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MLS Toronto FC

Toronto FC Advances to MLS Eastern Conference Semifinal

October 19, 2019 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Toronto FC News Release


SCORING SUMMARY

TOR - Marky Delgado 32'

DC - Lucas Rodríguez 90'+3' (Frédéric Brillant, Wayne Rooney)

TOR - Richie Laryea 93' (Nick DeLeon, Michael Bradley)

TOR - Jonathan Osorio 95'

TOR - Jonathan Osorio 103' (Alejandro Pozuelo)

TOR - Nick DeLeon 105'+1' (Jonathan Osorio)

MISCONDUCT SUMMARY

TOR - Jonathan Osorio 40' (caution)

TOR - Marky Delgado 72' (caution)

TOR - Justin Morrow 102' (caution)

DC - Leonardo Jara 109' (caution)

DC - Paulo Arriola 112', 118' (double caution)

LINEUPS

TORONTO FC - Quentin Westberg; Auro Jr. (Drew Moor 90'+3'), Laurent Ciman, Chris Mavinga (Patrick Mullins 107'), Justin Morrow; Jonathan Osorio, Michael Bradley (C); Alejandro Pozuelo, Marky Delgado, Tsubasa Endoh (Nick DeLeon 73'); Nicolas Benezet (Richie Laryea 81').

Substitutes Not Used: Alex Bono, Liam Fraser, Erickson Gallardo

D.C. UNITED - Bill Hamid; Steven Birnbaum (C), Rusell Canouse, Joseph Mora (Emmanuel Boateng 87'), Frédéric Brillant; Felipe (Ola Kamara 44'), Junior Moreno; Ulises Segura (Luciano Acosta 78'), Paul Arriola, Lucas Rodriguez; Wayne Rooney (Leonardo Jara EHT).

Substitutes Not Used: Quincy Amarikwa, Chris Seitz, Donovan Pines

GREG VANNEY, HEAD COACH - TORONTO FC

Why didn't you finish that in regular time?

That would have been nice. We had to see out one more corner kick and as it would, they score. Most importantly, our response after we give away a goal late was incredible, we had to re-setup the team, because really the sub at the end was just to try to get to the corner kick, to get a little bit bigger. We knew they were sending in the goalkeeper; we knew they were sending all the big guys, and we just wanted to get a little bigger than Auro. And try to just...because I feel like really if we see through that corner kick the game is done. So, we took that one, that opportunity, we give up one, I wouldn't have done it, but I knew also if we happen to go to overtime, we have an extra sub. So, we can go back to an attacking shape if I needed to but unfortunately, we didn't get ourselves through that one. But we re-grouped, really the guys regrouped mentally, we re-shaped ourselves based on the guys we had on the field. We just completely opened up the game, some of the attacking play, some of the finishing, all that stuff started to come out in droves. It was nice but just showed some real mental toughness I think in that final overtime.

What did you say to your guys before the overtime?

Win the game...no. I just again re-shaped it and said let's be aggressive. Let's not fall back, we re-shaped into a 3-5-2, and I said I wanted the wide guys to go hard, I didn't want them to sit in the back, I didn't want it to look like a 5. I wanted us to play the ball forward and to just attack. Which is a format that we used in the past, mostly in 2016. Obviously, we still have Marky, Oso and Michael, who remember those days, and Justin, and the centre backs were comfortable with it. I just wanted us to be aggressive. We were going to go into the overtime, we wanted to change the mindset right off the bat. And we did it well, and we were able to like I said get some goals off of that, I would like to say made it comfortable in the end, but we also had a couple of guys that were a little banged up in the overtime, that unfortunately we are going to have to deal with that.

What is about big night's like tonight, that bring out the best in Osorio?

Yeah, I think that you know for him and a lot of guys, but I think for him he loves being here in front of his hometown. You know the bigger the games, I feel like this team always reaches down and finds a different level of concentration, intensity and fight in some ways. Sometimes I think in regular season games, we love to play and pass the ball and everything else. But in playoff games, and big games, bring out a different level of competition and scrappiness and fighting and the things that you have to do to just win playoff games or these games that are one offs. For Osorio that's his wheelhouse, when he's got a lot of sort of emotion and a lot of passion for what he does and when the game gets going like that it brings out the best of what he has to offer. Plus, on a day like today, we needed to him to hold possession and spin away from guys because we don't have a Jozy up top to be able to hold the ball for us. We needed him and Poz, those guys to be reliable as much as possible on the ball, and they were great in that way for us. So pleased, happy...and again guys like him, and a lot of others just continue to build confidence through this stretch, and we look forward to the next challenge.

JONATHAN OSORIO, MIDFIELFDER - TORONTO FC

How did it feel tonight?

Very good. It was a great response after giving up a last-minute goal. In extra time, to respond like that and to come out aggressive was great. It was great for the team; it gives us a lot of confidence and some could argue that the game finishing this way is better for us going into the next.

What was the mood of the team after they had tied it in regulation?

I think at first upsetting for sure but we gathered ourselves together, we gathered in a group and we picked each other up saying that the game is not over, we have 30 minutes to win this and if we keep playing the way that we were playing we knew that we would come out on top.

Did this week's game with Canada help you in today's game?

I mean, I put that in the past now. The Canada game happened, it was great, I'll remember it forever for sure, but I put that in the past. The next day I was looking forward to this game and I'm just happy we got the win to go to the next round.

Thoughts on the quick turnaround to Wednesdays game...

It doesn't matter, it's playoffs. All of that does not matter at all. We are going to do everything we can to recover and get ready and that won't be an excuse.

NICK DELEON, MIDFIELDER - TORONTO FC

Congratulations on the big goal. Can you talk about for a bit?

I had time and space and I tried to pick out the far corner. Before that the guys put in an incredible shift today. I just felt a little motivated in the overtime, especially since it was my man that scored in the regulation time. I was definitely prepared to do what I had to do to help the team win in overtime.

What was the key to you guys regrouping for overtime?

For lack of a better word, there was a lot of pissed off guys going into overtime, so some very motivated guys and I think it showed.

How special was it for you to score against them?

Yeah, it was special. It felt good for sure.

Nick what was it like playing your first playoff game at BMO Field?

Awesome, incredible. It was a good atmosphere. I have always loved playing here. In the playoffs the atmosphere just goes up another level. It was an incredible atmosphere. I am glad to have at least played one here.

What does it say about the character of this team to give up a stoppage time goal then drop the hammer four times so quickly?

Yeah, it says a lot. You always get knocked down. You are always going to have controversy, but it is how you respond and today we responded very well.

BEN OLSEN, HEAD COACH - D.C. UNITED

What are your emotions after the game?

It's hard to process that right? It's a lot of emotion to tie it up there late and play what I thought was a pretty good game. Better chances in regular time, didn't put them away, and then early in the overtime we give up two goals. Then the wheels come off and they make a bunch of plays. They just came back with maybe a better mentality out of the break. They punished us for it.

Wayne Rooney had three really good looks at goal that you would normally expect him to finish.

You got Wayne's three and (Ola Kamara's) one v one. You know we didn't over the course of the day didn't make enough plays to win it in regular time. We threw so much at it in the end personnel wise, maybe that has something to do with it on the turn. Going into the overtime you know our personnel wasn't right and we gave up some early goals. It's disappointing. It's an unfair score line when you look at the game itself in regular time. But they also scored five goals and we scored one.

The outcome was settled after the first fifteen minutes of extra time you decided to take Rooney off. What went into that decision?

Get some legs in the centre of the park. He put a lot of miles in today. Nothing other than getting a fresh body in there.

This marks the end of Wayne Rooney's ten year here, what goes through your mind with him?

Well I enjoyed it very much. I think he gave a lot to the organisation from a team standpoint. On the field some wonderful moments. He was a great teammate. I think he was good to our fans and very appreciative of the support he got from our fan base but also the community, the D.C. are. Personally, it was a joy to work with him. I really enjoyed it. I think he's made me a better coach. For the most part he was a pretty easy to manage. It's an unfortunate way for him to finish here. I'm sure he would have wanted to hit the back of the net and push is into the next round but that's not how it went today.

How do you feel personally now that you have three times in a row been bounced out in the first round?

I haven't thought much about that. I'm just disappointed that we couldn't get through today. Again, I was proud of the effort and proud to get here. Frustrated and disappointed that we haven't been able to get out of the first round. We'll work to fix that.

PAUL ARRIOLA, MIDFIELDER - D.C. UNITED

Hard way to lose in the playoffs especially when it was tied after 90 minutes?

Yeah definitely. Obviously the second goal comes from a difficult ball that was played in, a 50/50 ball that was neutral. You know Mike was first to react and they punished us. Our plan was to stay compact and ride the momentum we had, but it went differently once the extra time started.

You must have felt pretty good after scoring so late and having the momentum swing in your favour.

Yeah of course we had a lot of momentum and it's unfortunate that we give up the goal so early and make it difficult on ourselves. Credit to them, they put away their chances and kept going. You know as a team we can't stop 2-1, 3-1, you've got to keep playing and we didn't seem to do that.

I know that you and Wayne are close and being this was the last game you'll play with him I wanted to know your thoughts of the time and what he's meant to this club?

I haven't really thought about it being our last game. You know we weren't hoping and expecting this to be our last game, but he's helped this club in a lot of ways. You see us on an international scale and what he does on the field and the type of teammate he is. I can't say enough good things about the type of player he is and the guy that he is off the field in the locker room. He's a great friend, a great teammate and I wish we could have done more to continue this run.

OLA KAMARA, FORWARD - D.C. UNITED

Your feeling good going into extra time, what do you think changed the momentum at that point?

It's tough you know we put a lot of attackers out there to try and score a goal and I think maybe we had a lot of people out of position and maybe we pressed a little bit high for us. But also, if we went just defensive maybe they would of broke us down out wide. It's just tough but I think as they don't have Altidore as a striker, we might have been better to sit a little bit lower and let them have the ball. It's probably marginal though, it's tough.

You've only been around a couple of months, looking ahead now you're obviously going to step into a bigger role with Wayne gone, how do you look at the future of this team in general.

You saw at the end of the season that we done well. Of course, for me it was a bad, bad situation to get injured when you're scoring 3 goals and you have momentum and everything. I wanted to play with good players and Wayne as well, but it is what it is and hopefully we'll learn from this and get back into the playoffs next year and do even better.

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