FC Dallas 3-1 Chivas
FC Dallas head coach Oscar Pareja
General thoughts on the match…
I liked our game. I have to say that I’m very proud of this team – the way they executed the plan. It was very good, especially in the first half when I saw the first team creating many options; being in front of the goal four times is not easy in the game.
I like our team and I have to reward the guys because they were the ones that came with that energy and fought hard that whole game.
They have been training a lot on finishing. Castillo is a player who needs to practice that and he knows; it’s time for him to show that he can create options and that he can also finish. Having Fabian in the mode of contributing to the team is crucial for us.
I thought that this is one of the best games I’ve seen since I’ve been with JeVaughn Watson. His work ethic is outstanding.
The first half of the game was very good for us. In terms of the game, the way we wanted to play, the pressure, the intensity, the options we created. If you measure the fundamentals with the game, the first half was a good example of the way we want to do it. I knew that a goal was coming and that was the message in the locker room.
On scoring with set pieces…
We will be pleased to score from set pieces on tight games like tonight’s when it seemed like you cannot seem to bring the ball back to the net. In the first half, especially, when we created five chances but couldn’t score, we kept depending on set pieces. I thought we all saw a team that deserved to win tonight and that’s the bottom line.
What I liked from our team the most today is that we saw a team with intensity and character. We played the first game against Montreal where we scored goals and we got the three points but I knew that my team wasn’t very happy with its performance to be honest. In Kansas City we had a team that didn’t possess as much but we were very disciplined with a lot of character and energy. Today it was that plus discipline and intensity – which is a good way for us to grow.
Chivas USA Head Coach, Wilmer Cabrera
On tonight’s loss…
When you make those mistakes on set pieces, and lose concentration, you don’t deserve to win. You have to get punished in order for us to improve because we’ve been working on set pieces, and today we lost concentration and then we got punished. Two set piece goals and then one more. That happened last weekend against Vancouver in the last 10 minutes, and happened to us again today. So, we have to continue working. It’s not like we’re too far off, but we still need to improve in those aspects if we want to continue moving forward. We want to be a little bit more competitive.
How frustrating is it for three mistakes in 10 minutes to nullify 70 minutes of hard work?
It is frustrating, but at the same time it shows we have to continue working because we cannot change the whole mentality in this short period of time. We have to continue improving in a lot of things, but the concentration and the discipline for 90 minutes has to get better.
On Eriq Zavaleta’s first start…
It was very solid, very solid. Throughout the 90 minutes it was simple, solid. It was a good showing for him.
