Petr Cech was in positive mood after another pre-season clean sheet in Indianapolis on Thursday.
In our four summer games so far, we have conceded just once, a late header against Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur, and Cech, who played the first half against Inter at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis last night, was in fine form to deny Rodrigo Palacio, whose deflected drive looked destined for the top corner.
‘It was a deflection, so I took it really fast and I chose the right thing to do, going with the opposite hand,’ said the Czech. ‘I was on time, and I was happy with that because at that point we were 1-0 up and 1-1 could have been a different story.’
As it was we ran out comfortable 2-0 winners, with returning internationals from Brazil, Spain and Nigeria all acquiring their first competitive action of the new campaign.
‘In pre-season you have players with a different state of fitness so you have to adapt to that,’ Cech said. ‘The second half was different because they had the guy sent off and we had players playing for the first time.
‘When you come in, we had three weeks and most are much fitter than those who played for the first time. We’re glad they got their first 30 or 45 minutes under their belts, we won again which is important and we had no injuries. This is massive.’
The goalkeeper was also impressed by the surroundings in Indianapolis, finding an ultra-modern stadium with an excited local support, including one fan decked out in complete Cech kit, gloves and helmet included.
‘I saw him on the big screen, I thought it was funny,’ he said. ‘Also the stadium was fantastic. We are based in Washington where we have all the facilities we need to progress, and coming to places like Indianapolis, New Jersey and Miami is always good.’