Hear from head coach Oscar Pareja and defender Robin Jansson following Tuesday's 1-0 loss to Charlotte FC, ending the Lions' U.S. Open Cup run in the Round of 32:
Orlando City head coach Oscar Pareja
Overall thoughts on the game...Â
“Disappointed with being out of the Cup. We came with the highest intentions to defend the Cup and advance, but it was not like that. The game was frustrating with the options that we had to tie it up and just making mistakes that were costly. With the Cup, it is hard, but it is what the game brings when you have these objectives and try to do things and we couldn’t get the result and we are very disappointed.”Â
On the gameplan and if it had to be shifted at all...Â
“Normally what you have as a game plan, part of it is accomplished and some other things aren’t based on the other team. We knew they were going to come and press us and we needed speed up front. Some of those we achieved, but we know that they have fast players as well that could affect us in the flanks. We needed to deal with those duels, and I think we did well with that. With the volume offensively, it was not what we wanted. We wanted more action in that last part of the field and the way we defended, I think we did pretty well. As I say, the game loses balance when we lose the ball in that key moment and then we chase it. We were brave, we had energy and I appreciate the boys trying to chase the game by getting a score.”
On what he said to the team following the matchÂ
“At this point, it is difficult within a speech to fix the things. I think we have to observe it. We are a professional soccer club, and we are professionals that need to think. First, we need to calm down. I think it is something that is very comprehensive with the Club, we have to first just calm down. We have a turnaround pretty quick, we have a game in three days. We have to rescue all the good things that we had in the game and just keep building at what we need to get better.”
Orlando City defender Robin Jansson
Overall thoughts on the game...
“Not good enough. I feel our play doesn't work to a hundred percent. I don't have the stats in front of me, but I don't know if we even created a shot on goal today. I don't know. It's a frustrating one and yeah, it has to be better than that.”
On the Charlotte FC goal...
“First of all, we have to get rid of the ball and don't put us in situations like that. We need to just kick the ball away and then go for the next ball. I think their striker got it and he went into the center of the field and then there was a situation where he almost lost his balance and then I came in in the PK box and I tried to do everything not to cause a penalty, but then it bounces back to him in and then he luckily got the bounce with him. So yeah, it's a bad one.”
On the first few minutes of both halves...
“We were expecting them to come very high in the beginning of the first half to start with. Then after a couple of minutes, we started to get a grip of it and started to play. They couldn't manage to go up that high in their pressure. I think we did quite well with the ball, but we came to the midfield and then we tried in the last part but didn't create that much. Then in the second half we were expecting it also. We were expecting them to actually to do it a little bit more than they did, but when we got into the game and did stuff with the ball, they couldn’t do it. We were ready for it.”
