NYCFC Soccer Game: Philadelphia Match Interview

Hi Justin, two tough results in the last two games. How is the team trying to get over that and getting ready for the game on Saturday for Philadelphia

Yeah, I think a big thing is not overreacting. If you look at each game individually, you know, Atlanta, honestly, we played quite well in the beginning and then just made a bunch of stupid mistakes in the end

That cost us the game and then going down 1-0 so early versus Minnesota, it's like it never sets you up for a good game

but we have a tough challenge ahead with Philly, and we're just fully focused on that now

One of the things that's made you stand out this season and since last season is your versatility

You've played midfield, you've played six, you've played center of defense, you've played actually left side, right side

as far as defense is concerned. How does it affect you to be changing positions

as often as you do? Do you embrace that, or would you prefer just to be in one position

How do you approach all of this every game? Yeah, I mean, for me, I don't really mind going in between positions

I feel quite comfortable in both areas or any area that they put me in

And I know that wherever I'm playing, the guys next to me are always going to help me out

whether it's in the back with Thiago, Berg or Tano or in the middle with Keaton, Johnny, Maxi

You know, everybody's always looking to help each other on this team. So with that being said, like it's been pretty easy for me to go in between positions

And if I can just follow up on that, if you were your own coach You can put yourself in one position

Okay this is where I want to play This is where you should play Where would you play I think my favorite position and like growing up I always played the six role So I feel like that where I have the most experience in But I can also see why like a coach likes me to play center back

So thank you. We're going to go with George on Zoom. What's up, man

Briefly, you know, last time Philly was in town last season, they left scoring a lot of goals

It was a very lopsided game. The way things have been going with you guys, how important is this game for you guys' morale

and what could potentially be a catalyst for a nice run that you could go on after this

Yeah, I think this is a very big game for many reasons. We already talked about the two-pass results

and I think that every time we play Philly, it's a bit of a rivalry

We met a few times in the playoffs. I think in the past few years, we've both been pretty good teams

and I think you usually get a good game when we play them

So this could be a good moment for us, and it's a really good opportunity to get some momentum going

Alex? Hi, Justin. This is Alex Winley from AM, New York. How's it going

Good, good. How are you? Good, good. This weekend is a chance to bounce back against a Philly side that likes to press

How are you and your teammates preparing to handle that pressure and maintain control of the midfield and the defensive lines

Thanks. Yeah, we watched a little bit of video on them earlier today

we'll probably do some more tomorrow and I think it was really just in training

working against that they're really high press because we know they're a very aggressive team

with the new coach it a little bit similar to Red Bulls how they want to play make the game a little bit sloppy second balls and be really attacking And to be fair we played them a few times already so we know what to expect

I don't think there'll be any surprises on Saturday, but it will definitely be a difficult game

We'll go with Scott. Hey, Justin, how are you? Scout Church of Street Punk Soccer

In this case, obviously the match is at Citi Field this weekend. Do you have a preference as a player, Yankee Stadium, Citi Field

or as long as it's home, it doesn't matter? Thanks. I actually like playing at Citi Field a little bit more than Yankee Stadium

but they're both pretty similar. Go ahead, Michael. Hey, Justin, it's Mike Dander from Blue Stadium Radio

Thanks for the time. in the last two weeks coaches had two difficult situations

to deal with. Obviously after Atlanta, he addressed the media and talking about the situation between Thiago

and Atreides at the end of that game and then in the recent game

against Minnesota, he talked about making the early substitutions because he just wasn't pleased with the way the team

was playing on the field. How are you responding to a coach who's

making those decisions maybe being more transparent than coaches have been in the past

How are you handling those situations? Yeah, I think Pascal has shown since day one that he's not afraid to make difficult decisions

or address things that are maybe a little bit difficult to talk about He stood by that throughout the year even after certain games where we have a few mistakes here

like late goal against LAFC. He's always ready to talk about it right away

He doesn't want to shy away from anything. And I think that will only benefit the team because it will help us improve

And it's still early in the season. But if we can learn from these moments going forward

I think it will only help us. Michael, you have another one

Nope, we'll go to George. You have one of the up-and-coming talents

Kevin Sullivan, coming to town. I think he's coming up with the team. Can you speak a little bit about the young guys that you have on your team

You have a lot of guys who are playing great. I think Shore is super young, but he's playing amazing

Maybe talk about just a little bit about the age that's changing in the MLS

maybe. You're a vet now, so you know a little bit. Yeah, I mean, to be honest, I think we're probably one of the teams

that have a really good group of young guys that are training really hard every day

You know, you see Johnny Shore a lot this season, but there's also guys like Max Amor, Seymour, Drew

even Peter coming up sometimes from the second team. They're really pushing and they're really fighting

They're all super hungry to get on the first team. Not to get on the first team, but to play

you see some of them making their debut already and I think Johnny could be a good example for

all of them to keep following what the steps he's been taking but just in terms of the MLS

I think it's really good that all these kids are getting this opportunity