MLS POSTGAME QUOTE SHEET
REAL SALT LAKE 3 : 2 TORONTO FC
SATURDAY, APRIL 28, 2012
REAL SALT LAKE HEAD COACH JASON KRIES
On Johnny Steele:
“It’s odd, I guess, when someone comes on and scores twice, so maybe he’ll be the ‘super sub.’ I know that Johnny is going to want more minutes going forward and if he keeps contributing in that fashion he’ll get more consideration.
“Really pleased with his calmness on the ball to strike that and make sure it got on frame where he wanted it to. Other players would hash at that and it wouldn’t end up on frame. Pleased with his contribution and pleased with the work by the entire group tonight.”
On feelings with the game winding down and the score tied:
“When you get to the dying moments of the match and you think about how things played out, I still would have felt the performance was pretty darn good. We had a ton of scoring chances. On a different night I think we win that game handily. I think on the other side of that, we could have lost that game, because we took a ton of risks at the end. Fortune favored the bold, I guess. When we’re at home, we go for three points, and nothing less is acceptable.”
On what the team did well and poorly:
“I thought it was a pretty bright beginning. We stressed over the past couple of days, and we have stressed for the past couple of weeks that we want better starts, so I was pleased that we scored in the first 15 minutes. Pleased with some of the versatility we’re beginning to show on some of our attacks, getting the right numbers forward, getting some players involved and into the box; midfielders with scoring opportunities is always nice.
“Displeased a little bit tactically; maybe we didn’t handle that game quite the right way. There were stretches in the second half when we’re more interested in scoring the third goal than making sure they don’t score one to level because got we ourselves really stretched out for chunks in that second half.”
On fatigue with guys playing three matches in eight days:
“We decided to not rotate this week and we typically do quite a bit of rotation in these circumstances. But something about the group and the spirit and the disappointment of losing two games in a row last week, it was important that we keep the same guys out there. I think they handled it pretty well. I’m looking at minute 70 and typically I’m making subs and I’m thinking that we’re handling business and doing well and not too many of the guys looked fatigued to me and I wanted to keep going with it the same. Now, walk in the locker room and you’ve got some guys who are dragging pretty hard. They are tired and they should be – they gave everything they had.
Responding to Toronto continuing to tie the game:
“It’s very important and I think it’s a sign of maturity and self-belief, belief in themselves that they feel they can continue forward, and it’s something I think they can build on going forward. We know that two steps forward, one step back, we can still take the next step forward. It’s important and it’s another sign of where we’re at.”
REAL SALT LAKE MIDFIELDER JONNY STEELE
On his game-winning tally:
“It took me a minute to get settled. I had a chance before that, so the next one I said to (Kyle Beckerman), “Next one, look for me next time.” He took a touch, laid it off and I just placed it in. He set it perfect and I just ran onto it.”
REAL SALT LAKE GOALKEEPER NICK RIMANDO
On RSL’s performance in victory:
“It was a tough game for us. It was the best I’ve seen Toronto play. They played great defensively. They packed it in the back, in the middle and pressured us. We didn’t play as sharp as we could, but we stuck it in there to the end and Jonny (Steele) came through for us. Javier (Morales) had a great ball; he turned with it well and Kyle (Beckerman) had a nice pass to Jonny and Jonny just put it away.”
On returning to Rio Tinto Stadium:
“It feels good. It always feels good when you come home from being off on the road for a while. There are tough games against tough opponents. It doesn’t get any easier. Even the worst team stat-wise in the league can give us a run for the money. We have to make sure we come out to every game focused and ready to play, because we have a target on our back.”
REAL SALT LAKE DEFENDER CHRIS WINGERT
On Jonny Steele’s stoppage time goal:
“He likes big ones. The guy’s a gamer and he loves to play. I love his competitive spirit. I’m just so happy for him and wanted to give him a kiss at the end.”
On the tight finish to the match:
“What a great feeling with that ending, but it was a little disappointing that we are letting up a couple of goals. It was a great win, and to be with our fans like that is just really exciting.”
REAL SALT LAKE CAPTAIN KYLE BECKERMAN
On Jonny Steele’s stoppage-time winner:
“It was a great way to finish the game. The game could have been a lot easier. It was a dogfight. (Toronto) didn’t give up and I think they got some confidence. They got a great goal to get back into the game and then I think they gained a lot of confidence with that. It turned into a really tough game. We just kept pushing, kept pushing and kept pushing and that was a great finish by Jonny.”
REAL SALT LAKE MIDFIELDER LUIS GIL
On RSL’s penchant for late-game drama this season:
“We like to make things interesting. I don’t think it was our best performance, especially against a team that was struggling. It’s always good at least to get the win. Overall, I feel like we played hard every single minute and that counts.”
TORONTO FC HEAD COACH ARON WINTER
On giving away the game in extra time:
“It’s not very smart to give away the game that late. If you look at the whole game, or a series of points in the game, then you can say we gave the game away at those spots too, and that isn’t nice.”
On the change in pace of play from his side after halftime:
“Well, I think that, not only after halftime, but during the first half too we had the first big chance with Eric Avila, another chance with a corner, and after we continued to play well. We missed a penalty and we had some good opportunities where we didn’t score. In the second half we had better chances than Salt Lake, except for the goal in extra time. Some of our players were tired and that allowed them to score the third goal.”
On suffering four straight losses by a one goal margin:
“Well, that is never good to see, but I think that today was a good moment because we played well enough to get at least one point. But the way that we lost is just terrible.”
TORONTO FC MIDFIELDER ERIC AVILA
On what changes were made by Toronto FC at halftime:
“In the first half we were doing well containing them, in the second half we wanted to push. Even though we were one goal down we just wanted to push at them and keep going.”
On his second half goal:
“The movement of the ball was nice and I got open at the top of the box. I had missed the first goal in the first half, so I wanted to just come up and help out.”
On being close to coming away with a result and watching it slip away:
“It kills us, it really does. We worked hard for 93 minutes and then that happens. At times you say it’s football, other times you say it’s luck, but I think those are the small things we do need to fix.”
TORONTO FC MIDFIELDER JULIAN DE GUZMAN
On Toronto FC doing everything but getting a point in the match:
“Yeah, it was a very painful defeat today for us. It’s not even a question if we are working hard or not, it’s pretty obvious that the guys are continuously giving their best, 110-percent.”
On what Toronto FC needs to do to turn the corner:
“We just have to keep our heads up. Now is not the time to drop our shoulders. It’s not the time for us to lose our confidence. Every game that we’ve played this year there’s been a lot of positives to walk out with. We’ve never been dominated in any game that we’ve played.”
