John Hackworth and Becher Post-Match Press Conference | POR vs STL

really don't know what to say it's hard to imagine coming to a place like this and scoring four goals um being up and then just losing some One V one defensive battles and um while this is a you know usually when you go to Portland and if you could say hey you're going to get a draw out of the game you would take it but it doesn't feel that way and that's not that's not what we had a chance to do so um definitely feel like we let two points slip there nobody to blame but ourselves um I would like to have a conversation with somebody in VAR where they they can explain to me how uh there's a confrontation of after the goal that got called back for offsides but at the end of the day that's not what lost us the game so we just have to go on with it and try to see if if we can uh look at the game film and identify a where we can uh look at this going into the Galaxy and and improve but this is definitely an achill our Achilles heel right now because we're giving up too many goals and uh it's very frustrating thanks coach we'll go to questions first one Tom John kind of defensively kind of more of the same you give up a goal not long after you score a goal and then you can't close out a game you're seeing the same things repeated yeah I mean it's pretty simple um it's it's just it's I don't even know what to say Tom you know I'm I'm anxious to go look at the game film um I do want to give Portland credit I mean they're a really good team they have some very Dynamic attacking players you know Ander hits a a worldy of a free kick there I'm not sure that was a foul doesn't look like Jose even touched them but again that's on us you know um we have to do better in in these areas because we can't we can't expect to go on the road and uh score four goals and give up four goals that's just unacceptable is this the kind of thing we also have to be careful that this doesn't turn into something more we having this seems like a pretty devast ating time to get today yeah um it is but it's Sports so you have to deal with all these emotions and you have to be resilient and that's what I'll ask our team to be it's incredibly frustrating um but the only choice we have is to go try to fix it next we go to Justin yeah kind of go on the same lines what was the environment like at half time you're up 3-1 but Portland where you know had some momentum towards the end of the half like what was the thinking going into the second half at that point the thinking was that we we hadn't played very well in the first half um you know we had a lot of turnovers that were unforced um a lot of them trying to play One Touch uh you know we were overplaying in some moments um you know we obviously got up and then they started when again they're a team that's they're a good attacking team one of the best so um but we just made a couple tactical adjustments and that looked like um it was going to work really well but you know if you don't win you know balls are are put into your box and you don't jump for headers uh you don't stand guys up and you don't get a block I mean these are all critical moments in a game that are very preventable um and should be executed at this level at a at a much higher level uh so you know coming out of halftime we really thought that we had to get better with the ball that we had we changed our our our shape of our defense a little bit to account for them throwing numbers forward and that looked at least early in that half like that was going to you know be a a good way to to go for the rest of the half you know you get up by two goals and then they literally throw numbers forward with Reckless abandon but that's okay you know that we just need to deal with those moments balls flighted in the Box we got to get a header on them you know second balls we have to battle for those we were very timid and and you know didn't didn't like that it didn't feel good watching it from the side try to make some you know substitutions to bring some life to it and uh you know that unfortunately that didn't work either and then 's touch on some of the offensive successes obviously you do score four goals Marcel harle is only the second player in MLS history to record three assists in his regular season debut can you talk a little bit about about you know his performance tonight just what he meant to that attack yeah cello is an exceptional player um and fantastic for him to to get three assist but at the same time you know like the one thing I like about our locker room right now is everyone is really really upset I don't think there's one person in there that isn't feeling the exact same same way I am you know Roman spoke um very candidly about the fact that this just is not it's not going to get us to where we want to go we're not going to be the team no matter whether we're scoring four goals or not um got to be able to defend your box and unfortunately we didn't do that go back to Tom yeah there there's still a lot of obviously New pieces coming in and we saw New pieces on defense is not to say that's the entire problem but is defensively there's still lessons obviously there are lessons to be learned but is the group coming together as well defensively as they apparently are offensively Tom sometimes that like the the number of goals you give up or the number of goals you score you know can can hide a lot of uh the in between the transition moments um and so you know an easy way to prevent some of these defensive moments from happening is just be better with the ball and unfortunately you know when you ask that question all I can think about is like our team has come together really well we are playing um I would still say we're playing better uh but on the same side we're we're not when we give up those many uh goals and and do it in the fashion that we did it so you know while we have improved a lot as a group we still have so many areas we have to to get right yeah and obviously it's hard to do when Portland's throwing everything over but yeah it seemed like you didn't have a whole lot of time with the ball in the second half to try to whether you're going to work the clock or whatever or to put pressure on them after you got the fourth yeah um again your spot on uh if we would manage the the game better with the ball we wouldn't have given up the moments we did you know even late in that game I still felt like okay we're going to go search for a winner here um but then right away we're giving up a a Counterattack the other way and uh we just have to fix that um is all I can really say and we'll go back and and spend a lot of time on the training field and trying to get it right and then some things you don't see very often Roman hasn't bobbled many balls all here like twice you know he does it tonight so it seems like there's all sorts of things happening yeah that's sports right I mean you you have Roman made some unbelievable saves you know so I don't want to fault him you know uh but you expect Roman to hold the for sure the third goal you expect him to hold it was a good shot it was curling away from a little bit so wasn't easy um but 10 times out of 10 you expect him to hold that we got time for two more with coach the um if no one else is going to go um yeah offensively it did you I mean you had chances but I don't know could you have had more than four goals tonight we we we probably should have because when a team throws the numbers of players forward that Portland did it's going to create opportunities for us to counter them and unfortunately we didn't get that right at all um I can think of at least five to six chances where if we play the right pass at the right time I mean we are in on goal and uh and a lot of those we didn't even connect that so that's another area you know um you never want to win a game 54 but you know this one and again this is a crazy environment really good team we're playing um but yes I felt like we could have opened them up a little more even and we'll finish with Justin yeah guys I just want to ask about how close sh CL and Raj sore to makeing the lineup tonight I know they're getting closer yeah we hope to have them in full training next week and you know that they would be available for selection for LA and that would be fantastic I mean you know having those guys come back to us you know will be uh will be fantastic for us Simon how much does this one hurt um yeah a lot I think we poured a lot into the game um had a lot of different people contribute and uh yeah the performance we had um yeah it it really stings to be honest um feel like we should have have walked away with three points but um yeah I mean going on the road and and playing like that for 110 minutes almost um really stings especially when um yeah you work that hard and you put that much into the game defensively at times it just let you down there what what's not working for this team defensively um yeah honestly I think we're going to have to look at it and um I think defensively um it it starts with 11 players so um I don't think that uh it boils down to one or two moments I think across the board you know we have to be better we have to win duels Win Second balls and I think that um yeah in a game where um maybe it wasn't our best game um when you are clinical in those in those moments um we just have to I guess be better as a team and um see that out what's the dressing room like after a game like this um I think any competitive team any team with as much talented as ours um would be pretty disappointed as it is um it definitely stinks so um I think that means that you know we're moving in the right direction um um because if it didn't then you know I think we could say yeah we're happy walking out of Portland with a tie um cuz obviously they're a really good group but you know I don't think that's the sentiment I think the sentiment is you know that really stung we'll go to Justin yeah Simon you had a very involved game how are you feeling after that match you took a little bit of a beating after certain points pretty good no what can you say a bit about that dust up that happened on the like third goal that was called back that seemed like you're a little angry about um yeah I mean I'm sure I hope someone will have a look at it um it's not really up to me um I don't want to say anything that'll get me in trouble so I'm just going to say I hope it's looked at I don't know I don't really know what to say and then to go a little more positively obviously the results stinks but to get the goal first on the header to draw that penalty how are you feeling through this early moments where felt like the team was buzzing yeah good um I think you know even in our last couple games we've shown you know flashes and I think I've spoke on it earlier it's about doing it for 75 80 90 minutes um and I think we're yet to put together a complete game and you know I think that's it's a maturity thing it's a thing that you know the team has to if we want to be where we want to be it's something we need to work on it's something we need to do because I think we're so good for so long and then um you know I think you know as an 11 as a 15 as a 21 man squad um on the day we have to you know really come together in those moments when things aren't going going well um because that's inevitable and and and see it throw Tom um after Cedric scores right before the half to make it 3-1 and after nooki scores to make it 4-2 you give yourself a little sigh of relief there and say okay it looks like we've we've figured things out and we've got back to a two-goal lead and we're in a bit we're in better shape um I don't know if a sigh or relief um but I think yeah I mean it feels good when obviously you know things are coming off I think we've worked so much on you know our final product and and being more clinical um I think again like I said it's a little bit of a maturity thing that the entire squad has to go through you know all 11 guys on the team we have to you know right after we uh right after we score right after we take leads we have to be better at at playing with it and um you know I think definitely it's going to be something we look at what was the pressure that they brought like in the second half because you guys spent a lot of time in your own end and they had corner kick after corner kick or set you know they just kept coming as see what was that like yeah they were just putting a lot of balls in the Box um and I think that that made it difficult for us um and we were pinned in a bit and I think that um yeah I mean they they did a good job at that and I think we actually did you know for a long time I think Roman made some fantastic saves I mean credit to the entire backline for for all the block shots and I think I don't know again I think it's just disappointing that you know we put so much into that game um in critical moments and in in my mind and I think the entire teams we kind of let it slip through the cracks how do you come back from this one I think we just look at it and uh you know continue to build on it and take the learning moment and uh put it behind us because you know we still have so much to play for and um yeah I think we're we're still moving in a good direction but you know again if we don't learn from it if we don't analyze it and and put it into place then uh you know it's for not so I think you know we'll obviously take a good look at it and you know learn from it are games like this hard to put behind you though um I don't think so I think uh you know you kind of have to stay even ke you can't take the highs too high and the lows too low um um you know we have to do a good job at just analyzing and uh moving forward because um yeah we can't look at it too long in my opinion you know in in the same way you can't look at you know your wins or your good performances you just have to you know take the good and the bad and learn from it and uh focus on Galaxy next week