United head coach Ben Olsen
On the result…
“I think the effort from our guys tonight was outstanding. It was the best soccer that we’ve played all year in terms of the tempo, connecting passes and finding looks on goal. Now we have to continue working on our tempo, putting some of these chances away and giving our defense a break.”
On missing chances…
“We had a few missed opportunities in both halves. It wasn’t an easy task but I’m proud of the effort and taking a step forward with the tempo and attacking. I thought Lamar [Neagle] and Kofi [Opare] were very good tonight. Chris [Odoi-Atsem] got his first start and he will be a real piece to this team moving forward. It was good to get Nyarko on the field and get his feet wet again and Marcelo [Sarvas] looked like his old self. So there were a lot of positives to take out of this. We were disappointed because it was a game that we should have gotten something out of. I think that’s probably how the guys feel and that’s definitely how I feel. We need to lick our wounds quickly, get on a plane back to D.C. and go after Los Angeles.”
On the physical demands of the midweek game…
“A few guys had to dig in but I think we were okay physically so that’s not our excuse. The next one will be a little tougher...we’ll have to change some bodies around but we’ve planned this out to hopefully set ourselves up to succeed against Los Angeles.”
United defender Kofi Opare
On the match...
“I thought on our part it was a good game. We played well. Obviously we had chances, we didn’t play their way, and they scored their chances. Honestly, with the attack they have has a lot of dangerous options and I felt it was a pretty even game. And it could’ve swung either way. Unfortunately it didn’t go our way but we just have to keep working and move on.”
United defender Steve Birnbaum
On the match...
“Our team came out and we did well for the most part. We did what we wanted to do. I felt like we had more of the chances, better chances and we didn’t put them away. Obviously, the set piece killed us and we couldn’t finish. That’s the story of the game and that’s soccer.”
On the Orlando City Stadium atmosphere...
“It’s great. I got pumped up coming out there seeing all the fans yelling and screaming at us. It gets me going.”
On the weather...
“I didn’t think it affected [the game] too much. I actually think it was great for the pitch. We were able to play the ball pretty quick on the ground. I like playing in the rain so it was good.”
On Joe Bendik’s save...
“That was an unbelievable save. It’s tough. We thought that was a goal for sure and he comes out of nowhere and takes it away from us. Obviously it was a momentum shift but props to him for making that save.”
Orlando City head coach Jason Kreis
On Cyle Larin’s ability in the box...
“It’s nothing short of amazing that he continues to score those types of goals because everybody that knows Cyle knows that he’s extremely dangerous in the box and so I think every opponent is very keen on trying to be physical with him but sometimes that’s not getting it done. That’s a credit to Cyle that he can manage to fight through those types of challenges and score the goal when we need it.”
On Giles Barnes...
“I thought tonight was obviously a different level than some of the games. The first game he played for us was that exact same level and he’s had some along the way but for me, that’s your prototypical [reason to] make a substitution. You bring a substitution on to change the game, to lift the energy and I thought Giles did a tremendous job of that tonight.”
On Joe Bendik’s save...
“As the ball went around Joe I basically closed my eyes and figured, ‘Here we go again.’ With just some weird play that ends up with a back-breaking goal against us but credit to Mr. [Jonathan] Spector and credit to Joe for not giving up on the play. It was an important moment.”
Orlando City midfielder Matías Pérez García
On how City won the match...
“In the team, through being together, knowing that we had to win at home again, which is really important. We came off a bad stretch after having a great start. So I think we were all on the same page about how this game was going to go. We knew it was going to be hard. Thank God the ball, in the second half when we needed it most, went in and we calmed down and we could control the ball.”
On starting another winning streak...
“It’s what we’re looking for, to keep being strong at home. Today we won again, Sunday we have another match here at home so it’s going to be really important. Then we have a bit of a break to recuperate after all these games one after the other. So it’s going to be really important to leave it all out there on Sunday so we can win another three points.”
On finishing the month with a win...
“It’s like I said, we knew it was a really important game for us to end that negative streak, to get back to winning at home, to have that confidence with our fans. I think tonight we won a really important game for what’s ahead.”
Orlando City forward Cyle Larin
On his strength and determination for the goal...
“I think a couple plays before that it kept leading up to I was getting grabbed the whole game. I just kept playing through it, and I got grabbed on that one, but I made sure I got in front of him and get my head on the ball and it went in.”
On countering D.C.’s physicality...
“I think when me and [Carlos] Rivas got the ball we stayed strong and we got fouls. [We] bounced it off our midfield to go and get forward. Sometimes we were up there calling for it and I think that got us going even when Giles [Barnes] came on. His tackle just got everyone going and the ref wasn’t going to say anything and we just had to play through it.”
