Dwayne DeRosario- Midfielder, D.C. United
How did it feel to come in to Toronto and win?
“It felt really good, especially after a very tough game in San Jose we came here and got three points to help lift our confidence back up.”
Was this your first time playing against Julian and if so how did it feel?
“It was interesting to play against Julian, but I’ve moved on from that, I’m here with DC now and that is my focus but it is interesting to play against national team players in front of your home city and the fans but at the end of the day you have to do your business and do your job.”
Was it good to get a game in at BMO before the national team comes here to play against the United States in the World Cup qualifier?
“Yes, definitely it was good for all the national team players involved to get a game in today as we have a tough opponent in the United States coming up. We’ll get together soon and see where we all are and gather as a group and see where we are before we take on our opponent.”
What are your thoughts on your play heading into these qualifiers?
“Me, I’m just trying to stay healthy and keep ready physically, my fitness has really returned as of late and I feel good. I can’t wait because the weight is on our shoulders and I really want to help push Canada over the hump and get us to the World Cup.”
You had a good talk with Julian after the game, what did you say to him?
“I told him to keep his head up because it is tough what they are going through mentally, the fans are booing and it is to be expected. But they have got quality players and the best thing is to keep their head up, they have a long season ahead of them and if their heads go down it will be an even longer season. I feel for him and the guys, he’s my friend I’ve known him a long time and he has a lot of good qualities.”
Aron Winter- Head Coach & Technical Director, Toronto FC
So what went wrong today?
“We lost the game. I think in the first half we played well, the second half the first shot was a goal and then, from that moment, other things went wrong. We tried to play football, we tried to come in to the twenty yard box and they made the second goal in the corner and it was not nice.”
What did you say to your players?
“In the first half I said to them that we have to continue to go on because we are playing well and we should get the moments that we can maybe go. And then at half time we made a sub because Luis Silva at that moment was not in the game, so we brought in (Joao) Plata to be more of a threat in the front but it didn’t work out.”
What has to happen next?
“We have to work hard and start to not make the mistakes anymore. When you tie or get points the confidence is going to grow. Everytime we make those small, but also big, mistakes you are running behind. I think that in this case we have to believe in it, I still believe in it and we have to continue to work hard.”
Ryan Johnson- Forward, Toronto FC
You seemed visibly upset with what was happening on the pitch, what were you feeling?
“I felt like we were giving them too much respect, we are the home team. It’s embarrassing that the fans come to watch us and we are playing so defensive. For me, I like to put pressure, I like to go forward and score goals, set things up. I want us to be on the offensive. You saw the frustration from me because I felt like we were on our heels the whole time just waiting for them to play the ball. We were just sitting in our half the whole time. We did that the last game against Montreal and it was the worst. It was the worst feeling, I didn’t even want to play anymore. It’s awful.”
It looked like you guys had some momentum in the first half but disappeared in the second half...
“Things started to get a little bit better in the second half because in the first there was really nothing going, maybe one or two counters. The second half we put a couple more numbers up, we got some crosses and were able to keep the ball in our half and create some attack. But it’s not enough. I don’t agree with a lot of things and I’m obviously upset about it.”
Do other people share your views...
“You will have to ask them… At the end of the day I’m going to keep fighting and keep giving the effort that I always give but we can’t keep losing, we can’t keep losing like this. It’s disgraceful.”
Julian De Guzman- Midfielder, Toronto FC
Thoughts on the team’s mental lapses in the game...
“Mental lapses of error have always been our case of error. It seems to be us making that mistake that allows us to chase the game. So it’s always our mental lapses and that changes things around and we are the ones chasing the game. The end result of the game is the same thing that it’s been this entire season.”
Dwayne (DeRosario) was surprised that you guys sat back in the first half at home...
“Yeah, I think DC has a pretty strong attack. If you look at their lineup, they are a team that looks to go goal-for-goal but it’s also our case that we wanted to keep the scoreboard at zero, especially in the first half and then at some point we felt that we could start going forward. I think they made a perfect change by putting Dwayne further up front, getting him more balls on the attack and then I guess that it would not allow me to cover him anymore and then that is when they started to get their goals. For me I think it’s just the pressing to fight so hard for so long, keep the score at zero and then one moment they score and, like I said earlier, we are walking on egg shells and once it cracks everything falls apart and I don’t think that should be happening. Especially at home where you have your fans behind you. With the type of fans that we do have we should have some type of motivation going forward.”
