FC Dallas Head coach Oscar Pareja
Overall thoughts on the game…
Not many of our players were able to get in behind them in the first half. It was the type of game where two teams are out there trying to see what they have in certain areas. There wasn’t much rhythm from either team. The second half was better. Aston Villa was sharper than us. I would say from the fan’s perspective, the game was better in the second half – the quality was better. It was a friendly… We wanted a better result but we got a lot of answers today. We also were able to give some players that are not normally in the lineup some minutes. It was a great exercise.
Was Aston Villa better or worse than you expected?
In the first half, I thought we had control. We certainly could not get in behind them the way that we wanted, but we had a few chances. Then, following a give-away in the middle of the field, we concede a goal. In the second half, I saw more of an EPL rhythm from them. They came out with more urgency, more pace – they certainly made us work harder.
On Mauro Diaz’s first start since April…
Mauro had a good 45 minutes. It took him a little while to find the ball at first, but the game is very precise. You can have the urgency, but if you don’t have the rhythm and the timing – you won’t find the ball. That’s what happened to Mauro in the first 15 minutes. After that, the ball started finding him and I thought he had a good 30 minutes out of his 45. He could have gone longer but we want to go on a schedule with him and today he was to go 45. He looks healthy. He looks stronger than last week. It was a good exercise – perfect for him and what we are looking to do in the next couple of games.
On the result not mattering because it was a friendly…
I don’t like to be careless about the result and that is the attitude I want my players to have as well. You have to go and compete and try to win it. That is the mentality you need to have. Coming in at the half losing the game 1-0 was not fun. It was not good. We all knew as much as we were in a different mode, we have important games over the weekend, but we took today seriously. We gave away a goal at the end of the first half and we didn’t like it. The players were upset. I was upset. We tried to correct it for sure in the second half.
On the play of Fabian Castillo…
Fabian is a player that needs competition constantly. Tonight, we saw that. You have to keep Fabian plugged in. Today, he looked like he has been missing games. It has been a long wait for him. He saw action in the U.S. Open Cup, but just being on a regular routine is important. At this level, the difference is [so small].
Aston Villa Manager Paul Lambert
On tonight’s game…
It was a really tough game for us because we’re just starting back up with our preseason and FC Dallas have played a lot of league games. Plus, one big factor in Dallas’ favor was the heat. We’re certainly not used to that, the conditions have been really, really tough, but I’m delighted with the result from the two teams we put out in the first half and second half. I thought the second half we dominated the game.
On the difference with his team’s performance in the second half…
The first half was really tough because the heat was probably a lot greater in that. But to be fair, the lads in the first half were resolute. They were strong defensively. Never really got hot. Andy scores a really good goal. Second half, the game settled down a little bit and I think we dominated the game from there on.
How would you evaluate where the team moving forward toward the start of the Premier League…
I think the biggest achievement is to get everybody fit for that Stoke game. That’s our main objective. The results aren’t the be-all-end-all in preseason, never have been. You get your strongest possible team ready for that Stoke game, that’s the main objective. Get us through the five or so games we have left, get everybody fit, and we’ll be more than happy with that.
