Real Salt Lake
Real Salt Lake Head Coach Jeff Cassar
Overall thoughts on the game:
“I thought it was a choppy match. You had a team that was fighting for their playoff life in San Jose and a team that was pushing to move up in the table in us. We fought hard. Both teams fought hard and probably a due result.”
On San Jose FW Tommy Thompson:
“I’m really impressed with him. I’m impressed with his movement. He has very good feet, he is extremely quick and I think he has a really bright future in this league considering how young he is.”
Real Salt Lake DF Nat Borchers
On playing San Jose:
“Whenever you come here, you know it’s a small field. I thought they actually had a lot more of the ball today than they usually do, because they didn’t have [Steven] Lenhart and [Alan] Gordon to battle up top. I think they did a good job with the players they had on the field tonight.”
On RSL’s defensive effort:
“I thought it was OK. In the first half, we gave up a few chances that we could have prevented coming off of their ability to penetrate down the middle and getting some crosses in, but in the second half I thought we were far better. We held our line a little higher and that’s what made the difference.”
Real Salt Lake DF Chris Schuler
On defending San Jose:
“I got a lot of help from Nick Rimando and Nat Borchers throughout the game. Those are the guys that keep me on my best game. Wondo [Chris Wondolowski] and [Tommy] Thompson are a really good duo. Wondo moves well in spaces, and Thompson is talented on the ball. They linked up very well together. They opened us up a few times but not too much. I’m pretty satisfied with our defensive effort.”
On the second half mindset:
“We all had to work through our individual games if we wanted to get a result tonight. With Wondo and [Tommy] Thompson, they look to expose that blind spot behind you, so even when we have the ball, we have to think that they’re playing offense all of the time. I would say that was what our defense was focused on in the second half.”
San Jose Earthquakes
San Jose Earthquakes Head Coach Mark Watson
On the game:
“We knew Real Salt Lake is a good possession team, so we wanted to put as much pressure on them as possible – force them to kick the ball up-field and give the ball away. The goal [we scored] actually came from that [type of pressure]. They tried to play out of trouble, we won the ball and scored. I thought we did a good job of that tonight. We’re disappointed with the draw and I feel for our guys because they put a lot into that game.”
On the defensive unit:
“I thought they did really well. Real Salt Lake is a good team. They have some pace, some quality players and our defense had to play well for 90 minutes. I thought everybody played well tonight. The effort, the performance, and the application of the game plan was fantastic. Real Salt Lake is a good team and they were pushing as well, but I feel badly for our players because I thought they deserved the full three points tonight.”
On FW Tommy Thompson:
“I thought Tommy had another good game tonight. He’s played three games in-a-row and it’s obvious that he has talent. He’s still a young kid and has a lot of work to do, but he’s a very talented player. He’s a great kid, gives you 100-percent work rate all the time and I think he has a bright future.”
San Jose Earthquakes FW Tommy Thompson
On adjustment to MLS:
“I feel the game slowing down for me with the last handful of matches I’ve played. That’s naturally the case on every level of sports with the more playing time you get. In my debut, my mind was racing because I was so excited to be out on a professional field. Things are definitely slowing down for me and I’m looking forward to getting settled in and being the best player I can for this team.”
On playing against Real Salt Lake’s midfield:
“They are a tough side with All-Stars at every position. [Kyle] Beckerman and I were battling all night and I have so much respect for what he has accomplished in his career. He is the type of player that makes you keep your foot on the pedal or he’ll burn you. It was a hard fought, hard-nosed game and those are my favorite types of matches.”
San Jose Earthquakes MF Sam Cronin
On the home draw:
“We’re not satisfied with our performance. At this point in the season, especially at home, we need to get a win. [On a positive note], I saw the fight in us and the comeback spirit. Whenever you give up five goals in one game and then four in another, it’s easy to lose that spirit. We need to improve our quality on the ball. It was a positive start to score the first goal, but we have to start holding on and not surrendering back-breaking goals, although this one was out of our control.”
On the defensive effort:
“We are defending too long in spells. We need to get better on the ball. You don’t give up goals when you have the ball – it’s that simple. We need to have the ball more. In terms of the goal tonight, it was a poor call by the referee on the penalty. It cancelled out some good runs by our defense, but overall we need to possess the ball better and get some better results.”
