Chicago Fire Head Coach Veljko Paunovic
Thoughts on David Accam
“David is always giving his best for the team and his teammates are also helping him so he can perform. It’s important to have guys like him who can decide the game but, behind him, a hard working team who works for him and other strikers to score goals.”
Thoughts on preparing for Antonio Nocerino
“We prepared reading what we saw the first game and reading the news about the players who could play today. We prepared for all of them. We play all our games to win. Sometimes it is more difficult, sometimes we play better but today I’m very proud of our guys. It’s never easy being down a man. They performed well, they adapted well, and most of all they gave their hearts on the field. We are building a team that will be a winning team and it’s still growing. I’m very happy with how we’re performing so far and I believe we’ll be even better next game.”
Thoughts on the team after Harrington’s red card
“It’s never easy but we adapted well. There were moments of confusion, who’s going to play where. It’s not easy with such an amazing crowd here in Orlando. It’s not easy to communicate but it was still enough time to adjust. The guys did very well to adapt to the new system, 4-4-1, to defend and try to play on counter. Especially Kennedy Igboananike who did very well on the left side. We had to stick together and stick to our team spirit and work as a team.”
Thoughts on Orlando City vs. Real Salt Lake being down a man
“We didn’t prepare to play with a man down. It’s how you’re performing and how you build the team and want to play. It’s always about the players. They believed, they worked hard, and they did great today. Congrats to our players and congrats to Orlando’s players too because it was a great team in front of us and they did very well too.”
Thoughts on the red card
“If it was a red card we have to look to ourselves and see what we could do better there. We will never complain about decisions, for us we have to learn from that play. I wasn’t so calm in that moment to watch on the big screen so I have to see it, but it’s something that’s on us. We can’t afford to play that way and get red cards. We have to be smarter, there’s no excuses for that.”
Chicago Fire Midfielder David Accam (No. 11)
Thoughts on overall performance
“A man down, so for us we need to work hard and that’s what we did. Every ball I had to chase, I did. It paid off. It means a lot because it was our first away game of the season and even when we were a man down, we still believe that we can still get points. I think this year we have more quality. I believe we can beat anyone in this league.”
Chicago Fire Goalkeeper Matt Lampson (No. 28)
Thoughts on giving up the early goal
“This is two weeks in a row that we gave up an early goal. I think it is definitely something that we should really work on – coming out defensively strong early. It’s not easy to come back from a goal early, but the team showed resilience and we did everything that we could to stay in the game to get a result away from home, down a man for close to 70 minutes. That shows the heart of this team and how hard we work for each other, and that’s the reason we got a result today. Obviously we want to win every game. [It was a] great performance rebounding after last week, and we are going to carry the momentum into next week against Columbus.”
Thoughts on communication in the backline
“One of the hardest things was the noise. Orlando is a tough place to play. It was hard to organize just because of the crowd noise, but our guys played incredible. It’s hard to play down a man for that long, and when we gave up chances, our guys did their jobs and that’s why [Orlando] didn’t score again. It’s something that you have to deal with as a professional.”
Thoughts on personal performance
“I was happy with it. Obliviously I don’t want to let in a goal. Distribution wise, it’s always something I can work on. Last week was a poor performance, and I knew that. What we saw today is really what I am capable of, and I was proud to play the way I know I can play. The guys in front of me make my job easier. When I see the heart the guys give and how hard they work, it makes me want to give all that I can. They protect me all game long and for 90 minutes, so the least I can do is return the favor. That’s my job. I’m going to learn from all of my mistakes.”
Thoughts playing down a man and away from home
“[It] speaks volume about the character of the team. When you got every single guy giving everything they have, you know you are going to be proud of what you put out on the field, regardless of the outcome. We can be proud of it. It shows the type of team that we are.”
