Chicago Fire vs. Toronto FC
MLS Regular Season
Toyota Park – Bridgeview, IL
Frank Yallop, Chicago Fire Head Coach and Director of Soccer
Thoughts on the match:
“Great birthday present for me. We played in a good and exciting manner today. I felt we deserved to win the game; we tried to initiate most of the play against a good team. It’s frustrating, scoring early, and giving a goal up. I’m happy with our spirit and general play, we pushed a bit higher, and learned something from our last home game, that we can’t sit back against anybody, and we didn’t. We tried to push on, had little spells where Toronto had good possession, but the main thing for me is we came up with a victory and I thought we were good attacking wise, and very pleased with everybody’s commitment and general play.”
On playing an exciting style of soccer and if it can be improved on
“We finally had the players that we’ve been talking about. I thought David had a fantastic full game, home debut if you like. He did very well and was very dangerous. Shaun did well; it’s great for him to get off the mark with a goal. Just in general we looked a more confident group with those guys playing. With what we did during the week I felt confident that we’d play well.”
On the play of the three Designated Players in today’s game
“It’s difficult for some players to settle, some settle quickly, and some don’t. I thought Shaun played well today. The windy conditions didn’t make it easy for anybody but he stuck with it, and obviously getting a goal is going to boost his confidence. He’s a great teammate who works hard and does all the right things, and that’s the reason he keeps getting chances. He’s going to turn the corner for sure; today was a great way to do that with the goal. It takes him a little while and the team will start playing well too. We won’t win every game but I thought we created enough chances in this match to see it through with more goals. Kennedy came on and did his job, and I thought David did well.”
The spirit of the team after being down 2-1 and coming back to win.
“It says a lot. You never know how teams are going to respond in that situation, especially after losing the first three games, and overcoming adversity and being up and down in the last two games. We hung on in the Philly game and today went down 2-1 to came back and win. It shows great spirit. I think the crowd was very good with us today, they enjoyed pushing the team on and that’s important to our players, but obviously the fans need something to cheer on, and I think that worked hand in hand with us today. We had a good home performance with good attacking play, and the fans pushed us on and made us win the game.”
On David Accam and the threat he presents
“He’s very, very quick with a good first touch, and he can accelerate real quickly with the ball. I think the downside with that is that teams will look at that and go, ‘we have to make sure we don’t get one on one.’ Teams may adjust a little bit to David’s play, but you can’t keep a good player down and he showed today in flashes that he is very dangerous and could have scored 2-3 goals, to be honest. He could have buried a few second half chances, and they had a great break first half from a fantastic ball from Adailton to put him through. He had a bit of work to do from the halfway line but he did it, and Joe Bendik made a very good save on that.”
The play of Joevin Jones
“I think he’s played very well in all the games we’ve had, and I’ve been very pleased with the way he’s settled in pretty quickly, maybe there’s less pressure on a guy who’s not a DP or that type of player. We’ve got a lot of guys like Adailton and JJ who didn’t have any fanfare and we just added to the squad, and I think both of them have played well, and JJ’s goal capped his excellent performance. He’s an attacking full back and you saw last week that he can play wide left. He just slots into that spot and looks very good and calm, with a great goal. I’m very happy for him.”
Selecting Eric Gehrig over Lovel Palmer at right back today, and his performance.
“Eric did well. I have selection options, which is good for any coach. I wanted to see David Accam and Shaun Maloney come back from their international trips, they were both away about six days and I spoke to them about how they were feeling about playing today. Both said they were fine and on Thursday I made the decision to go with JJ at left back and Eric at right back. I spoke with Lovel and he’s done nothing wrong, it’s just a selection I wanted to do and it’s always nice when it comes off, with JJ playing well and getting a goal.”
Victor Perez and what he can bring to the Fire
“It’s never easy coming on to a game with five minutes left and it’s been a little bit helter-skelter, he’s only been here a week. I wanted to put on a natural center midfielder and he is that. It’s just five minutes but he’s looked pretty good in training, he’s got a way to go to match fitness but his attitude is good, focused, and he’s in with the team already, which is an important thing.”
Importance of Matt Polster in the middle of the field and his performance this season
“I think if you look at his play over the season he’s everything you want in that spot. He’s athletic; clean with the ball, calm, and aggressive. He’s got to get fitter because he’s got some cramps but we’ll work on that. Not to say the sky’s the limit, but he can go pretty high and do well. We just want him to be consistent and good for us moving forward. He’s done that over the games he’s played and looks the part.”
Jeff Larentowicz, Chicago Fire Defender and Captain
On the game-winning goal
“The game-winner was good. When we set up for it, [Shaun Maloney] said, ‘this is you,’ and we just set it up, and worked out well. The score was tied, I'm trying to score another one, I wasn't thinking about the Toronto play, I was surprised; usually on those plays, someone is sprinting at you, especially when you touch it to the side. But nothing happened, nobody was there, so I hit it there.”
On getting a comeback victory
“Even last year, when we were tying a lot of games, we always had a lot of fight. I think this year is the same; I think this year we have a little extra that can get us over the hump. Toronto is a very talented team, but we're at home, we're trying to build something at home, and make sure we're not losing points here, as we said before the game; and we did that.”
Joevin Jones, Chicago Fire Defender
On scoring the first goal of the game
“Being in the middle of it feels great. As a defender, when you score a goal, it feels good. I think we're coming together very well, I think me and Shaun [Maloney] have a good understanding going forward.”
On playing with David Accam on the left wing
“I think we did very good today. I gave him the room to attack, I did not want to choke him, so I just stayed behind to support him so he could take on his guy one-on-one.”
On settling down on the attack
“It feels very good [to attack], you always want to win as a player...I think I'm settling pretty okay so far. I've been doing well, and I want to keep that going.”
Shaun Maloney, Chicago Fire Midfielder
On feelings about victory
“There was a lot of relief in it. After going 1-0 up in the game, and creating a lot of chances, to be in the position we were and score pretty quickly after they scored was a lot of relief.”
On the team's improvement
“I think we're starting to improve. I wouldn't go overboard, but today, I think it was a really good result, really good show from the team. When we go 2-1 down, to then get back and win the game is a good sign for the team. There's definitely been an improvement each game we've played. I think today was probably the best I've felt. I think the national team games helped me, then I came back, and I'm just glad to play a part in a win for the team.”
On adjusting to a new team
“I want to try and do as much as I can for my teammates, and they expect me to score and assist, and I think that was probably the relief you saw in the goal as well. I want to play my part on the team. The first couple of weeks, it's a new league, it's a new country, but in sport you don't get any time to adjust, you just have to go straight in. I think, in the celebration, you saw a lot of relief as well.”
On having fun on the attack
“It was fun when we went up 3-2, but there was a moment when we were 2-1 down, and it wasn't as fun. The first half, we played [well against] Toronto, a strong side. The way we created chances particularly through [David] Accam, in the first half, and Quincy [Amarikwa], that's exactly what the manager and the owner were speaking about in the offseason. I think today we saw a little sign of things to come, hopefully.”
On the comeback boosting spirits
“I think that was the biggest thing. With David [Accam], Quincy [Amarikwa], Harry [Shipp], and Kennedy [Igboananike], I think you'll always see us attack and play attacking football. I think when we go 2-1 down, and we manage to turn that around into victory, hopefully that shows a real personality change for the season. We started the season slowly, and in the last two games, we've improved, so it's a big bonus today.”
On the team's collective struggles
“I think it's the full team. We started off in LA very slowly in terms of the team shape and organization, and there were reasons for that. But I think, each game since the LA game we've improved as a team. I think our team shape is making ourselves harder to beat; I think that was the biggest improvement over the last four games or so. I think that's a huge credit to the coaching staff as well.”
On the play of Matt Polster
“I've been hugely impressed with Matt. He's a pretty unassuming young man; but I think his physical ability is his biggest asset. I've been hugely impressed with him, and if he keeps his feet on the ground, I think he's got a big future ahead of him.”
