Philadelphia Union Head Coach Jim Curtin
Opening Statement...
Just before I talk about the game, Marco Fabian missed a team meeting the day before the game. That was the reason for his absence, a mistake on his part, he feels bad about it, but at the same time we had to move on. That was the decision that was made. As for the game tonight, for me, I guess I’ll be a little biased, but one of the most entertaining games of the year in terms of the intensity level. Two really good teams going at it, obviously LAFC is in the discussion for one of the best teams our league has ever had and I thought we went toe-to-toe with them. They pushed the game in the first half I thought, made us work. Gave up the goal before halftime which was tough, but at the same time I thought our guys regrouped at halftime. Probably had the better of the play in the second half. They made us run for stretches; we made them run for stretches of the game, exciting for maybe those who weren't at field level. The speed of the game was as quick as I’ve seen and I’ve been around this thing for 20 years now as an average player and now a coach. Great for our players to go through an exercise like that and I thought they rose to the occasion. Could've stole the game at the end, but overall I think 1-1 result is fair. Again, off of Atlanta [United FC], LAFC, the two games I circled at the beginning of the year that would be a true testament for us, whether we are a good team or a great team. I think we answered a lot of questions again tonight and I couldn't be more proud of our players for the effort they out forward and overall now happy as we go down now to the final four games of the season. On
Kai Wagner and Mark McKenzie defending Carlos Vela...
Carlos [Vela] is the MVP of the league and it's not even close. For Kai [Wagner], it's obviously a tough assignment. You're only help out there sometimes when you get isolated with him is the sideline. We tried to make them go around us tonight. Even [Steven] Beitashour and [Jordan] Harvey are two really good players on the ball, but our game plan was to have them be the ones that make the game rather than Vela or [Diego] Rossi getting on the ball and turning. They have so many weapons, the interchange now of [Eduard] Atuesta, [Mark-Anthony] Kaye, and [Latif] Blessing is a lot to deal with. Lot of communication has to happen, but individually now you're going to get isolated with Vela, 1-v-1 and I thought Kai was incredible on the night. In terms of forward defending, being physical with him in the right moments, not going in when he cuts the ball. When he gets you in the box, you're always holding your breathe because he can draw penalties because he's so deceptive in there, but Kai showed that he is a top left back in the league, and for my money the top left back. Proud of his performance tonight. Obviously Mark McKenzie chipped in and did a great job anytime he needed to come over and double team. Really good overall team performance, you can go through each of our guys, and each of their guys to be honest, and a lot of strong performances tonight.
On the difference that Marco Fabian could have made...
We’ll never know, and that's the hard thing. That's in the past; we’ll never get it back, so that part hurts. I know Marco [Fabian] wanted to be a part of the game, he's a great player. We’re better with him in our team and with us. We’re trying to keep 30 guys going and not one. He will bounce back, he’ll learn from it. It's important and serious, but it's not something that is going to break us up, that's for sure. He's a special player; we’ll talk through it, and have him back. Sorry my answer for that is we’ll never know.
On Mark McKenzie’s performance tonight...
That’s Mark [McKenzie], that's the Mark that we all know. He's battled things and I talk about it almost weekly now with all our young players, there are parts of development that are suffering. Suffering on the field, suffering off the field, and being able to push through it and have performances like tonight is the sign of a great player. His ceiling is incredibly high, him and Jack [Elliott] have a good partnership going right now. He's got the good combination of speed and physicality and also really good feet to break lines with his passes. Really happy with Mark. That’s a big boy game, that's the best way I can put it, these are the real games that if you are real player you want to be a part of. They feel different, the speed is different. All of the sudden you look up and 75 minutes have gone by. That's how quickly things happen on the field. Those are special games and I'm really happy that Mark got to play in it, and not just play in it, but also leave a big impact on the game.
On the satisfaction of tonight's draw compared to the win against Atlanta United FC...
I said it at halftime; I think with their best group, I think we pushed them in a way that a lot of teams haven't this year, that's for sure. You’ll have to ask them in terms of what's the hardest game they've been in. I think when their best eleven players are on the field, which they were tonight, they've embarrassed teams. That's the nicest way I can put it. Almost three goals per game scored and they're just really tough to depend. In some ways, yes. In the Atlanta one you have the three points and I always want to win. The atmosphere again tonight had a similar feel to it. It was electric in the stadium so thank you again to the Sons of Ben and all the fans that came out. I feel better passing that test because that’s a team that can put six goals on you and I say that in the most respectful way to even my players. If you're not on your game like we were tonight, they can embarrass you. We made them work for everything, they still got chances, but we limited them and Andre [Blake] made a few saves. Overall, yeah, that’s as proud as I’ve been because LAFC, for me, is the best team in our league.
On Brenden Aaronson and Mark McKenzie’s attitude following U-23 United States Men’s National Team camp...
The confidence man, you go into these U-23 camps, I saw it with Auston [Trusty] as well. Auston’s come into training now, had a great discussion with him, he came in and we talked through some things and how he's grown from being taken out of the lineup. It hurts; it really, really hurts to not be a part of things. You almost feel like you're injured, but talking to him and to Matt Freese who did well with the 23’s. I think you certainly see Brenden come in to a game like that and almost scored what would have been a special goal tonight. He does have a little bounce in his step in training, has more confidence and Mark would be the same way. I think that Jason [Kreis] has a great group with that 23 team and they push each other in a good way. We certainly saw anytime you get to wear the national team jersey, you come back with a little more confidence and they were an example of that tonight.
On Sergio Santos’ performance and possibly putting him in the starting lineup...
It was close to deciding on starting him possibly tonight, I think he's earned that. Sometimes tactically who you line up and against and being a little more stable defensively first was our initiative tonight. I thought he did come in with the limited minutes he got and made an impact. You guys think it was a handball at the end? We’ll ever know, it was close. So, he forced the issue and made some plays, was a handful in the box. Certainly, to answer your question, if Kacper [Przybylko] does not come out, the thought would have been to put him on that left wing and get him behind where he as a little more space. He came in and did a good job as the nine for Kacper when he cramped up. Happy with Sergio, he's a great player, you can see just how dynamic he is, and strong and explosive. Had some plays tonight where he was just this close. He's devastated in the locker room because he wanted to score the winner, but I’m still overall happy with the team.
On not using the third substitution...
We discussed it, [Jamiro Monteiro] was getting a little tired on the field and they were starting to have some entry balls in the middle part. We thought about putting Antony [Fontana] in also if Fafa [Picault] fatigued. Possibly throwing Santos out wide and [Andrew] Wooten at the nine where he is very good in the box because we were getting some service. Chose not to tonight and trust the guys that were on the field. I think we needed to reward them and in that second half, I thought we did some good things. We really pushed the tempo and had them on their heels a little bit. They had chances too, so this is one of those games where that you're never happy to tie, but it's as proud as I can be in a tie game.
On the difficulty of trying to defend Carlos Vela...
How many goals does he have now? 28? So, I’d say it's impossible. How many assists? 15, 16? So I would say it's not possible to completely stop him. He's going to get chances, he's as dominant a player. We got a little fortunate because he was out for a couple weeks so there was a little rust there maybe early on. Kai did a really good job on him overall tonight. To ask how good he is, or how to stop him, I don’t have the answer to that because he's been able to dominate our league and is a special player. People don't recognize, when you watch on TV tonight sometimes and you say why don't they just get closer, why don't they foul him, why don't they get more physical with him? It's the same thing with the special players, Neymar, Messi, whoever you like and you can't get close to these guys. It’s difficult. You need to use your teammates for double teams, you need to be tight in certain moments, you need to communicate and you need help, use the sideline. A lot of different things that go into it, but he's still going to get free and he's still going to hurt you. Overall, that's about as good a job that we can do on him and he still scored.
Defender Mark McKenzie
On playing against Carlos Vela...
It’s a cool experience. Anytime you get to step on the field there’s a young guy watching these guys play when you’re a child, it’s a blessing. As they say once the whistle is blown, he’s just another player. On speed and thought...
You just always have to be between it at all times. Every team I’ve been on just reiterates that know what you want to do before the ball gets to you. It can feel difficult at times when you’re in the back and things open and close so quickly. Just taking a picture before you even get it helps a lot.
On Kai Wagner’s performance...
He did really well. A shut down on [Carlos] Vela, he had minimal opportunities. Off the top of my head I can’t really remember besides the goal. It was just kind of in shambles. Besides from that he was nonexistent. So shout out to Kai [Wagner] for definitely putting up a really good fight against him.
On Andre Blake’s performance...
Absolutely, Dre kept us in it. You need that in certain games. In a night like this when it’s a back and forth each team is hitting blows at each other. To have a goalie like Dre in the back, it gives you a lot of confidence.
On the atmosphere in Talen Energy Stadium tonight...
It’s great. The atmosphere was amazing tonight. The energy from the fans, pushing in those moments where there are ups and downs. So big shout out to everybody that came out tonight. We’re going to need that in this last home game we have coming up in October.
Forward Kacper Przybylko
On tonight’s draw...
It was just unlucky because we did a great job and it’s great to see that we are on par with LAFC. I know I what I said before the game but it’s not that I didn’t respect them; I respect every team in this league. They’re playing a great season, but it’s nice to see that after this great test that we are on the same level with them and it’s just important just to continue like this, prepare for the next game, and stay as high as we can to have a great position for the players.
On his goal...
Well I just got a great ball from Fafa [Picault] and the first second it was just important to get the ball because I thought this is going to be too high. I was happy that I hit it so well and it went in. unfortunately it was only 1-1 today. I would like to change my goal for two other goals from my teammates but unfortunately, I cannot do that. I’m just happy that we played a great game, it was a great test against this team. The next game is waiting for us.
On putting constant pressure on their defense...
I want to applaud the team because they are doing so great. We’re pressing together. There’s no one who is not doing that because if someone is just sleeping, it’s not going to work. I just want to say thank you to my teammates that they trust me but also thank you for this great form because it’s so important in the defense. We always create great chances in the offense but it’s important not to get goals and we know we had some games where we lost 4-0 and then there were like 3 games in a row where we got 10 goals against us and now it’s great to see that we’re also doing great in defense.
On Kai Wagner’s Performance...
My biggest respect to this guy today. He stopped Carlos Vela. He didn’t want to go 1-v-1 against this guy because he was pissed off because he had no chance against Kai [Wagner] today. He made it so great and I’m so happy also for him.
