Head Coach Ben Olsen
On Rooney’s effort…
“He made a hell of a play and it showed what he’s about. I think we’ll see that more and more from him here. He’s a a selfless winner and has come here to prove himself, even though he doesn’t need to. He’s here to raise level of the group, including myself. And today, that play is indicative of who he is.”
On the match…
“It was a bizarre game and an extremely entertaining match in so many ways. When we step back from the emotion of the game, we made mistakes in moments that almost let crucial points slip away against a team that are a little down on their luck and were also down a man. To not get three [points] tonight would have been a tough blow. We found a way and that’s really all that matters.”
On this victory building momentum for the team…
“It does have that feeling. The energy out there [Audi Field] is as good as I’ve seen in this building so far. Tonight was one of those games that you’ll talk about down the road as a great game in this building.”
On Acosta’s performance…
“The five-foot-three guy jumping over somebody to score… he was also Superman tonight. There have been a few games in a row now where he’s been able to impact the game on the scoresheet and that’s what we’re pressing him to do. He’s so talented and fun to watch, but staying at an impactful level is now his next challenge, and he’s been able to do that for a few games now. In particular, since the arrival of Wayne [Rooney]… you talk about how certain guys can elevate other guys and sometimes it’s that simple.”
Goalkeeper David Ousted
On Rooney’s assist...
“I see a guy coming on my left that was a little bit faster than me so I was just like, ‘follow this guy’ and if he’s in front of me, I just got to see if I can get a tackle in. But Wayne got the tackle in and puts a great ball in and then Lucho with the header, which probably wasn’t the most probable thing but whatever.”
On if the goal was a pivotal moment for the team…
“Yeah, it was. Let’s just be honest, we needed three points today. I thought we had it under control, we gave away two bad chances in the second half and they collected on those. We needed that goal. I’m happy and hopefully this turns things in the right direction and we can chase that line.”
On what Rooney brings to the team...
“We’ve said all along he’s a leader and the first thing a leader does is show it on the field and Wayne does that. He wants to make those tackles, he wants to be there. He did it last game, taking one off the nose. This time it was a great tackle. He’s a leader and he’s the leader we need.”
Forward Wayne Rooney
On the final sequence…
“I spoke to David, I don’t know why he went up at 2-2, a point is better than no points. Thankfully their guy took a touch and I played the ball in the channel and he [Acosta] got his hat trick. Bit of a long wait to see if it was onside or not but delighted to have it go in.”
On how this compares to other finishes he’s been a part of...
“It was strange, we went from losing the game basically to winning in the space of five seconds. It’s great, they’re the best games of football to win. Of course, we should’ve done better against ten men so it’s something we can look at to try and improve. But it’s great, especially with the game coming up on Wednesday, it was a big win for us.”
On his approach when tracking back in the final minutes...
“To be honest, I saw it happen before we took the corner. I normally go in the box for corners, that’s why I stayed out because I tried to anticipate something like that happening. I’ve seen it before in football. And again, just run as quick as you can trying to get back. I was hoping he’d take a touch and he did.”
On his on-field chemistry with Lucho...
“I think it’s getting better, you saw it on his first goal. He’s a clever football player, he likes to take the ball, we look for each other on the pitch, try to play little 1-2s, especially games like today when they were deep and sitting outside the box. It’s difficult to break teams down like that so you need a bit of quick combination around the box. We managed to do that for the first goal. But it’s not just with Lucho, it’s with the other players as well working hard to get the best out of each other.”
On what this win does for the club moving forward...
“It gives us confidence, winning 7 points out of the last 9 with a tough week coming up, game Wednesday then again Sunday. It’s a very important win for us. We said before, we want to try to get nine points in these three games coming up. It’s a good start for us, we need to continue on Wednesday and get better in our performance but try to get the win on Wednesday and then go for the three points on Sunday. I think the players will take a lot of confidence. The best way to win a game of football is to score in the last minute.”
On the language barrier...
“It’s football, you play with a lot of nationalities. We have players in England that don’t speak English and I think with football you need to communicate in terms of defensive work but when you go forward it’s mostly about eye contact.”
Orlando City Head Coach James O'Connor
On the calls from video review…
“You don’t get any explanations. If a decision is made and it’s clear and obvious that it’s a mistake, then they get involved. If it’s not clear and obvious, they’re not going to get involved, that’s what we’ve been told multiple times. So my expectation is for the game to be refereed like that, having been told that. Regardless, we can’t change any of that.”
On playing shorthanded…
“You look at the intensity and the with 10 men, and to create the chances and to keep working as hard as we did. You earn a lot of respect when you perform like that. The guys can be really proud of the effort, the effort tonight was very evident for everyone to see. What we can control is the level of performance and the level of performance with 10 men was very encouraging.
On the final goal…
“You have to give Wayne Rooney a lot of credit for the way he sprinted back and managed to tackle [Will Johnson]. When you look at how tired Will was, I think that definitely impacted his decision.”
Orlando Defender Scott Sutter
Thoughts on the match and the effort from Orlando City...
“The effort was fantastic from my point of view and also from the coaches. A lot of good words to say about the determination that the team showed. Obviously, bitterly, bitterly disappointed to concede so late in the game after going a man down. It was a very emotional last couple of minutes. There we were on the counter attack thinking ‘Oh my God we are going to win this game.’ And then 20 seconds later the balls in the net and they’re reviewing it. I was just waiting for the crowd to rear up because I knew in the moment that things were going against us. I knew it was going to be a goal given and now we are very disappointed.”
On how to club can recover over the bye week...
“It would have helped more if we would have gone in with a win or a positive result. You never want to go into a bye week with a defeat and especially with the situation that we are in, it is not easy but you also need to look at the positives and this week gives us a week to regroup, to train hard, to work well together, to bond as a team over the next 14 days. Which I think we need and I think it will do us some good. The game against Atlanta is a must win.”
Orlando Goalkeeper Joseph Bendik
On the match and the team’s effort…
“I thought the effort was great. It was a bit unfortunate that last little play there, if it hops over Rooney it could be 3-2 our way. On the break, that’s extremely difficult. But the effort, especially when we went down to 10 men, was great.”
On the defensive performance…
“We worked a lot defending, I thought we did that well in the first half minus right at the end, not a great time to give a goal away. But then we turned around and scored a goal real early in the second half so the reaction was great. The effort was fantastic.”
On the upcoming Atlanta game…
“It’s a big game coming up. We’re going to put everything into that bye week. It’s not just a bye week, it’s a time for us to get better and for us to improve individually and as a team. So we’re going to go to work.”
