Quote Sheet: MB 0-0 OC
Cardinale Stadium; Seaside, California
Saturday, September 21, 2024
Head Coach Jordan Stewart
On the match:
“I think we dominated the game from start to finish. From the build-up, I thought the guys played excellently. I think you can see a real increase in the way we play, especially in the last couple weeks. Pleased to get another clean sheet, back-to-back. But still, on the other end, we need to try and score goals. Ultimately, goals win games. The boys are disappointed in that aspect, but on the whole, looking back, I’d say we dominated and are just missing that final piece of the puzzle.”
On the importance of gaining points at the end of the season:
“If it were earlier on and we were getting back-to-back clean sheets, picking up points here and there, we’d take it. At the business end, you need to win games to get in that playoff spot. Overall, good point, but I thought we played well enough to get the win.”
On time of possession:
“When I look at the video tomorrow, that is probably going to be my most proud moment. You can see the way they were breaking the press, the way they were directing, the way they were creating solutions rather than me having to say it from the sidelines. I think that’s super pleasing. I said to the guys that from the buildup all the way to the final third, we were total domination. And even in chances, I think we had 17 and six on target. So we want to be more prolific in that aspect, but I think the positive you take from that is we are getting opportunities.”
Midfielder Walmer Martínez
On his initial takeaways:
“I think some of the things we have tried to implement in the game and in our training we put it out here on the field. For us, it’s just the final product, we need to bury it and put it into the back of the net. At the end of the day, that’s what wins games. Overall, I thought building out of the back and playing through the middle third, it was all great. We dominated this team, and it was just about putting it in the back of the net at the end of the day.”
On time of possession:
“The team’s mentality and the quality the players have to possess the game and really put a tempo in there plays to our advantage. I think you can see it out there that we possess the ball and look for the right times to try and attack. We’re slowly building. What Jordan [Stewart] is trying to implement into our game is great. Slowly but surely, we’re putting it together piece by piece, and hopefully, we can get that full puzzle pretty soon.”
On how important the point is:
“I think the guys are pretty bummed, actually. I think we deserved all three points. We’ll take the one point, but these were three crucial points that we needed to put in our back pocket to try and move our way up the table, to at least cross that line and compete against the other guys. Moving forward, we still have five games left so anything can happen. We just have to keep the mentality high and drive towards putting that ball in the back of the net, get some points, and keep moving forward.”
