CHICAGO FIRE MEDIA CONFERENCE

August 28, 2021

Jonathan Bornstein

Press Conference

Chicago Fire 1, New York Red Bulls 0

Q. So how glad are you that we're not going to be asking you guys for a long time, why can't you win on the road? And all kidding aside, just how much does it mean for you guys to finally get that win on the road?

JONATHAN BORNSTEIN: Yeah, I think more than anything, just extremely proud of the team, the way we handle that had whole situation. You know, we never put our arms down, head down, even though we've had some struggles on the road, we've continually been getting better and tonight was a demonstration of all the hard work that's been put into trying to get that win on the road.

We are very happy but there's always something to build on and always things we can improve on. But also, we have to enjoy this one. It's a big three points for us, and continue to keep this kind of train rolling and get the results on the road.

Q. That second half, they didn't have a lot of shots on goal but the second half it seemed like they had a consistent pressure on you guys. You barely cleared the ball away on one and they almost scored but again, that consistent pressure was soaked up by you, and especially as the captain and leader in the back today, how proud are you of your team's performance and specifically just consistently soaking up that pressure, soaking up that pressure and coming away with not only the three points but the clean sheet, as well?

JONATHAN BORNSTEIN: Yeah, I mean, I already said it. I'm extremely proud of my team. Everyone who was on the field left it all out there. You know, obviously in games where it's 1-0 on the road, the home team is going to come with a lot of pressure, a lot of attacking moments. And I thought we did a great job of absorbing that pressure, winning a lot of the crosses that came in, being tuned in on all the right moments, and so you've got to shake the hands of all the defenders and all the forwards.

It was a team effort today so got to enjoy it. Again, things to work on but you know, I think we did a great job of not allowing a goal. Bobby did a great job tonight organizing us, coming up big in the moments he needed to, and it was a great team effort.

Q. There's only four points right now separating the seventh and final playoff spot and the rest of the standings; so many teams in the east that are jumbled together. What is that like as a player experiencing it and how do you approach it knowing the magnitude of each game? Take me into a player's mindset this time of year.

JONATHAN BORNSTEIN: We take it game by game to be honest. You know, we obviously -- our goal is to make the playoffs and how do we do that? Winning game by game. Next game, we have a little bit of a break before we can work on a lot of things in training, and prepare ourselves for the next game.

Obviously these three big points help us to get to where we want to get. But I think the mentality is take it game by game, and we've got to be gaining points and closing that gap to get to the playoff picture. There's enough points out there for us to accomplish that goal, and so that's kind of what we have in the back of our minds and that's how we prepare ourselves for each weekend or each game.