On playing last yearās USL champions:
I mean, you know, weād obviously like to come away with three points. You know, weāre playing the champions from last year and I think we had the better of the game, so definitely some good things to get out of it, I just think we couldāve been a little better and had some opportunities to take three points at home against a team thatās, you know ā theyāre tough to play against. Letās be honest, theyāre very well coached and very good tactically and very tight, they donāt give away a lot, and I think we created a number of chances but, you know, itās still 0-0 so itās a little bit of both.
On Ryan Mearaās injury:
Yeah, heās got a groin pull. When he came out, on his first step he felt it a little bit and then it started to really tighten up on him, so. No way to know how bad or whatever but it didnāt make sense for him to stay in the game, especially that early.
On subbing in goalkeeper Rafael Diaz:
Yeah, Rafiās here for a reason. Heās been in the first team camp the last two years and, you know, he was with us last year obviously ā didnāt get many games, but heās a guy that I have a lot of faith in, so no problem.
On what the team needs to do to beat Rochester:
I think a lot of teams are asking that question; you know, they only lost one game last year. They lost one this year, right away, but ā yeah, itās tough. Itās a good test for our guys for sure. Again, itās a credit to us that we had the better of the game and had the better of the chances, but you know thereās still that little bit left for us to learn and figure out how to win tight games like that, where only one or two actions in a game make a difference. You know, we were close to giving away one there a couple of times but definitely proud to keep another shutout ā credit to our guys ā but whoās going to make a play, thatās the question. A couple of guys were close, but it didnāt quite happen.
On new signings Cheikh MāBaye and Zoumana Simpara:
Cheikh came on well. Itās always difficult coming on as a center back in a game but I think he handled himself pretty well and, you know, heās a good soccer player. Heās able to play forward well and he got on the run a couple of times which is not always what we expect from our center backs, but clearly he had some energy and wanted to play. Itās been a long process for him, so Iām sure heās excited to get on the field and show what he can do. I thought he stepped in well. And Simpara, some of the same. I donāt think he impacted the game as much as Iād hoped but at the same time he was good and connected and Iād just like to see him be a little bit more dangerous but, you know, itās not an easy team to be dangerous against.
On Tim Schmoll:
Yeah, Timās first 90 minutes. I thought he was solid and he did well and obviously wins a lot of aerial battles. Again, Rochester ā thatās one of their strengths, they have some of the tallest forwards in the league, and itās nice to be able to have Tim to counteract that. And he was pretty good on the ball. We have a lot of good options at center back, so itās a tough competition for guys and I think itās driving those guys to get better and to take advantage of the opportunities and I think so far theyāve all done pretty well ā you know, three shutouts in a row.
On the incident leading to Steevan Dos Santosā ejection:
Rochester is a tough, physical team and they battle and sometimes, you know, when you battle that much things boil over a little bit and, you know ā nothing too malicious out there, but at the same time I think the red card was deserved. Iām just trying to protect my guys. I donāt know exactly what happened, sometimes you canāt tell how much force was thrown into the things and whether real contact was made but I saw two moments where arms and hands were raised and thereās just no place for that. The referee did a good job.
On Derrick Etienne Jr. learning to play more defensively:
Itās not defensive-minded, itās just, you know ā when we donāt have the ball we all defend and Derrick has to learn that and for the most part, heās improving. Heās definitely improving in that area. Today wasnāt his best, I think last week he was better, but itās not an easy development path to just go in one direction ā up ā so you have spits and spurts and sometimes youāre better one week and then the next week youāre not so good. Derrick kind of came to life in the second half a little bit but I think he forced things a little bit much, which is fine ā in some respects, I think thatās good because heās trying to take the game into his own hands ā but sometimes when Derrick does that forgets about the constant work that needs to go into games. So it certainly wasnāt a step backwards or anything but last week was one of his better games that heās played with us. We think the world of Derrick, and itās just constantly being hard on him so he can continue to get better.
New York Red Bulls II goalkeeper Rafael Diaz
On his performance and stepping in for Ryan Meara:
I think it was a good performance, the team did well in front of me so I just needed a couple touches to get myself into the game and the rest was a lot of organization and making sure the guys in front of me were in a good position.
On the toughness of Rochester:
Theyāre a good team. They know what theyāre doing and theyāre organized, they defend pretty well and theyāre hard to break down as we saw today. Thatās something we knew and unfortunately we were unable to put one in the net.
On if itās difficult to stay prepared as a backup keeper:
Thatās kind of the business so you always have to stay ready and train like youāre going to play the game and whenever you have the opportunity to play you have to step up. You get your chance and you have to make the best of it.
On staying so sharp:
Itās very similar as last year, training with Vadim [Kirillov] and just making sure I re-train like I would to play and just getting a lot of reps and just trying to be better in training and see if I have opportunities to produce when I get the chance.
On stepping in as the starter going forward:
Iām just excited for the challenge and I am going to go work and look for things that I can do better and take it from there and prepare for next game.
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