On Friday night, the Washington Spirit fell 0-3 to the Kansas City Current. After the match, Head Coach Jonatan Giráldez, defender Gabby Carle, and midfielder Paige Metayer spoke with the media.
On his perspective on the game:
Giráldez: Hello, everyone. We start bad because the first chance that they create, they score. So, sometimes when you have a plan for the game and you start like that, you as a player, you have doubts when you have to go, when you have to close. So, it was about the starting and then my feeling was we start to have the control, especially in the first half, but we didn’t create many clear chances. They didn’t create chances, too. But they were comfortable out possession, defending in mid-low block. We try to be a little more offensive in the second half with Makenna (Morris), with Gabby (Carle), but I think it was not enough. Maybe more open for the second half because we didn’t want the result because we were losing the game. We tried everything, but today was not the day. We had a bad performance in general, and we have to react and come back for the next game.
On injuries sustained by Spirit players, including Trinity Rodman:
Giráldez: I have no information now. Trinity was on the bench in the end. She felt something in the back, but I have not information about right now the situation. Tara (McKeown), I think she could end the game, had to. Casey (Krueger) was feeling something, but I have no information. Now is too soon. We have to come back tomorrow to Washington and let’s see there what happened, which is the availability for the players to play against in Los Angeles the next week.
On the message of how to bounce back from first half struggles:
Giráldez: We knew exactly how they created chances, and the first situation was a bad defensive action. And when you concede a goal so early, from my point of view, you have to change nothing. You have to respect the game plan and keep doing the same things in terms of possession and out of possession. We tried to do, but I think in the opposite half pitch, they were adding a lot of players to the defense, and we were not create a lot of chances. So, in transition, I think they did today, and transition long balls, a good job. And it was, I said before to Jason, we tried the second half a little more “go for the game,” but it was not enough. We didn’t create so many chances in the second half, and they had not too many chances to score, only I think four shots on target and they scored three goals. We were clinical against them one month ago and they were clinical today.
On substituting Gabby Carle and Makenna Morris into the match:
Giráldez: It was not about the individual performance about Casey and (Ashley) Hatch. Hatch’s role for today was playing in pocket, but today we have not the space in pocket. They were defending with the lines pretty close. We had not the spaces between lines, so we need other type of strikers. We need Rose (Kouassi) for the second half and Trinity and Makenna to make more movements, especially to the back behind, because I think we were going to have more chances on that. And then with Gabby — Gabby is a good attacker when she received in the opposing half pitch. She’s a left back, but she can create in 1-v-1 situations. She can create chances. So, that’s what the plan for the second half starting with Hatch in pocket, we couldn’t find her easy to play in that decision. So, we tried to find other solutions. And today, for sure, it was not enough, the game plan for the first half and for the second half, because they didn’t create so many chances. But today, we neither.
On how to build on this performance turn things around:
Giráldez: For me, when you lose, that’s part of soccer. So, it’s what I said to the players: The most important thing is not what happened, it is which is your reaction? So, right now, we don’t have to put the excuse. For sure, I’m responsible on that, especially when we lose. But now we have to be together. We are in the second position in the league because we are performing well. So, we don’t have to forget that. We have to improve, for sure, in the same way that the last week after Houston Dash we could do better things, and that’s the way that we face the new week. So, for me, we need now to don’t put excuse — analyze what happened, improve and be strong for the next game.
On Kansas City providing new looks or the Spirit not executing well:
Giráldez: No, I think both things. Debinha was playing that position in the right pocket, and we had a high press Hal (Hershfelt) defending base and Andi (Sullivan) between. So, we expect that they’d challenge Annaïg (Butel) by Debinha in high press was enough, but we have not a good coordination in that moment, and she receive in pocket. Then the distance with (Michelle) Cooper was not good enough to defend that 1-v-1 situation after crossing. I think I have to review that situation because, I don’t know, I think it’s just a limited situation into the box. Usually, we are good at it. I think, as a team, we defend very well the box and today we have not a good performance in the most important part of the game. When you are starting, when you concede goals so early, that affects your emotions, in terms of game plan, what should I do now? So, for me, we have to keep doing the same things, but obviously we are human beings, so these type of reactions have to create dupes, when you have to go high, when you have to… Today, that’s my feeling. They didn’t try to do different things in possession if you compare the game against us one month ago, but out possession, they decide not go high. That medium low block, 4-4-2 and be ready for transition and low balls for today was enough. So, we have to learn for the next game because right now the feelings are not okay, and we want to play against Kansas again.
On adjusting Hal Hershfelt into the defensive block:
Giráldez: Yeah, because we need our center back defenders on the side to be higher because in the first half putting Hal in the striker side, we can not find a good height to attack. So, putting Hal in that position, she’s a good player for transition and then we could put Tara and Annaïg higher to have option to receive that pass and then play easier with a side back player being high. When you put Makenna and Trin between, you can find easier your side back players, and I think, different situation we had in second half, we found that players. Then, we were not performing well when we were receiving on the side because we wanted to play long — that pass Trin, Rose, Makenna. We were not clinical enough today, just not in the last meters, as well in the decision, especially in the last third. So, for me, putting Hal in that position, it was just to make sure that the height of the players playing the side was to be a little more high. But, that was not enough for comeback there.
On how Kansas City took control of the game:
Metayer: I would say kind of two things. I think one is that we knew they were really good transition team. Obviously, they have a lot of speed up top, and I think we kind of allowed them – I think we did good on the transition in some moments, but, obviously, having to keep defending transitions makes you tire a lot quicker than you should, and I think because of that we were a little more sloppy on the ball. I also think sometimes we struggled to get the type of pressure we would’ve wanted on the ball when they were building out in their half, which kind of caused things for us to, I guess, panic in a way when we got the ball just because I feel like we were defending more than maybe we were used to or maybe we wanted to be when going into that game.
On Kansas City sitting back after previously being a high pressing team:
Carle: I think they had answers to pretty much everything we threw at them. I think the fact that they sat back, it kind of sometimes it lulls you because you get into a sense of, ‘Oh, this game is calm,’ and then when you try to go forward, you go straight into their trap, and I think that’s what kept happening. I don’t think we found the answer tonight.
On how physical the game was:
Metayer: I think part of it turns physical because we know that they’re so good at transitions that there’s a lot of balls that enter the middle of the pitch or even deeper in the pitch where we know that we have to get a challenge on because if not, they’re just going to burn us with their speed. So, I think maybe that contributed to it. I think a lot of games are physical around here, but, obviously, they’re a very athletic team, and we kind of knew that going into it.
On the process of bouncing back from this game:
Carle: I think we haven’t had a situation like this this year, but as a team, I think everyone on this team has experienced situations like this. I don’t think any one of us is foreign to it. I think it’s about learning what you have to learn from this game and then working hard this week to prepare for the next game.
On if the team didn’t execute the game plan or the game just got away from them:
Carle: I think they were ready for us, and I just don’t think we were ready to respond to that. I think this whole year we’ve been extremely competitive, and I think tonight we fell flat. As you said, it happens. This is sport. This is soccer. It’s never going to be perfect. Last week, we were really good, and then this week we were poor. But, again, that’s soccer, and now it’s important for us to learn what we have to learn but then to move forward.
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