Toronto FC head coach Javier Perez says he alone should take responsibility for his team’s 3-1 defeat to Inter Miami on Saturday night.
When the rest of the Eastern Conference got up, the Reds went into the game with low confidence and it showed when they went 3-0 in 48 minutes with a terrible defense in Florida.
Even if they pulled one back via a Kieran Gibbs own goal, it was not enough to save a result, with Toronto’s unprofitable line now in six games with just two points at that time.
After speaking with reporters after the match, Perez tried to divert criticism from his players by taking the blame for the poor performance.
“It was a really bad game from the beginning,” said Perez (via TFC’s official website). “We give away a couple of goals – both goals will come so. I’m to blame for this, it’s my fault. I can make excuses, but the reality is I have to point the finger at myself and take the blame for the game tonight. ”
Perez claimed that the TFC’s collapse was due to their fragile self-confidence, with a mistake that quickly increased as players began to wither under pressure.
“At the beginning of the match, it was not really bad. We played between the lines “, stated Perez. “We start having possession early, but then we start making mistakes, losing balls that we don’t have to drop and we have to run back, that’s when we have problems.”
He added: “The season we have is taking on the players,” he added. “When you get a strong setback as an early goal in the game, it’s hard to calm down and get the team going.”
Midfielder Omar Gonzalez came out to defend his manager after the match and admitted that the players lacked sharpness in what was their third match of the week.
“Times like these, the coach tries to take the blame for everything, try to protect the players, but if we are honest, if we look at ourselves in the mirror, how many of us can say we were ready to play tonight? ” he said. ”[We] felt like we were, but as the game went on we were not sharp enough.
“We gave up a turnover that led to the first goal, which we know has killed us throughout the season. We knew we could not allow it and yet we allowed it to happen. And the second goal, we just leave ourselves vulnerable and leave myself in a tough situation.
“Were enough guys, honestly, ready to go? I do not think so otherwise we would have had a different first 15 minutes of the game. It is difficult to swallow. Guys hurt.
“We are trying to get out of this situation. We try to dig ourselves out, but somehow we continue to dig even deeper by making these mistakes. It was tough tonight. ”
Next up for TFC is a Rivalry Week Canadian Classique clash with CF Montreal next week before traveling to FC Cincinnati on September 11th.
