Las Vegas Lights FC Head Coach Dennis Sanchez
On a rotated team with the two-game week…
Even though we didn’t play last weekend, traveling to Tulsa on Wednesday and a quick turnaround between games I think we wanted to provide a little bit of balance within the group with still having a core group there, but at the same time having some freshness.
I thought the guys that came in did well. I thought we had a slower first half for my liking. Took us a little bit of time to get in the game. But I still think that we can be more on the front foot, especially without the ball defensively and being stronger in duels.
Our physicality and pressing, which, in the second half, I think was part of the reason why we were able to have more opportunities because of how we press. Look at this point in the season we’re still learning about the group. I think that we still gotl a point and it’s better than losing, but definitely feel disappointed not to get the full three.
On Solomon Asante providing a spark…
Yeah, I think, Solo’s been a great addition this year in general, both on and off the field. He’s such a great guy in the locker room that you can go a game or two with not playing as many minutes as he probably wants to, but then, he’s ready to start and make a difference.
And I thought, especially in the second half, he added some good final passes. You can see his vision, his ability to create, and great chances for others and himself. But he’s always somebody that puts the team first.
On equalling the longest unbeaten home record…
I think that part of with the purchase of the club in terms of Jose [Bautista] stepping in we’re trying to reconnect with our community and our fan base.
We definitely hear them. I think that anytime we can play at home it is a benefit for us. It was still pretty, pretty warm tonight, but for me again, I think that we’ve shown that we can be very dangerous at home and that’s why we’re trying to really push for a top four finish so we can host.
On fan support heading into the final stretch of the season…
First off, we appreciate the ones that have been consistent and are coming out to every game. I think it shows their loyalty and support, regardless of where the club was at over the last couple of years and we know that there’s more out there. Like I always reference back to when I first moved here, I was flipping through the channels and there was a game from I think 2017-18 and it had 9,000 people in the stadium. We know that there’s more out there and we hear them, we appreciate their love and support.
