Columbus Crew vs. Real Salt Lake Post Game Quotes
6/30/2012
Real Salt Lake Head Coach Jason Kreis
On missing players like Jamison Olave and Kyle Beckerman and how it impacted the loss:
“Only thing wrong with having that type of mentality about how important your players are is that you demean the other players and for me there’s no reason to do that. The guys came in and gave it everything they had. I think the first goal was a bit of a communication mistake and the second goal came off a corner kick. I think the players have an appreciation of how we are getting scored on but are struggling to take care of it right now. We’re in a difficult patch, every team goes through them and we haven’t really had one until now. It’s a long way until the end of the season, we have some players who are out injured, so we need to stick together and keep reminding ourselves that right now we’re not getting the job done but still believe that we can. At some point it’ll come right for us.”
On losing three games in a row:
“I think that we’ve put a lot of pride in doing things like not losing three in a row. It feels different. Losing two games in a row at home puts us in a place that we aren’t familiar with. If we look at tonight , we were still creating some chances that on any other night had our forwards been a little sharper we would score a goal and that would give a different complexion to the game. I still believe in this group, they are going to need to lead themselves a little bit out of this.”
On the power outage in Columbus and its impact on the game:
“It’s not ideal, but the biggest issue was the uncertainty involved. I think that in situations like this there should be a backup plan in place so we could move forward with it quickly.”
Real Salt Lake Defender Nat Borchers
On the goals:
“I think it was poor defending on our part. I think we made two mistakes, one off the run of play and one off a set piece and they punished us for it. We didn’t punish them for their mistakes, we had some chances and we just didn’t get the job done.”
On giving up a goal late in the first half:
You just can’t give up goals in the last five minutes of halves. We always talk about managing games and that is a time in the game where you absolutely cannot give up goals. We got broken down on the play that resulted in the corner kick and we weren’t good enough on the corner kick to stop [Gaven] from scoring.”
On the having no power at the hotel all night and it disrupting their routine:
“You like to make excuses in this business but you can’t. I think we did everything we could to prepare physically and mentally for this game and they went through it too. We just didn’t bring our A game tonight.”
Real Salt Lake Goalkeeper Nick Rimando
On the three-game losing stretch:
“I think it’s mental mistakes, I think we know how good we can be and we have to stick to the basics and details and remember what got us this far. There’s nobody in this locker room that doesn’t think we can’t continue to do better. We’re just not getting the results right now and I think they’re coming from mental errors. They beat us on two goals that we could’ve done better on but they beat us fair and square, we didn’t beat ourselves this time.”
On the importance of missing players like Olave, Beckerman and Grabavoy:
“They are definitely important but at the same time, the guys gotta get in when other guys aren’t available and they have to show up. Maybe we’re not as deep as we think we are but at the same time when that player comes in he has to do his job. It’s a team effort not just one player’s job, It’s a cliché and it’s true but we have to stay positive and move forward."
Crew Head Coach Robert Warzycha
General thoughts on the game:
“I think it was a tough game for us, playing against a very good team. We know what they are capable of doing. They pass pretty well and create a lot of chances. So, we had to be very compact and very organized. We finished our chances well, two crosses on the ground. The second half, we were very confident defending. Being in the right places, too bad we didn't catch them once in a counter attack. But with heat like this, I'm pleased with the performance. And obviously, nobody got hurt so that's very important.”
On scoring early:
“I felt like today, we played to win from the first minute. We knew what we had to do. The players were very confident. That was different. I think the game in Chicago; we lost the ball probably three or four times in a row in the first minute and then a good team punishes you for your mistakes. We lost the ball too close to our goal. Today, that wasn't the case. I think we were a very clean. “
On Danny O'Rourke's comeback from injury:
“He has a lot of experience. He's probably not 100-percent fit, because he hasn't played since the Seattle game. He can manage the game, especially at the end of the game when you have to have somebody on the field with experience to step up and win the ball in the middle. He did that.”
Crew Midfielder Eddie Gaven
On starting off strong:
“We were able to come out pretty sharp tonight. We didn't give (RSL) too much time to play. We scored two nice goals in the first half and it made the game so much easier for us going into the second half, which we definitely needed because we started to get a little bit tired towards the end. It was nice that we already had that 2-0 cushion. It was a good win overall.”
On his goal:
“Josh [Williams] played a great ball. I kind of slid at it. It was a little bit in front of me. I thought it was going over when it came off my foot, but luckily it hit off the post and went in. It was a great play by Josh to be able to take a touch, hit it to me, open in the box, I'm just happy it went in.”
On Tony Tchani playing in a central role:
“Tony is a great player (in that role). He's really good on the ball, he makes good runs, makes very good passes. And as you saw tonight, he can also finish. He scored two really nice goals these past two games. He's making those late runs into the box that are so dangerous for other teams to defend. He's been playing really well in there for us.”
Crew Midfielder Tony Tchani
On his confidence after scoring two goals in two games:
“I never give up. I keep on working hard and just believe that whenever the coach calls me, I'll get out there and give my best.”
On his goal and Emilio Renteria's assist:
“First, Emilio fell on the ground. I stopped for a little bit. When he kind of beat the guy, I sprinted because if Emilio just put it right there, I'm just going to hit it on target and I did.”
