Aron Winter- Head Coach & Technical Director, Toronto FC
What a difference from last Saturday.
Yes a big difference, today we were really a team and I thought also that if we play like this, like a team we play very well. That’s the big difference.
What are your thoughts on the game?
I think that a draw is not a bad result but we deserve more. If you watch the whole game we had opportunities to make two goals and they scored from nothing. At that moment we were not sharp and I think a victory would have been good but a draw is also good.
What did you think of the officiating tonight?
It was good. Very good.
How tough is it to manage the roster with this schedule?
We are unlucky with the situation that we are missing Torsten (Frings) but you are also missing two players that have gone off with the Olympic team, Doneil (Henry) and Stinson (Matt) and I think next week they should be back and we will have more players. If you saw that we didn’t start with Plata (Joao) and Luis Silva, we are trying to manage them because they are young and they play Saturday and the other games they played a lot. You have to be careful with those players and I think we are doing it well. First of all what’s important is how everyone is coming back tomorrow and then we are going to make our calculations of who we will play Saturday.
Julian de Guzman- Midfielder, Toronto FC
Did you like today’s start better than the past two weeks?
Most definitely, the guys a lot sharper in the first 15 minutes and I think that was the most important part of this game, to get us going and to get momentum and the confidence. The goal against was an unfortunate decision from the back but we got back into it, we got our goal and we kept putting pressure on and we didn’t stop. That was a good reaction and good character from our side. I think that this game was a good way to rebound from the difficult result that we endured last weekend and it is good motivation going in to Saturday’s game against Columbus.
Do you think the animosity will carry over in Mexico?
They already warned us that it is going to be a war over there and we know that ourselves. We’ve already had that experience playing in Cruz Azul and Pumas, we know what type of atmosphere it’s going to be over there and now we kind of sparked up some more fire after this game for these guys. I mean, it’s what you want as well, we are ready for it, we are looking forward to it and the guys are going to be prepared.
It must bring the team together a little bit too, a lot of guys stuck up for each other…
Yeah, it was great to see. That is the reaction we need on the field, we have each other’s back out there, we showed it at that moment. Even after the 90 minutes when the whistle was blown, the guys were there for each other and that is very important with this team.
What happened on the final whistle?
On the final whistle there was a collision from their number three and Ashton Morgan. He (Ashton Morgan) received a head but from him.
Ashtone Morgan- Defender, Toronto FC
Were you shocked how the game ended?
Well definitely it was crazy, they were aggressive all game. It shows how much both teams wanted it.
Was it a character builder to see the team come together like that?
One hundred percent. All the guys came together tonight we worked hard. We felt comfortable and personally I think we should have won the game.
