MLS Toronto FC

Vancouver Whitecaps FC (1) - Toronto FC (0) Post Game Summary

Published on May 8, 2022 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Toronto FC News Release


May 8, 2022

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC (1) - TORONTO FC (0) POST GAME SUMMARY

SCORING SUMMARY

VAN - Tosaint Ricketts 90' (Lucas Cavallini, Ryan Gauld)

MISCONDUCT SUMMARY

TOR - Shane O'Neill 11' (caution)

TOR - Deandre Kerr 45+1' (caution)

VAN - Lucas Cavallini 71' (caution)

RECORDS (W-L-D)

Toronto FC 3-6-2 11 points Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2-6-1 7 points

LINEUPS

TORONTO FC - Alex Bono; Kadin Chung (Jordan Perruzza 46'), Lukas MacNaughton, Shane O'Neill (Paul Rothrock 90+3'), Luca Petrasso; Michael Bradley (C), Kosi Thompson, Deandre Kerr (Steffen Yeates 85'); Alejandro Pozuelo, Jayden Nelson (Ayo Akinola 86'), Jesús Jiménez

Substitutes Not Used: Greg Ranjitsingh, Quentin Westberg, Kobe Franklin, Themi Antonoglou

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC - Thomas Hasal (Cody Cropper 70'); Javain Brown, Érik Godoy, Ranko Veselinović, Jake Nerwinski; Russell Teibert (C), Sebastian Berhalter (Michael Baldisimo 85'), Ryan Gauld, Cristian Dájome (Ryan Raposo 71'); Brian White (Lucas Cavallini 71'), Déiber Caicedo (Tosaint Ricketts 85')

Substitutes Not Used: Marcus Godinho, Florian Jungwirth, Matteo Campagna, Pedro Vite

MEDIA NOTES

Paul Rothrock made his debut for Toronto FC.

BOB BRADLEY - HEAD COACH, TORONTO FC

Q. I'm sure you have a lot of reasons to be disappointed in that result, and it's a lot of reasons to be angry, I would think. What are your sort of emotions?

I feel bad for the group. You know, we go through a stretch where we are trying really hard just to keep everybody going forward. A lot of guys put big efforts out there today, and then to come away with nothing, and then with some of the different calls, yeah, I feel bad for these guys.

A reminder just that sometimes it's unfair, and yet would he have got to keep a positive way. We've got to keep fighting together. I really want to make sure that they keep coming in and helping their teammates every day and realize that, look, if we stick together and do the right things, we'll get through it.

But I'm really disappointed for the players today.

Q. Wanted to get your comment on the decision to not award the Jayden Nelson goal.

Yeah, it's a mistake, and obviously when you have VAR, that's on the VAR to see it. It's clear, everybody that's seen it realizes that Hasal never had control. It's too bad that I think they say he might have broken or dislocated his finger and that's too bad. I don't know exactly, that might have been then on the shot as the ball came loose.

So he never had control. It's a good goal. And the system fails. You know, you can have a system but if the person responsible in that moment can't see that, then the system doesn't work. So we'll see what Pro has to say about it, but for me it's a clear mistake.

Q. Deandre Kerr put in a really good shift for you guys today. What have you seen from him and how have you seen him grow and become more comfortable out there for you guys?

Yes, I've said it a few times. I think he had a very good preseason. Had a tough first 45 minutes against Dallas in the opener. Had a little bit of an injury or two that sort of set him back but in this last period, I think he's been very positive.

His training has picked up with the situation that we have, missing some players, we've had to use him in different roles. He's handled that well. But I'm excited to see the progress that he's making in this last stretch.

Q. What do you say to your team after this long stretch and such a frustrating loss to cap it off?

I feel bad for them today. I saw a lot of guys that really put a lot into it; that if we can manage frustration; if we can manage the challenges of having things coming at us in different ways, tough ways, between players and between some days where maybe either we make a mistake or we don't take advantage of something, little football things.

But if the bigger part can continue; if we can keep finding the right ways to push word, I believe this team has it in them to get better. We always knew that in the first part of the season as we were certainly waiting to see how things might develop for the summer, there's going to be opportunities for the young players. It's been frustrating to see some of the guys that were getting chances miss games and not take advantage of this period.

So I just keep trying to find the part that reminds them that this is how teams grow. You know, if you look at -- and I'm not going into details, and I don't look backwards too much, but if you understand things that went on in the last year, and if you understand then some of the changes in the roster, then the work for this group to become a good team was always going to take some time and have ups and downs. This last stretch has been downs.

But we've got to have the mentality and be strong together.

Q. Can you walk us through the halftime change? Did Kadin (Chung) pick up a knock or was that purely tactical?

I thought physically after playing the other day and turning it around, I thought Kadin physically was struggling in the first half. Felt like we had to deal with that. He gave us 45 minutes but when the games come fast, sometimes a player has not been playing regular minutes, you don't want to leave him on in that moment. We thought we could make that change with Kosi there and still keep things going.

Q. Wanted to ask about Shane O'Neill, he may be new to the club but he was playing in a back line with four different rookies. Can you talk about how he needed to step up as a leader today despite the result?

Shane is a really good guy, works hard every day, when we talk about getting some -- there are some guys that have been here over the years that set a really high standards and then, you know, it was posh to get some MLS experience guys that also could come in and join the group of strong leaders and be part of that and be someone that works hard and sets a good example and changes all of those things.

You know, he's just got a good way about hum every day. Well respected by his teammates, and so makes a difference for us.

Q. Did you get a chance to see that Vancouver goal again and do you think it might have been offside?

It looks to me on the first pass to Cavallini, that Lucas is maybe even with him so that Cavallini is onside. And then on the final part when Cavallini is putting the ball across to Ricketts, it looks to me like Ricketts is even with the ball. So in that respect, I think it's a good goal.

SHANE O'NEILL - DEFENDER, TORONTO FC

Q. Just get your thoughts on your team's performance, you went into the game with a very depleted roster and your third game in a week and you guys looked like you were going to win it and they scored in the 90th minute. Can I get your thoughts, and what the mood in the dressing room is like at this point?

Yeah, it's tough. That was a really tough game. I thought we had a lot of control for most of it. Obviously the game was there to be won and I feel like we, yeah, if we had just raised our level a little, we would have won the game.

Obviously we had big opportunities, like the call that was not given, the penalty, Jayden had a big opportunity. So there was chances to win the game but it's just so frustrating to give up a late goal like that.

Yeah, in those moments, and myself included obviously, we just have to raise our level just a little bit because that game, that was a winnable game.

Q. Past couple weeks been asking a lot of the defense in terms of stepping things up. How did you guys fare this evening in your opinion?

I feel like guys were really committed. You know, Lukas made some big plays. Alex made some big saves in the first half like he's been doing, and collectively, I thought we were a lot better. We were a lot better dealing with dangerous situations.

Obviously in the last minute, two, we started to really throw numbers forward and the game got a little bit heck in this case. Those are the moments where you've got to be really dialed in defensively, so to give up a goal like that is really, really frustrating.

Q. Just wondering what kind of view, if any you had for the Nelson goal that wasn't ultimately given?

Obviously I was pretty far away from it. Saw on the big screen and given a lot of the reactions since we've seen it coming into the locker room, it's tough to see it.

And look, obviously we hope that the Vancouver goalie is all right and there's no big injury there or anything like that, of course. But yeah, that was a tough decision.

Q. Is it important to have a bit of a short memory as a professional athlete? A lot of people will be wondering about that game, but you guys have to sort of put it behind you and move on.

Definitely. Yeah. Look, obviously the last week has been challenging. It's been a big challenge. It's a mental test. That's what it is, really. It's a challenge of everyone's collective spirit and our togetherness and how much belief that we have.

I thought today we took a step in the right direction because I thought we started the game strong and obviously the last few weeks we started games slowly. I thought we backed ourselves from the very beginning and we beliefs in ourselves and that's extremely important. I know those are buzz words but at the end of the day it's really important.

Now we've just got to find a way to raise the level when the game is tight in the second half because I think if we had done that we would have for sure won the game, and we created big opportunities regardless. We have to be happy with that aspect of the game.

Now it's just about a little bit more when the game is tight.

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