FC Dallas head coach Oscar Pareja
Overall thoughts on the game…
We played a great first half and we lost concentration on the play that gave them their first goal. After that, we started putting more energy than good ideas into the game. Still, I think we played very well. I am disappointed to have another game where we could not score goals, especially in the first half, where we had three chances to score very clearly. When Columbus had their two chances to score, they took them. That was the difference.
On the winless streak…
It’s a tough stretch, for sure. Any moment when you’re not getting results, you worry about. I have faith in this team. The boys played well today. I have to say it. Things are not bouncing their way but I believe in this group. We’ll just keep working. Things will turn around.
Do you think differently about your team than you did a month ago?
This is a team that I am proud of… This is a team that I am very honored to coach. This is a group of players that I want to be around. I don’t have any doubt. This is the group we built. We’ll turn things around.
Any concern about your playoff chances?
Of course, yes. There are five or six teams worried about it. It’s not just FC Dallas. It should be many teams. This is the last stretch in the season. We should have many more points and be more comfortable but at this point no one is safe.
What needs to change?
We need to score goals.
FC Dallas defender Walker Zimmerman
General thoughts on the match…
Frustrated… This has been a tough stretch for us. We need to be more focused on the goals we gave up. We’re just going to keep moving forward. We’re still in a good spot for getting into the playoffs. We have a great chance of that so we’ll just look forward to our next game.
On the great start to the game…
I thought we were very organized. We limited their chances all night. It’s always tough to give up a goal on a set piece. All of us can take responsibility for that, but we did limit their attack pretty well. We got a goal back to put us in the game again but we weren’t able to get the second one.
On his goal…
I was excited to get my first goal of the season tonight. Javier [Morales] came on in the second half. He gives us a great ball on set pieces. He had two great deliveries in a row. The first one, I didn’t connect on. I think I got caught up with Matt [Hedges], who was also going for the ball. The second one, we executed well. It was great service. I was glad to get on the score sheet.
On looking forward to Red Bull New York at home next weekend…
It’s an extremely important match for us and we’re heading back home. We’re concentrated. The thing about this group is we all want it. We all want to win. We understand where we are in the table. We know our fans are frustrated right now but no one is more frustrated than us in the locker room. At the same time, no one is more committed to changing the results we are getting than the guys we have here and the coaching staff we have here. We’re a committed group and this rough stretch will help us grow. It will get us into the right mentality heading into playoffs.
