El Paso Locomotive FC 1-1 Monterey Bay F.C.
Southwest University Park; El Paso, Texas
Wednesday, March 13, 2024
Head Coach and Technical Director Brian Clarhaut
On the match:
“I think you could see the fatigue levels on our players. It’s tough to get that Wednesday that early… I think we were sloppy on the ball and in a lot of areas. Unfortunately, we had to sub two forwards out early in the game, three if you count Tumi Moshobane. In the later stages of the game, I had [Arun Basuljevic] up there for a little bit with [Ricardo Zacarias] and then I had to switch [Diego Abarca] up there because I wanted pace at least in behind but we were limited in what we could do to be threatening. From the defensive side, we had to get pushed down to concede space because our legs couldn’t get pressure on the ball, so we made that decision to try to be more compact at times because I thought in the first half, we would make a mistake, [Monterey Bay] would hit long balls and were very dangerous.”
On the link-up play leading to Amando’s first goal for El Paso:
“I think it was a fantastic goal, fantastic link-up play and a fantastic individual effort. [It’s] good to get Amando on the Locomotive score sheet in the second game of the season, so that’s positive.”
On player health ahead of the match:
“We had Justin Dhillon coming off of food poisoning last night. He was questionable for today, [so] we were lucky he got through 45 minutes. Amando Moreno on a cramp at 55′ and Tumi with a tight hamstring. We’ve got to be smart as well this early in the season, but I think fatigue played an extreme factor. [Joaquin Rivas] is dealing with a back issue, it’s kind of day by day. Petrovic is dealing with a bit of inflammation in the Achilles area.”
On what to prioritize ahead of Saturday’s day game vs Louisville City FC:
“Just recover. I didn’t think our organization was good defensively or offensively… I’ll look at a few things and we’ll take some subgroups and go through some more individual things. We’ve got to prepare for Louisville but it’s not the result or the type of play that we wanted.”
Forward Amando Moreno
On scoring his first goal for El Paso Locomotive FC:
“For me, my objective was to score as quickly as possible… when I’m at 100%, I know that’s when I got to take advantage. Once the game starts to die down, it’s harder to get a goal. I’m happy I went with my gut when I saw the goalie leaning way too much to the left and did my part to get in there.”
On his chemistry with Justin Dhillon:
“The connection I have with Justin Dhillon is fantastic. He’s the kind of player that likes to play off whoever is with him and I need that kind of player to highlight what I do best. It’s only the second game and I wish we could’ve won these first two games, but there’s so much good that we have, especially the connection between me and Justin where we’re both the forwards and I think that’s where you need it. I’ve been in situations where that hasn’t really clicked and it’s hard to get going. Luckily, I have someone like JD and I know it’s going to be very successful for both of us this season.”
On joining El Paso from rivals New Mexico United:
“This is my new chapter. For me, being here and doing as well as I can with the ability I know I have, that’s my main focus. I hope everyone understands that there’s no bad blood.”
On what the next step is ahead of Louisville City FC on Saturday, March 16:
“I don’t think we should get too much in our heads. The connection we’ve built with so little time, I think it’s there. Sometimes we create these plays where I’m like ‘Wow, you don’t get this until midseason!’ We have to close out these games, we have to keep those leads… those are just little details we have to fix.”
NOTES
- El Paso picked up its first point of the 2024 season, moving up to 7th in the Western Conference standings.
- Amando Moreno opened his scoring account for El Paso, which was also the first Locomotive goal of the season.
- Justin Dhillon grabbed the first assist for Locomotive in 2024.
- Diego Abarca and Noah Dollenmayer saw their first minutes of action in 2024, stepping on as second-half substitutes.
- El Paso now remains without a win against Monterey Bay F.C. in four matches (1-2-2).
UP NEXT: El Paso Locomotive FC faces Louisville City FC for its first-ever day game on Saturday, March 16 at 1 p.m. MT. Gates at Southwest University Park open at 12 p.m. MT and the first 1,500 fans through the gates will receive free Locomotive Sun Hats! Tickets for the match can be purchased at eplocomotivefc.com/tickets.