FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (Aug. 14, 2022) – Chicago Fire FC II ended their three-game road trip with a 1-0 loss at New England Revolution II Sunday evening. New England defender Pierre Cayet earned Player of the Match designation with the only goal of the match, as well as a goal-saving effort against the Fire’s Josh Penn following a penalty kick. Following six of their last eight matches on the road, the Fire return home next week for the rest of August as the final stretch of the season nears.
After the match at Gillette Stadium, head coach Ludovic Taillandier and defender Charlie Ostrem shared the following thoughts on the action.
Chicago Fire FC II Head Coach Ludovic Taillandier
On how the team concluded its three-game road trip…
“For sure, we didn't concede much in the last three games, but we didn't score much either, even less. And we, of course, encourage the player to play as a team, to play compact, to be able to get a result. Even if it's a tie, we get something, we try to get something. Unfortunately tonight, we don't concede much, but we concede a goal. And this whole game is about being able to create chances, to convert our chances and to be a little more solid and focused on those set pieces, for example. And that's the way we concede again, on the corner kick. It didn't happen many times but that's something we need to improve, for sure.”
On adjustments made following the Revolution goal…
“We wanted to be able to try to create chance. We tried to send more players to the front, to use the width with the formation 3-5-2 at the end of the game to get some crosses in and get chances from that against a team that played much lower on the field after they scored. Now, it was not, it's never easy to create chances against a compact unit so low on the field. But again, we should have done better at getting wide, at crossing cleaner and bringing some more players to finish those crosses in the box.”
On how the Fire attack sputtered against New England…
“I mean, we created chances in the first half, especially, and we could have scored. We have, of course, the PK; we have two or three good opportunities to shoot and score, especially in the first half. Once again, we'll see that they were a little more open. We can be disappointed by the way we didn't find a way to create chances against a low unit. That's something we need to work on because when a team scores and decides to play lower on the field, you need to be able to go fast from one side to the other, to use the width and to get crosses, to get shots, maybe some shots off from outside of the box. Those things, we didn't do well enough today.”
Chicago Fire FC II Defender Charlie Ostrem
On the significance of being named captain for the match…
“I mean, it means a lot to me because I feel like Ludo has a lot of trust in me, my teammates have trust in me, and I just want to do my best to help the team and be a leader on the field.”
On what the team could’ve done better on the set piece goal…
“I mean, there are no excuses. That was my man that scored and I feel like I should’ve pulled myself at halftime because I’ve had a nagging hip injury all week, but that’s my guy that scored and there’s really no excuse for it.”
On returning to SeatGeek Stadium after a stretch of games on the road…
“I mean it’s been tough, but we have got to find ways to get results on the road, and we’re definitely excited to get back at home. Get some home games, get some home points.”
