North Texas SC: Cano Takes Ownership
At Choctaw Stadium last weekend, North Texas Soccer Club lost 4-1 in its home opener. Head Coach Javo addressed that loss and the upcoming match with Austin FC this week.
North Texas SC Head Coach Javier Cano spoke to reporters ahead of his team’s match against Austin FC II, a reunion of sorts as Cano left the Austin organization to move to FC Dallas.
Before anything else, Cano took responsibility for the tough home opening loss to Vancouver which saws the Whitecaps 2 drop 4 goals past North Texas.
“I don’t point fingers at single players or individual mistakes. Those are small details. After the game, we were talking about the whole group, putting ideas on the table,” Cano said. “We know everyone took ownership. The first person to take ownership was me. Lesson learned.”
Asked what he gleaned about that home loss in the 40 hours since, Cano was reflective.
“The night after the game, I was thinking a lot. Why, why, why. After reviewing the game, the distance of the score was not fair with us. We had 5 minutes maybe that wasn’t great. They scored 3 goals very easily. We had clear chances to score too,” Javi responded.
Head Coach Cano didn’t feel it was time to panic. The game plan had its strengths, but the result came down to some critical moments. Work is to be done this early in the season to adjust and get the most out of this young and talented squad.
As the team prepares to travel to Austin tomorrow, Cano accepts that it is an exciting trip, first to put Sunday’s result in the rearview mirror but also to say to hello to friendly faces of an organization he has history with.
“It’s special to come back after being at Austin for two and a half years. I know all those academy guys. I will be the happiest guy to win, but it will be special to see the people I love who were happy when I signed here,” he said with a smile.
Tomorrow’s match also represents some challenges as the team adjusts to injuries and a dense schedule ahead. Fans should expect to see some rotation, maybe as a response to Sunday’s result but also just to keep guys fresh.
“We have our games in 10 days, back to back to back. We have depth on the roster. We have quality. We want to see some rotation due to injury - but not too much,” Cano said.
There were hints that Julian Eyestone, the academy’s phenom goalkeeper, might be available in this stretch of games after a GA cup run to the final. Hope Avayevu will be out with injury, sustained in Sunday’s game. The midweek game may also open the door for minutes from players from the senior team who want to get match fit.