Real Salt Lake Head Coach Jason Kreis
On the teams bright start to the game…
“It’s always a little frustrating when you have so many clear chances and you don’t take them, but I think that our guys put all the right effort into it. Herediano made it very, very difficult in the second half; literally, putting 11 players, almost in their penalty box and it will always be tough to score on a team that plays like that. I was expecting Herediano to come out and play a little more soccer than they did tonight and not muddle up the game like they did.”
On taking pride in the effort put forth from RSL…
“I am really, really proud of our guys tonight. At halftime I told them that the performance they had put out was spectacular in my eyes. We were doing all the things that you need to do to win big games like this except that final touch. It just came down to one player making one play; I really felt like it would come tonight and I’m shocked that we didn’t get it. But we need to move forward and forget this quickly because we have a little tournament of our own coming up.”
On changing focus so quickly…
“I think in some ways it’s a good thing that we have a game on Saturday. Another match for us to get turned around and then playoffs start very quickly after that; we’ve got to feel sorry for ourselves a little bit tonight and then move forward.”
On Saborio’s importance to the team…
“We know he is an important player and he always seems to be able to make that crucial play in the penalty box to make the difference. We typically have someone in the box who can finish for us and when we wanted Espindola and Paulo to do a little more of that tonight but that is just not their natural position.”
Real Salt Lake MF Kyle Beckerman
Overall thoughts on the match…
“It’s a tough one to take. We created enough chances to score four or five tonight, but we didn’t and so we’re not moving on.”
On effort of the entire team…
“Yeah, I mean it’s always there. It’s a matter if we are going to score our chances. If we score our chances we’re one of the best teams in the region. When we don’t, we stay at home. It’s a bummer to take right now, because we did enough tonight and we were a far better team, but you’ve got to score.”
On moving on and preparing for Saturday’s match against Vancouver…
“I don’t know. We’ll see. We’ll just try and pick ourselves up and turn it around. We’ve got some really important games coming up so we can still have a really good season if we get our stuff together.”
Real Salt Lake MF Will Johnson
Overall thoughts on the match…
“Yeah, it’s standard when you play these teams. Diving. Time wasting. You know exactly what you’re going to get. They think that’s a good way to play.”
Thoughts on the team’s performance…
“Yeah, we went for it. We put in a lot of effort and created some good chances. We couldn’t quite find that final pass. There was a little lack of quality in the final third and it really hurt us tonight.”
On getting back to MLS play…
“I don’t think anybody is not together. I think we’re all together in this. Nobody was frustrated at each other, just frustrated at the situation. You know, that’s CONCACAF. That’s the ugly side of CONCACAF. It always has been and as long as it continues like this, it always will be. So I think the guys are together and looking forward to getting back to MLS play and some real football.”
Real Salt Lake DF Nat Borchers
On overall thoughts on the match…
“It was pretty clear which team dominated tonight and which team had the better position and won more of the 50/50 balls. We’re more dangerous. We just couldn’t find that final touch and that was the difference in the result.”
On the importance of finishing…
“I thought Paulo and Fabian were quite dangerous tonight. Fabian got in there in the first half, and almost put one away. I thought Paulo combined pretty well with the midfielders too. I’m really proud of the effort that we put in tonight to be honest with you. We totally dominated them. Obviously we’re going to have to heat up some chances at the end there if we’re going to push numbers forward.”
On bouncing back to MLS play…
“I think we have no choice really. It’s a tough loss we’ll call it, obviously we didn’t lose, but it feels like a loss. It was another result where we defended quite well and we attacked quite well. We had them in their end of the field the whole game, and like I said, I think it’s something that we can move forward with and be very positive about.”
On the antics of a second half…
“We knew that was going to be their game plan. It’s really a shame when teams do that. They make a mockery of the sport really. I was staring down their coach the whole second half, looking at him thinking, “Is that really the game that you want to play, or do you want to win fairly here and have some sportsmanship not gamesmanship?” But we should have done our part there. We put them away. We’re the better team if we just score that goal.”
On comparing tonight’s scoreless match with the last Seattle game…
“It’s obvious that those are both different situations being a league game versus a CONCACAF, but you know again I am proud the way we came out in the first half and dominated. The chances that we created, I’m proud of. I thought overall defensively the effort was fantastic. The final touch is the difference in the game. I think we will remember this one for a while. We’re going to bring this one into our memory banks, and the next time we play CONCACAF, we will have to bring it out and remember it.”
Real Salt Lake GK Nick Rimando
On overall thoughts on tonight’s game…
“I thought we played great. But that is football, and sometimes it gets the best of you even when you’re the better team. Congratulations to them. They played a great defensive game and they came out on top and you got to give credit to them.”
On the shots targeted toward him…
“It goes with the game. We were sending a lot of players forward when they got their opportunities, and we expected that. Good thing they didn’t score, and it gave us a chance to get at least one at the end, but we couldn’t do that.”
On the first 15 minutes and focus of the match…
“It was just to win the game. The objective was to win the game. If the goal came, great. If two goals came, then we would have to make some decisions then if we’re going to play defensive or try to go for that third one just in case they got one, but the first half I thought for sure we were going to get one, but we were unlucky.”
On going forward into the playoffs…
“If we play like we did in the first half, there’s no rebounding. We just concentrate on our game and have no worries about how we’re going to play. If we let this get the best of us and feel bad about this game, it’s not going to be good going into the playoffs, but I doubt we’re going to do that.”
Did this feel like the Monterrey game where you couldn’t quite deliver?
“Yeah. Even in that New York game that we played in 08’ to go to the finals, hitting the post and not finding the net, it was a tough game. A lot of players have been in those situations, so turn around and hopefully it will be quick for us and we can concentrate on the MLS cup.”
Real Salt Lake MF Luis Gil
On breaking down the defense…
“I think we did good with it. I think sometimes we rushed it, but I feel like we started off aggressive and we slowed the game down when we had to, but we just couldn’t find the back of the net.”
On his contribution to the game…
“I felt good. I felt like as a team we did some decent things. Individually I feel like I got forward, and that was our big thing that we needed that goal, and unfortunately that didn’t happen.”
