The boys in Old Glory Red picked up their first point of the young 2020 USL Championship regular season on Saturday night at Papa Murphy's Park following a 1-1 draw against FC Tulsa.
Midfielder Drew Skundrich bagged a stunning strike in the first half and a number of new faces made their Republic FC first team debuts over the weekend. Both Skundrich and Head Coach Mark Briggs met with media after the match and here's what they had to say following the match…
The boys in Old Glory Red picked up their first point of the young 2020 USL Championship regular season on Saturday night at Papa Murphy’s Park following a 1-1 draw against FC Tulsa.
Midfielder Drew Skundrich bagged a stunning strike in the first half and a number of new faces made their Republic FC first team debuts over the weekend. Both Skundrich and Head Coach Mark Briggs met with media after the match and here’s what they had to say following the match…
Head Coach Mark Briggs
On the opening night result…
"I just said to the players there, we’re one point better off than we were before we started, so that's a positive. It's not the end of the world. We didn't win the game like we wanted to. I thought we could have been a bit more clinical in front of goal with our final pass, our final shot, whatever that may be and I think the game would have been different."
On the physical play…
"You can't take away the physicality and the aggression of the players. I asked them to be to be intense in what they do. I ask them to be aggressive in what they do and sometimes you're gonna concede fouls and you're gonna get cards against you, so I'll never ask them to not be aggressive."
On Sargis and Penagos in the starting lineup…
"I have full confidence in Mario and Hayden, and I think they both performed well. They both performed to a high standard and to be honest, they performed what I expect them to perform. It's not a surprise for me to see them step on the field and do what they do. So I'm really happy for them, especially for like Hayden and Mario to play in the home opener and all their family and friends be here, it's a pretty special moment for them."
On Juan Barahona's performance…
"Yeah, I thought he was another player that performs to a really high standard. Juan’s an exceptional footballer. He reads the game very well and defensively is clever and puts his body in the right areas. His left foot is a step ahead and the technique he possesses with his left foot is fantastic, so it's a huge weapon for us to have and a huge tool for us to utilize."
Midfielder Drew Skundrich
On the match against Tulsa…
"Obviously we wanted to win the game tonight. Coach Briggs probably said that, but it's still a point, we had zero to start the season so it's always good to get to get one under our belts. I thought we played well… created a lot of chances … had that one mental lapse at the end to give up the goal, which is unfortunate but there are a lot of positives a lot of things to take away, and we're just gonna try to get better and keep moving on."
On the energy from the fans…
"The fans are absolutely incredible here. We couldn't do it without them. We're so thankful for them and we feed off of their energy, so the more support we get, the better we can play."
On the physicality of the match…
"We try to be pretty versatile and in our play. We like to battle, we like to play soccer so whatever comes our way we have to be prepared for it no matter what."
On the goal…
"It was a great long ball, Juan had great composure down there… picked up his head. I made the late run and had a couple of touches and then put it home. It was a great team goal. I mean it started off with Juan and composure is kind of contagious. He was really composed on the ball picked his head up, found me, and then I wanted to take a touch kind of out of my feet just so I could get a cleaner shot on goal, and I saw a defender closing too much… he kind of over oversold himself. So I was able to cut back on my left and then once I saw another guy coming in, I knew he was gonna stretch out for the ball so I just shot him between his legs and it went in."
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Head Coach Mark Briggs
On the opening night result…
“I just said to the players there, we’re one point better off than we were before we started, so that’s a positive. It’s not the end of the world. We didn’t win the game like we wanted to. I thought we could have been a bit more clinical in front of goal with our final pass, our final shot, whatever that may be and I think the game would have been different.”
On the physical play…
“You can’t take away the physicality and the aggression of the players. I asked them to be to be intense in what they do. I ask them to be aggressive in what they do and sometimes you’re gonna concede fouls and you’re gonna get cards against you, so I’ll never ask them to not be aggressive.”
On Sargis and Penagos in the starting lineup…
“I have full confidence in Mario and Hayden, and I think they both performed well. They both performed to a high standard and to be honest, they performed what I expect them to perform. It’s not a surprise for me to see them step on the field and do what they do. So I’m really happy for them, especially for like Hayden and Mario to play in the home opener and all their family and friends be here, it’s a pretty special moment for them.”
On Juan Barahona’s performance…
“Yeah, I thought he was another player that performs to a really high standard. Juan’s an exceptional footballer. He reads the game very well and defensively is clever and puts his body in the right areas. His left foot is a step ahead and the technique he possesses with his left foot is fantastic, so it’s a huge weapon for us to have and a huge tool for us to utilize.”
Midfielder Drew Skundrich
On the match against Tulsa…
“Obviously we wanted to win the game tonight. Coach Briggs probably said that, but it’s still a point, we had zero to start the season so it’s always good to get to get one under our belts. I thought we played well… created a lot of chances … had that one mental lapse at the end to give up the goal, which is unfortunate but there are a lot of positives a lot of things to take away, and we’re just gonna try to get better and keep moving on.”
On the energy from the fans…
“The fans are absolutely incredible here. We couldn’t do it without them. We’re so thankful for them and we feed off of their energy, so the more support we get, the better we can play.”
On the physicality of the match…
“We try to be pretty versatile and in our play. We like to battle, we like to play soccer so whatever comes our way we have to be prepared for it no matter what.”
On the goal…
“It was a great long ball, Juan had great composure down there… picked up his head. I made the late run and had a couple of touches and then put it home. It was a great team goal. I mean it started off with Juan and composure is kind of contagious. He was really composed on the ball picked his head up, found me, and then I wanted to take a touch kind of out of my feet just so I could get a cleaner shot on goal, and I saw a defender closing too much… he kind of over oversold himself. So I was able to cut back on my left and then once I saw another guy coming in, I knew he was gonna stretch out for the ball so I just shot him between his legs and it went in.”
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