Real Salt Lake Head Coach Jeff Cassar
On performance:
“I thought it was probably our best performance all year. The commitment from the guys on the defensive end was off the charts. It was something we stressed all week long that we think our defensive intensity is going to lead to offensive chances. I think on a different night we probably could have scored some more goals too, but the commitment defensively, the space that we limited them to was unbelievable.”
On Javier Morales:
“He’s playing at an extremely high level right now and I think his confidence is very high and we’re going to talk a lot about that goal, but I’m going to think about the defensive play that he made in the second half. That was unbelievable … That’s what really holds dear to my heart because that’s the kind of thing that other people watch and see and it rallies them.”
On Mansally:
“I thought [Mansally] had arguably, probably his best game that he’s had this year for us. With that being said, there’s still areas to work on, whether it’s maybe reactions, but he’s coachable, he listens. It’s now about putting in a complete 90-minute performance, but it was a tough night for him. They have a lot of speed on the outside with Nyassi and Cato and he did a great job of dealing with that.”
Real Salt Lake Goalkeeper Nick Rimando
On team defense:
“I thought the effort and the commitment from the guys to defend was fantastic. On the road that’s what you need to pull out results … I think our chances came from us being a good defensive, organized team today. When we play good defense we get our chances and that’s the kind of team we are.”
On playing with national team:
“It’s a long haul for sure when you go to Europe, but it’s a commitment that I have in myself. I expect a lot from myself when playing with the national team and representing them.”
On playing at SJ:
“When you go on the road and dig out these results at a tough place to play it builds your confidence.”
Real Salt Lake Midfielder Javier Morales
On game:
“Today, in my opinion, was the best game that the group played together. I think today, the most important thing for us was our commitment on the tackles, on getting second balls, on the fights.”
Real Salt Lake Midfielder Kyle Beckerman
On Morales:
“I believe every time he shoots that he’s going to score or when he makes a final pass I believe that it’s going to come off. He works really hard at his craft. He’s constantly working hard in practice and you’re seeing it in the games. We want to get him the ball as much as possible.”
On Team Performance:
“Today, I think we had the most fun we’ve had in a game since the start of the season. It was great to see…. It seemed like whenever they had the ball, there was two, three guys around and then we were able to win and then turn that into offense. We know there are still things to work on. We’ll build on the good things and see if we can improve on things we didn’t do so well.”
