Head Coach Caleb Porter
Opening statement
[Tonight’s match was a] Really gutsy performance and result. As a coach that has been doing this [for] a while, there are moments that you’re really proud of your group - and I’ve had quite a few of those over the years - but this is one that definitely ranks up there, and the reason is just all the stuff we’ve been dealing with. A lot of it is behind the scenes that no one knows about and I won’t go into all of it, but we’ve had a really tough couple of weeks and for our guys to battle through that, to stick together and to be able to show up and have a performance like they had [tonight], really makes me proud. It shows that we have that mettle that I’ve been looking for, that mental toughness, that grit. I thought the guys gave everything today. I’m really proud of them.
On whether Crew SC’s intensity returned in the match against New York City FC
Yeah, 100 percent. 100 percent. I mean, as I’ve said, we had a bad week, two bad results. The guys knew it, I knew it. I needed to be better, they needed to be better, and the last three days were really long days for my staff and for the guys. We’re competitors, we’re fighters, we have pride in what we do, we don’t like losing and we don’t like being second-best, as simple as that sounds. But we didn’t - like a lot of teams do in this situation - we didn’t point fingers, we didn’t make excuses, we just got to work and we looked at ourselves. I looked at myself, I looked at how I can be better. The guys looked at themselves and admitted that they can be better, and that’s a true culture. We’ve been working hard to create that, and I think that was tested in the last three days. I think we showed today that we have a great culture here and we have a great group of guys.
That was one of our best - I think certainly the first 30 minutes - [performances] of the year. We were all over them [New York City FC] and we should’ve scored two or three goals in that first half. We were aggressive, the guys were organized defensively and they executed it [the game plan] to a T. We had good performances across the board with some very good players out and even in the game losing Pedro [Santos]. We had a couple of Homegrown kids in the game. Again, not going into it at all, we had a couple of last-minute changes to the lineup, different things we had to deal with for the last two weeks. But we, again, will never make excuses, we’re just going to figure it out. We’re going to find a way to win. I thought the guys were great today in that regard.
On recording his 100th victory across all domestic competitions
It was a couple [of] games ago that Tim Miller, the Director of Media Relations, mentioned to me that I was reaching that. I didn’t even realize it. Obviously, it means a lot to be in the league seven years, to average the wins that I’ve averaged. Last year was a tough year - toughest of my career - but I think why you do this is for years like this year. [I’m] loving this team, I’m enjoying every day, even the tough days and the tough moments. It means a lot. I’ll remember this one for sure. I’ll also remember, as much as 100 wins are [remembered], I’ll remember the losses twice as long. Hopefully there’s a lot more wins this year and in future years.
Defender Aboubacar Keita
On developing a rhythm after getting consecutive appearances
It feels good, just building confidence up leading to the last part of the season. Knowing that the coaches trust me, my teammates trust me, that gives me confidence going into the game. Back-to-back starts, which again helps with the confidence. We just have to build off of it going into the last part of the season.
Midfielder Aidan Morris
On his mentality entering today’s match against a team as physical as New York City FC
I wouldn’t say intimidation is the right word. I’m training around guys [who are some of] the best midfielders in the League – Darlington [Nagbe] and Artie [Artur] – on a daily basis. When you’re around those guys a lot, it’s getting you ready for games like these. I wouldn’t say I was intimidated at all. I think the staff and the coaches do a great job with always telling me to be ready and that [that] time’s going to come [and] when it’s an opportunity like this, to make the most of it.
