances and chances, you know, we hope to score at least a goal, obviously.
Q. Your squad touched the ball 30 times in the opponent's penalty area. Only two shots on goal from those 30 touches. Do you think your team needs to maybe take more quality shots when you have the opportunity to?
OLOF MELLBERG: Yeah, I didn't know about that. Exactly as I said before, we had a lot of entries in the final third, a lot of good positioning, I thought, in wide areas, as well. A lot of good possibilities for crosses. And yeah, in the box, as well. Those are a lot of touches in the opponent's box.
So obviously, we would have hoped to score at least a goal today.
Q. And then you start five natural center backs on the back line with Hiebert and Horn as the wingbacks, do you think that in an alternate universe, if you could go back, would you put more offensive players, like Pompeu, up front and start them maybe?
OLOF MELLBERG: Yeah, definitely. Those are decisions we make. Again, I thought our game plan was good. We started the game really well, and we had them under control. Again, we gave them -- or they had a little bit of initiative in the first half. But we created enough score; we had a lot of entries in the final third, and they barely have any chances in the game. They have two chances, and they score on one.
So, you know, if we can play more games like that with more quality in the final third, we'll get three points in the future, I think.
Q. Talking about Célio but after the subs came on, both subs seemed to have a positive impact on the game. Was the intensity they were bringing or was there something in their game that mixed the game up and threw it on its head a bit?
OLOF MELLBERG: Yeah, it was during the break, as well, we got to talk more, you know, especially with them and their role. I think the game looked like at the moment suited Akil, Célio, Tomáš really well, and I thought they did really well, both their energy and the quality. We had injuries to three players that were unexpected. So we had to be very fast in the decision-making with Chris, Alfredo, Jannes.
So we had to change around a little bit in our plan. But you know, looking at the last 15, 20 minutes, it looked really good. We were putting them under a lot of pressure and had a lot of situation in the box.
Q. Was that the talk coming out of the rain delay? Because before the rain delay, you had pressure and seemed like a chance was mounting, and the delay happens and you come out and have to stay aggressive and stay motivated. Was that the talking point?
OLOF MELLBERG: Yeah, it was a little bit disappointing with the break because I thought we had good momentum. But we brought that to after the break, as well. So, yeah, disappointing not to get a goal today.
Q. What do you think of Célio Pompeu game, and how do you think he can help the team?
OLOF MELLBERG: Yeah, I thought he did well. He's had a good couple of weeks in training, as well. Obviously he was out for a long, long time. So you know, he's still building on everything, fitness-wise, especially.
But I thought he did well. And he's a player that is good technically and good 1v1. I thought he gave us that together with Conrad, good combinations on the left-hand side, Célio joining in there as well.
Yeah, I thought we had some good combinations on the left-hand side after he came on.
Q. Considering the dominance in possession but lack of goals, what tactical adjustments do you think St. Louis City would do to enhance the offensive effectiveness?
OLOF MELLBERG: We have to look at that. You know, that is obviously my responsibility, the tactical approach and the game plan, that, again, as I said, looking at the stats and looking at the game, also, from my point of view overall, it looked good from a defending point of view and an attacking point of view. We had enough chances to score, and especially entries in the final third.
I mean, if we can continue with that, you can really work on the quality there and how we can improve our movement in the final third on the crosses, on the cut-backs, and yeah, all those details.
Q. Obviously it didn't happen all that long ago. Any word on Jannes's situation?
OLOF MELLBERG: I don't know. I just hope it was a cramp. But yeah, we'll have to see. We don't know yet.
Q. And when you brought in Timo, was the plan for him to play as far forward?
OLOF MELLBERG: Yeah, it was. We wanted to bring more physique in the box. I didn't think we managed to put enough balls in the box to get the most out of him and Klauss there. But yeah, that was the purpose, to get more physique and another player for the crosses and the longer ball.
Q. Seemed like the last 20 minutes or so provided a good blueprint of what kind of could work.
OLOF MELLBERG: Overall, I'm guessing -- I don't know yet, but I'm guessing there are quite a lot of positives to take from this game.
From a playing point of view, we continued to defend very well and conceded very little in this game and had a lot of good moments going forward.
But obviously, again, we really need to work on that quality in the final third.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports