Cardinale Stadium; Seaside, California
Saturday, May 28, 2022
Sporting Director & Head Coach Frank Yallop
On the match:
“Overall, we were really sharp tonight. We played a very good team obviously in Colorado with not only their record, but they’re also a very exciting and tough team to play against. I think we nullified a lot of their attacking plays and then broke very well and finished our chances. It was a very good game and an entertaining match. Both teams had a lot of chances, but I think we deserved to win tonight.”
On denying Colorado Springs’ scoring opportunities:
“I talk about shape a lot of times on the bench and we work on it all week. It’s about being in the right positions all the time and moving as a group, so we’ve worked on that a lot and were starting to now naturally go into those positions and I think that’s allowing us to be very good defensively, but also very ready to spring and go forward. Right now, it’s working very well and our guys are spreading the scoring around, but I want to try to get Christian [Volesky] on the scoreboard if we can. I’m sure his time will come soon.”
On fighting to get back on the front foot after Colorado Springs’ first goal:
“It’s natural, you’re two up hoping they don’t score and then they do and that gives them a lift. We were probably thinking as a group ‘uh oh,’ but I thought we weathered the storm. Of course, there’s going to be a little five-minute spell where they keep pushing at 2-1, but I told Ramiro [Corrales] on the bench, the game is settling down again and it allowed us to play our game again. They came at us, and we held our own. After that little five-to-ten-minute spell after they scored, I think we came into our own again. We are very dangerous on the break, and we got those goals that sealed the game.”
Midfielder Sam Gleadle
On his goal:
“Christian [Volesky] and I have been working a lot together in training. Obviously last game in Louisville and now here at home, the same thing happened. We have good movement with each other and know where each other is going to be, so it was good to get another one with him, and good to be at home as well. It’s another big team, we showed that we can play against them and come out with three points. I’m really pumped with the guy’s effort, guys coming off the bench, and of course the crowd was great for us to push us through.”
On the slow start and what changed it:
“They’re a top team, I think they’re first or second, so they’re going to come out and have more of the ball and dominate pieces of the game. I think we weathered the storm really well. And again, same thing as last week in Louisville, they came out hot, but we survived, and we took our chances. So, I think we can be very proud of our game plan and how we stuck to it.”
On the team coming together in the first half:
“You’re going to start slowly in games sometimes, and again credit to them they have a lot of good players and they’ve been together for a few years now, so they know what they’re going to do. The togetherness we had to stick with it and weather that storm, I think we still had some chances in that first ten, fifteen minutes. We slowly got going, and then we believed in ourselves a little bit and just kept going.”
On recovering after conceding Switchbacks’ first goal:
“I think we really wanted that clean sheet and obviously that’s always a big part of our game, and especially these last few games we’re trying to concede less goals, so it’s always a bit of a letdown how it happened, but just the belief in the guys and each other and the guys coming off the bench, I think that’s huge and it showed again today and we perked ourselves up and got a few more goals.”
On the home crowd factor in a big game:
“It’s huge. We have a lot of home games coming up now, so we’re very excited about that. Every game is a big game, but we have some really big ones coming up. San Antonio, Oakland here – big rivalry. I’m expecting the crowd to be here again and be loud. I think it helped us get through it today.”
Midfielder Adrian Rebollar
On his goal:
“I saw the centerback try to give a square ball, and I think I read it well. I took my touch into space, saw both defenders coming at me and then I felt like I needed to take a shot. I took a shot earlier that wasn’t on frame, but I felt like this one was going to be a good one and obviously I came out with a goal. It was a great feeling.”
On the number of scoring opportunities affecting confidence
“I felt like we were all doing some great attacking. When we went into the locker room at halftime, we were talking about how we need to get that final pass in and obviously in the second half, we got three more. So, it showed that we clicked, and we all did our jobs.”
On controlling the match:
“It was just about making sure that the energy was high. We all had to make sure we were on our front foot, ready to intercept passes, and just be ready for battle. Our guys were all for it, all 90 minutes we were giving 100 percent and that’s ultimately the best thing we could do – just try our hardest.”
On fatigue playing a factor in the match:
“It’s always hard to defend those long balls because it gets you on your back foot, having to run back. And obviously when you win the ball you need to break quickly, so you have to make sure that you’re effective on your passes and make sure that you’re going the right way on the pass so that when they do a counter, we can do a counter on the way back as well.”
On the two big wins and what they mean:
“It shows the league and ourselves what were capable of. We are learning and growing, and that’s what its all about.”
