Head Coach Caleb Porter
On Crew SC's performance against Philadelphia
A tough one; took one on the chin today. We didn’t play very well, especially in that first half and to start the second half. Obviously that third goal was a back breaker. So we have to learn from it. We made some mistakes, starts with our passing game. I thought we gave the ball away for all three goals in bad spots and then it turned into transition the other way. We knew with [Fafa] Picault and [David] Accam they would be dangerous in transition. We can't give the ball away and have to be better in transition.
On missing some key players
Yeah they had guys out, we had guys out. For me, that's no excuse. We have a squad of good players, we had good players in the game today and we have to just be better. No matter who is in the lineup. It starts with the coaches as well. If the team has a bad game, the coaches have a bad game. So ultimately I take responsibility. This is our first bit of adversity this year; it's our first loss, even including the preseason. So we have to keep it in perspective. We’ve all been through games like this, we need to be men about it, we need to be pros about it. We need to reflect on it and correct the things we didn’t do well enough, but also we can’t get carried away in anything more than that. We have to stay process oriented and we have to correct our mistakes.
On correcting those mistakes before the game against Atlanta next week
Well, there was one pattern that led to all three goals. It starts with our ability on the ball. We have to be better, we have to be cleaner, we have to move the ball quicker and we can’t give the ball away in bad spots. So, we need to work on that, and look at the film and figure out if it is a spacing thing, is it a rotation thing, is it tempo on the ball issue. Then in transition, defensive transition. Obviously were a passing team, if you're going to have the ball then you're going to be vulnerable in transition. So we need to be balanced, and we need to react quicker and we need to make sure they don’t score when we lose the ball.
On getting the offense going again
In this league, it's a long season. You're going to have days like this, you never like them, I don’t like them, the team doesn’t like them. We got a bunch of guys in there that are competitors and they are disappointed. But, we also have to move on. For me, when I look at the four games, this is an outlier, but I look at the three goals and there is a pattern. So we have to correct that pattern and we need to learn from it. I’m confident these guys are going to go back to work like we will, as coaches, and we will be ready for Atlanta no doubt about it. There will be a group that will take the field ready to go versus Atlanta on Saturday.
Forward Patrick Mullins
On the loss tonight
I thought we really prepared for this kind of match. We really trained well attacking wise to get the ball out wide and create overloads out there to get crosses in the box, be sharp in that way. Then make sure we were compact defensively. Through the week we saw our performance build and build, felt good going into the game. Then the game started and we got punched in the face a little bit. Philly was very sharp tonight, the goals came in transition, parts of the game where we got punished for some mistakes. We might not have been quick enough to the ball. You know, these things are going to happen over the course of a season. We haven't had this happen to us over the first four games until tonight. I don’t think the performance tonight is who we are as a team, what were capable of and I think it's a good opportunity now to get back to work this week and just make a few little tweaks and adjustments to the areas that we were not effective tonight. Where they exploited us, we have to make sure we fix those things going into next week.
On his team’s lack of chances
Once again, I think the game didn’t go as we had prepared for in terms of keeping the ball like we usually do as a team. That starts in the back, all the way to me in the front. So that is something we are going to have to examine and prepare ourselves on how we manage the game. Obviously you don't want to give up goals before or after halftime. It is then very difficult to manage the rest of the game. So, that hurt, but these are learning moments and I think we responded decently well. I think we did much better towards the end of the game and finally start to move the ball around like the Columbus Crew do and we’re used to. I think that is something we need to continue to build on this week.
On his team’s preparation for Atlanta
I think we will be similar to other weeks in preparation. Like I said, over four games we’ve done pretty well. This is our first loss all year; we didn't even lose in preseason. So this will be good for us. The coaches preached that in the locker room after the match and said if we are honest with each other this week, look each other in the eyes and say we want to improve and fix these things, it will be better. So we're not going to let this dictate how were going to perform next weekend or any games after that because this team is too strong. We’re going to, mentally, handle it better and we won’t let this affect us too long.
Midfielder Artur
On the loss tonight
I think it was not what we expected. We weren’t good enough on both sides of the game, defending and attacking. I think it is a hard lesson for us and we need to improve and play better next time out.
On the absence of Wil Trapp in the midfield
It was definitely a little different because, me and Wil [Trapp] have been playing together for a long time, but I think Rico [Clark] did well. I don’t think he was the problem. The problem was everybody, the entire team. We lose together because we didn’t play good enough to make a good game and we just need to improve.
On moving on to next week
We have to put our minds together for Atlanta and work hard. We can get to our objectives if we work hard and we go into the game aggressive and play the game in our style. We need to do this.
