Philadelphia Union II Head Coach Sven Gartung
On message to the team at halftime...
“We saw that we could create opportunities and that we need to reduce our mistakes. We were only 1-0 down and we had to keep working even more together. The boys believed in themselves and that is what you could see at the beginning of the second half.”
On what New York capitalized on to retake the lead...
“I think that if we reduce the amount of mistakes we are on eye level with them. We commit too many easy mistakes and we paid big time for that. It was not only the class of red Bulls II but also our mistakes that lead to these quick fast breaks off turnovers and eventually to the goals. So we helped them a lot.”
On the players who made their debuts...
“They are impressed with the speed of play, so they have much less time and it is a new experience for them. Other than that they have done well. They kept playing vertical and trying to lay off the ball to score another one. They will gain a lot of experience in a very short time.”
On his teams willingness to play aggressive...
“They try things, so that is good. They are brave to try out new things. Both teams are young but they are not our age, so they have a little bit more experience. So you run into these counters and we paid for that. The boys are brave in trying to push out style that we want to do. We are not going to park the bus with five defenders. We want to keep on playing and you can see that we scored a beautiful goal. We see it is possible to do these things. We will continue with our style of play.”
On Axel Picazo’s performance...
“He has changed a lot. He is a team-oriented player and is leading our press in a very good way. With that he is created chances for himself by bring himself in good positions to score. I think it is just a matter of time before he starts scoring. His shot was a little bit to the left as he had some pressure. If he lifts his head a little bit sooner, he will start to score. He did a great job like all the other boys.”
Forward Selmir Mescic
On scoring the first goal of Union II’s season...
“Obviously it felt good. It was a great ball from Yomi Scintu and I was able to score. It was a disappointing result. We are a young team and we are trying to play our style of play. We still have a long way to go and a lot of things to work on and we will keep working until the next game.”
On how his goal came together...
“The ball went out wide to Yomi Scintu and my first goal was to try and get into the box to help and try and score. I am a run to the near post and then peeled off. Then it was a beautiful ball from Scintu. It was a little high but I was able to jump and direct it into the far corner. Then you saw how much it not only meant to me but to the boys. We got to celebrate and it meant a lot so hopefully we can have more moments like that.”
On managing a game when you are behind...
“It is tough. At the start of the second half I thought we had some good moments. We were positive and showed some good signs and got the goal. Then it was just little mistakes from us. So we will try and fix those little mistakes.”
Midfielder Jack McGlynn
On getting his first career start...
“It was a good moment for me. Obviously the result wasn’t what we wanted it to be, but it was good to get my first start and play the full 90 for the first time.”
On the team getting its first goal...
“For the team it was a special moment. We were all sprinting forward because we saw Yomi Scintu had a lot of time and then I just saw Selmir Miscic leap into the air and score a great header and then we all went crazy celebrating. It was a good moment.”
On the long layoff from play...
“It was really long. Just being in quarantine and training every day to try and stay fit for when we came back. To get out there and play tonight was a great feeling.”
On staying focused after falling behind...
“I just try to stay positive and tell everyone on the team to stay positive. We want to keep going forward, keep trying to score no matter what the score is. We want to fight and try and win the game no matter how much we are down by.”
