Quote Sheet: MBFC 1-0 SJE
Cardinale Stadium; Seaside, California
Tuesday, April 25, 2023
Sporting Director & Head Coach Frank Yallop
On the message to the players tonight:
“Anytime we have a chance of playing a cup game at home, you don’t want to be timid and sit back and see what is going to happen against a good team. It was a quick turnaround from the Indy game, but we had a good chat before the match tonight. I just said don’t regret the night, just go for it – really enjoy the occasion and play our football. And it showed. We played free and played some nice stuff against a good side. They had their chances, but I felt our guys fully deserved the victory tonight.”
On the team’s busy week:
“Christian [Volesky] played 65 minutes on Saturday then played a full 90 tonight, the back four played 90 minutes on Saturday, traveled, then played 90 again tonight. I’ve got to really tip my hat to our guys who just dug deep and were desperate to win this game tonight, and I think it showed. We had great spirit and defended really well, it was our first clean sheet of the season. I’m just really proud of our guys. The way they held themselves, they didn’t crumble under a lot of pressure against a team that moves the ball well and creates good chances. It was excellent. And Antony [Siaha] played very well tonight as well, which is great, so very positive and very happy with the result.”
On the 1-0 result, a potential trademark from his time in San Jose:
“Coaching-wise, I’d like to try to score as many goals as we can, but I’ve had a few one-nil’s in the Quakes’ history. It was kind of bittersweet because I love the Quakes. I look for their result first anytime I look at MLS scores on a Saturday night. But we are competitors and we are trying to win. I think tonight was a great game. In the end, we got the upset I guess you could call it since MLS teams are packed and powerful, but it was a great night for us. I thought we played well and deserved to win in the end.”
Forward Christian Volesky
On scoring a goal tonight and being Player of the Week last week:
“I feel confident, the team feels confident. To get a clean sheet, that was our goal tonight. Got a goal early and got the clean sheet, so that’s a win. We proved a point a little bit and we’re excited to see what’s next.”
On the team’s mindset going into this match:
“The message was simple. We know it’s our home field and we want to defend our home pitch. That’s what it is. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing, it’s a tough place to play and we took advantage of it and executed.”
On continuing the momentum and going on a run:
“It’s the guys around me. We have great wingers, midfielders are winning the battles, the defenders are doing everything they can and the wingers and outside backs are getting up and down. My job is to score goals and that’s what I’m trying to do for the team.”
On the crowd tonight:
“The crowd was fantastic. I could have played for another 90 minutes on their energy alone. That speaks volumes; let’s try to fill this stadium every single game. Give us the energy, and we promise we will work our tails off for every single one of you guys.”
Goalkeeper Antony Siaha
On his decision-making tonight:
“I’ve been telling myself to come out a lot more because I am a big dude. I hesitate a lot, so I’ve been trying to train on that a lot more and then it happened in the game.”
On getting the start tonight:
“We are just trying to win games. Whether it is me or Carlos, we try to win as many games as possible. The last couple of days, Carlos has been playing and we have been getting a lot of wins. It is really not in our control. Whatever Frank [Yallop] tells us to do, that’s what we are going to do.”
On a win like this for a young franchise:
“It’s really good. It puts us on the map. Every team that comes out here is scared to play us now. For the fans and everyone, it’s just beautiful.”
