Chicago Fire FC fell 2-1 to FC Cincinnati on Saturday night at Soldier Field. Following the match, Head Coach Ezra Hendrickson, midfielder Jairo Torres, and forward Chris Mueller spoke to media about the result. Read their thoughts below.
Chicago Fire FC Quotes
Chicago Fire FC Head Coach Ezra Hendrickson
On the decision making of the team on both of FC Cincinnati’s goals…
“Yeah, you know, it's a tough one. It's a conference rival. And at the least, I thought we should have gotten a point out of that game. But, you know, if you hand teams goals in games, they're going to take it, you know, and I thought that was just a couple of unfortunate errors by us tonight. First the own goal and then late in the game, we have the momentum. We keep putting the pressure on and we decide we're going to try to play out through pressure in the back and then pass the ball right to one of the best players on the pitch, and we get punished for it. So we have to learn from this. I've always said that it was going to be some growing pains but tonight was a tough one to take because I felt like we deserve some points out of this game tonight.”
On the performance of Jairo Torres in his Chicago Fire debut…
“Yeah, well, I thought we saw in the, you know, 15-20 minutes that he was on the pitch what he can do. He had some good one-v-one situations on the wing. Has a couple of good balls across so he's a player that, you know, we're looking forward to getting him on the pitch for longer minutes because he's getting that kind of quality that will help us on the attack. And right now we need that help. So we were very happy that he's, you know, finally feeling better and is able to play some minutes tonight.”
On the current slump’s effect on the locker room…
“Well it's one of those things where we're going through the rough right now. And we just got to find a way to get ourselves out of it. I thought tonight we had a great opportunity coming back at home, conference opponent. I felt like the guys were up for it. But you know when you give up two goals like that, it's really hard to win in this league, so we just got to get back to doing what we're doing at first, which is, you know, keeping clean sheets, limiting chances for opponents and then get some goals on the other end. But right now it's pretty rough times and then handing them two goals like that tonight, you're not going to win too many games in this league when you do that. So that's something that we have to get better at.”
On the team lacking a killer instinct…
“No, I mean, Shaq is a very good player. I don't think Shaq is the issue. I think on the whole, our ability to get from mid-third, to the final third, it's not efficient. And then once we get into the final third, we're not very effective. And making bad decisions is most mostly the issue. Sometimes I think guys are open even today in the first half. You know, we're on the attack. We're on the break, we're five vs. three, and one guy decides to, you know, dribble rather than find an open guy. So it's poor decision making and then poor execution, and it's not just Shaq, it's the entire team once we get into the final third. That's something we've been working on, something I thought we've gotten a little better at as far as creating chances, but we're still not getting the goals. And so that's something that has to improve, but it's a team-wide thing right now.”
On the misplay from Gaga Slonina that led to the second goal…
“Yeah, well, you know, he's a young keeper. He's still 17. It was a bad mistake, but he's kept us in games many times. So we have to take the positives with the occasional miscues because he's still learning the job, so to speak. So, you know, we still have confidence in him. We just got to make sure that he stays confident and one of the things from goalkeepers they have to always, you know, forget whatever mistakes they make, because you know, we have a game on Wednesday, and so he's got to turn around and be confident and come out and play, you know, the way he's capable of playing on Wednesday. And being a young, inexperienced player, it's us as a coaching staff myself, specifically as the head coach, to make sure that he stays confident and he knows that we're confident in him and in his abilities. So it's just a matter of him just putting that in the past and moving on.”
On why Mauricio Pineda was not included in the starting lineup tonight…
“Well, we decided that Fede Navarro and Gaston were the most suitable for this game. For us the way we want to play, the things we wanted to do. Pineda, you know, we can only put 11 players on the pitch. And Pineda is a big part of this team, and he's going to get his opportunities, he's gonna get his playing time, but we thought with Gaston coming back from injury that he was a better fit along with Fede in the midfield.”
Chicago Fire FC Midfielder Jairo Torres
On making his Chicago Fire debut...
"I'm happy for the debut and for being able to play here. But I'm a little bit disappointed with the result."
On the reception by the fans...
"I have been adjusting to this city little by little. I'd like to thank the people for how they have received me."
On his disappointment...
"Of course, who likes to lose? I don’t think anybody does. The truth is that I’m a bit disappointed and upset about the result."
On adjusting to his teammates...
"My teammates have looked out for me from the moment I arrived. On the field, they say football is international, there are no language barriers there. But we need to do things better, all of us, and to get a better result."
On adjusting to a new language...
"My Spanish-speaking teammates help me understand what the others are saying. It's definitely a little complicated because of the language, but I have to learn, right, learn the language. I have to press the accelerator on that to better understand my teammates and what they need from me."
On having a midweek game to forget the result...
"Yes, the good thing is that football offers a chance for revenge. We have a chance on Wednesday, and we have to take advantage of it in the best way."
Chicago Fire FC Winger Chris Mueller
On the outcome of the game and what he sees from the team so far…
“You know, I think that, overall, it was a positive performance. I thought that we had most of the ball and we created a lot of good chances. They didn't really have anything going forward other than what we gave them, and you know those into individual mistakes cost you at this level, you know, if something happens in the back and, just it's really unfortunate to be fair, you know, because the team played really well. I thought it was a good response in terms of how we bounced back from the past couple of weeks and then again, tonight, we went down, we came back and got another goal. So, you know, this one definitely stings because you lose another three points at home, and it was a winnable game, one that we definitely deserved to take all three points out of. But we all learn, you know, and sometimes that that sort of stuff happens in football and you just have to move forward and, you know, hopefully next time we're on the better end of the breaks.”
On how he fits into his new team…
“Yeah, I mean, I thought I did well tonight. I thought that the team, overall, did well. And that always helps when you can just slot into a team who's moving the ball well, who knows what their identity is and what they're doing on the pitch. So I hope I can just continue to build up and build on better performances.”
On what positives he sees, going forward…
“For sure. I think that we showcased a lot of that tonight, a lot of our positive qualities. I just think that we need to continue to dig in and honestly just continue to believe. I think that's the hardest thing at this point, where you know, you're not getting strings of results. You just need that one that's going to turn things back around and it's going to get the vibe back on with the boys in the locker room. So we just need to maintain our belief and persevere right now because it's been tough times. But I think that, like I said, this performance indicates that good things are coming.”
On what he would tell a player like Gaga Slonina who is really young…
“Yeah, I went over to him right as soon as the game finished, right here in the locker room. I said, ‘Hey, look, you know, this type of stuff happens. You're a young player. The only thing that's going to be a problem is if you let it affect your confidence going into the next game. You know, you need to just wipe it. This sort of stuff happens, we're going to back you as a team you've done well for us so far.’ Like since I've been here from what I've seen, and I just told him’ ‘Right now you can't let that sort of thing affect your confidence going into the next game and affect how you're going to play. You know, don't let that fear creep in now, just continue to do your thing and you know, let this one go and learn from it and build from it.’”
