Halftime Speech Helps Portland Hearts of Pine Collect "Important" Points
“The chat was [that] half measures avail us nothing.”
With his team down 1-0 at halftime against Union Omaha, head coach Bobby Murphy presented a challenge.
“The chat was [that] half measures avail us nothing,” Murphy told The Blazing Musket. “Either you do it or you don’t. You do what’s asked of you or you don’t.”
Murphy said that a miscue by Mikey Lopez and Michel Poon-Angeron affected the game, noting, “Nobody wanted the ball, and they got on top of us.”
Omaha’s DJ Acoff scored in the 37th minute, quieting the crowd of 5,715.
But Hearts had renewed energy in the second half, scoring three unanswered goals through Ollie Wright. The home side was more aggressive and direct, which is something Murphy wants to see.
“The idea is when you lose [the ball], to step forward, not step backwards, [and] to be willing to play forward,” Murphy said. “Kids are taught today just to keep it for the sake of keeping it, but the object of the game is to score goals.
“You got to be brave. You got to be willing to play forward. You got to fight at times. You got to roll up your sleeves and grind.”
Murphy said that Wright’s goals were “fantastic,” adding that they were a product of him going forward and putting “people on their heels.”
He also complimented something that has been overlooked: Wright’s defensive contributions.
“He lost it a few times, and he’s the first one pressing and trying to win it back and dragging people with him,” Murphy said. “For somebody who’s older, that’s what we needed. We needed somebody to grab the rest of the group and drag them along.”
Hearts walked away with a win on Sunday, keeping them competitive in the standings with games in hand.
“Being against Omaha, the defending champs, in our only home game in June, it felt like three really important points,” Murphy said.
The challenge now is to continue to collect points, even on the road.
Murphy noted that earlier in the season, Hearts achieved three results in eight days while traveling to opposite sides of the country.
“They’ve got to be willing to believe they can go and do these things, and they can do all the things we’re asking,” Murphy said. “And push through hard times and suffer at times.”
Murphy told the players on Wednesday to think of themselves as being made of plastic, not crystals. Setbacks will happen, and they have to bounce back.
Like any team, Hearts have experienced ups and downs.
But during this early stanza, an identity is emerging. Establishing it is a process complicated by the fact that so many players are coming together for the first time.
The undertaking becomes more complex due to absences, whether caused by injury, international duty, or late arrivals.
“We have people who weren’t here for preseason, and the way we want to play is sometimes counterintuitive to what people are taught,” Murphy said. “When things get hard, people revert back to what’s comfortable, but we have to stay the course.”
“I think you saw [on Sunday], if we stay the course and are on the front foot and aggressive and play forward, what we’re capable of.”
Murphy has confidence in his players, saying, “I want them to believe in themselves as much as I believe in them. And that’s sometimes hard.”
So, how does he encourage it?
“Keep believing in them,” Murphy said. “Keep challenging them. Keep telling them when they’re good, keep helping them when they’re bad. They’ve got to be willing to believe it.”