Atlanta United 0, Inter Miami 0: What was said

“I’m sure when you have a teammate like Pity and you’re expecting him to play, it is going to be a disappointment when he’s not part of your group. But from there, it is down to the players on the night. We had a good level of control in the first half, didn’t threaten their goal too much, but we played the bulk of the half in their half. But the quality in the final third was probably lacking a little bit. But other than that, in terms of mentally, I don’t think there was too much affect the fact that we missed him. Other than players obviously wanting him to be in the group.”

On how physical the match was:

“It did become a bit of a physical game. They pressed us pretty high up the pitch. I think we handled it pretty well in the first half. But there is always quite a lot of contact, a lot of fouls, a lot of free kicks. But that’s normal. I think we coped with that pretty well, we competed really well. Obviously, aerially, set pieces, corners, deliveries into the box, we coped well with that, which was a concern from last week. So, that was an improvement from that aspect.”

On substituting Ezequiel Barco and Emerson Hyndman:

“We decided to take them off to protect them a little bit so for the longer term they are in a good position to take part in more of the games.”

On if intensity was more of an emphasis coming into this game:

“In terms of allowing the other team to play, I think we were better at that tonight than we were against Orlando. We were the ones pushing the envelope, in terms of going forward and keeping the ball in their half in the first half. We were the aggressor, if you’d like, in that aspect as well. The speed of the ball in the final third and the control and the risk-taking element, we were taking risks we probably didn’t have to take in the final third when we could have shifted it maybe another pass before cutting them open. I can understand people saying the lack of aggression, but there is a fine balance.”

On finishing chances:

“I think just a little bit of quality in the final third. We had a lot of opportunities to deliver a cross. There was two or three final passes that if they were slightly better, then we are looking at goals. Or even a decision to shoot instead of crossing at times. But there were definitely opportunities. We’re getting into those positions and the more and more we get into them, the improvement will come. And I think the players will start producing in that final third when they start believing in themselves a little bit more. They look after the ball really well in the other two thirds of the pitch, but when you get into the final third, that is when it really counts.”

On Edgar Castillo’s performance: “I think Edgar was excellent tonight, the first time that we have looked to him to come and take part. Obviously, we are protecting George as well. He is a young player, so it is important that we look after him for the long term. With how many games we have, we utilize the whole squad. But Edgar shows what a good professional, training well every day, is capable of giving on a game night. We’re pleased with his performance, but it did not surprise us because Edgar is a great pro and a good quality professional. His standard of play, his defending and his aggression is excellent and it keeps George on his toes as well, that it is not a given that he starts every week when Edgar is playing in that way.”

On Jeff Larentowicz and Manuel Castro not being in the matchday squad:

“With the amount of games that we’ve got, there’s a group of probably 25 I think we’re at, so I’ve got a lot of choices and a lot of players to use. Jeff was feeling a little bit from the weekend, from the game on Saturday. He still managed to train, but he’s feeling little bits and pieces. So, I just felt he’s going to contribute more, again for longer term protecting all ages of players, he is going to contribute more going forward if we didn’t use him tonight. I am hopeful that we will see him Saturday. The same for Manuel. He is competing with a number of players for the position he plays in. We went with Brooks there tonight, and obviously Jurgen came on in that position as well. So, that would be the reasoning behind that one.”

On Tyler Wolff’s MLS debut:

“I thought he was excellent on his debut. He possibly had an opportunity to score a goal if the delivery was slightly better. But I think in terms of his composure and how he worked for the team, he showed a good understanding of what we want and I’m sure there is more to come from him. He’ll be excited he made his debut.”

Atlanta United goalkeeper Brad Guzan

On his thoughts about the game:  “It wasn’t great. We need to be realistic. When the performance isn’t to the standard we expect, we can’t kid ourselves. The last 15-20 minutes we were holding on. We were certainly under a bit of pressure. We need to be able to manage the game better. I think you saw some guys with some tired legs in them. But at the same time, you can’t make excuses. We need to be better with the ball. We need to still be able to dictate the tempo of the game, and especially late on tonight we weren’t able to do that. I think the beginning part of the game, the first half, again we didn’t really get into what I would say a rhythm of any sort. So, it wasn’t ideal. What I would say, is that our work rate, our desire and tenacity was much better today than it was against Orlando.”

On the distribution out of the back tonight:  “Yeah, at times. It’s funny you say that. We have conversations after the game and at times they are able to find passing lanes and break lines going forward, but at other times it’s more difficult. In saying that, we ask our center backs to be confident on the ball. If we want them to be players that play out of the back, there’s going to be times when we miss passes. That’s ok. It’s how we react as a group. We can’t stand there and throw our arms up and be disappointed and sulk our heads if we miss a pass or two. We have to react as a group and win the ball back. Guys are going to make mistakes, it’s ok. It’s how we react to those mistakes, and make sure it doesn’t turn into another mistake and a bigger problem for us.”

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Atlanta United coming games

Saturday at Orlando, 8 p.m. (Fox)

Sept. 9 at Miami, 8 p.m. (Fox Sports South)

Sept. 12 at Nashville, 8:30 p.m. (Fox Sports South)

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