QUOTE SHEET
REAL SALT LAKE 2-5 LA GALAXY
STUBHUB CENTER; APRIL 23, 2016
Real Salt Lake
Head Coach Jeff Cassar
On the starting lineup and the substitutions that he used:
“I have full confidence in our players and to be frank, they’ve been doing it all year long. I think we just didn’t get enough pressure to Van Damme, mainly. His direct play, whether it was a diagonal or directly over the top, it was causing us a lot of problems. We had been preparing all week for Lletget up there as well, but Boateng throws a different look to their play and we found out obviously today that he wasn’t playing and he was a difference in the way they played. LA was good tonight. Very good. They were firing on all cylinders. Our shape wasn’t great, but we didn’t have a good second half and a good response. I think our small tactical change of playing with two number 10s, Luke Mullholland and Javier Morales, to take Steven Gerrard and Baggio Husidic out of the game slowed them down just a hair, but they’re very good players and they can still find ways.”
On what went wrong after LA went up 2-1:
“I thought our backline was a little bit stretched. They could play through us, they could play over us, around us, and we didn’t solve it. I didn’t solve it for them and we didn’t solve it out there and it was leaving big gaps. Kyle Beckerman and John Stertzer were doing a lot of running and we got hammered.”
On if Jamison Olave is partly to blame for the amount of goals the team has allowed this season:
“I think we’re going to look at this game and it starts with me. I made some mistakes in preparing the team. But it doesn’t fall on one person’s shoulders by any means. There were some mistakes all over the place and listen, at the end of the day, the defenders take a lot of the heat because they’re the last line but they have to go through everyone else. I didn’t have the guys getting enough pressure to LA’s backline. I thought that we were going to be able to make them predictable with their direct play, but we just didn’t deal with it very well. I thought that Magee and Boateng were a handful coming inside and it was four-on-four at times in the back. We just didn’t deal with it well.”
Midfielder Kyle Beckerman
On how much the team missed Joao Plata Saturday night:
“We just lost a really important player for us. I think it was a really tough place to play. Not many teams come in here and pick up points. They beat us tonight, so we’ve got to learn from it and get back to work this week and do better next week.”
On what went wrong in the last 15 minutes of the first half:
“I’ll have to watch some video, but maybe we got a little stretched. They did really well finishing and I think…I don’t know what the stats were, but it seemed like every shot they started to score. They got hot and really started to feel it. We just didn’t manage it well enough and we paid the price. It was an uphill battle from there.”
On the team’s performance in the second half:
“Our biggest thing was just to try and show some character and win the half, see if we could get one and get back into it. I thought the response was really good. I thought we showed a lot of heart and nobody really quit. I thought maybe if we could get a third, maybe we could make the last 5-10 minutes interesting and see if we could get a point out of it. It didn’t happen, but there was a lot of heart that was shown and it’s something to build on for next week.”
Midfielder Javier Morales
On the match:
“In the second half, we tried to push as far as we could go but we couldn’t tie the game.”
On seeing Juan Manuel Martinez get hurt:
“Like everyone, I don’t like to be out because of injury. And with Juan [Manuel] or whoever, we need everyone as soon as possible, especially those that are very important for us.”
On bouncing back from the loss:
“We have to be smart. We know it is going to be a long season. We tried to stay undefeated as long as we can, but today we lost, so now we have to think about Houston at home and try to keep looking forward. It’s going to be a long season and now we have to get three points at home.”
LA Galaxy
Head Coach and GM Bruce Arena
On LA Galaxy midfielder Emmanuel Boateng’s performance:
“Obviously, he helped us in the attack but defensively he played very well. Just a good performance. He’s faster than most players. He’s left footed which helps on our attack on that side of the field. He’s a good overall player. He’s really grown during the preseason and the start of the season. He can play on both sides of the ball. He’s getting better. He’s understanding the qualities he brings to the field, and his teammates understand it, and that allows him to be more productive.”
On if the LA Galaxy are hitting their stride:
“I think in a couple of months, we’re going to be a real good team. Some other players are still waiting to get back in, and they’re going to be playing together, obviously, over the next few months and hopefully getting better each game. But I think we have a good team and a good balance with some young players, some pace, some real experienced players. Players like Steven Gerrard and Ashley Cole and Jelle Van Damme were tremendous tonight in their experience. They love to play, and they bring a great attitude on the field, and that’s something I’m quite certain we didn’t have last season. So that, plus young players like Gyasi Zardes, Emmanuel Boateng, Sebastian Lletget and Daniel Steres…it’s a really nice balance. We have the potential to be a really good team.”
On how different this team is from what it was a month ago:
“Not to be critical of you people, but you get too nutty at the beginning of the season about what’s going on. We’ll hopefully have a good team in October, November, December. Everyone gets real excited about what’s going on early in the season and rightfully so. But there’s a lot of time left to find out who can really play in this league, and that is yet to be determined.”
On what he’s thinking after the penalty was saved and then Giovani dos Santos’ shot hit the post:
“I’m thinking, ‘s* happens.’ That’s what I’m thinking actually. We were playing so well up to that point that it didn’t bother me and I don’t think it bothered the team. It took a great effort by Gyasi Zardes to bring us back in the game and I think his goal gave us a lot of confidence.”
Midfielder Steven Gerrard
On his first goal of the season and the team’s performance:
“I needed it to make up for the penalty. But credit to their keeper it was a good save. I’d done everything right, but the keeper gambled and went the right way. The performance was good. The last two performances I was really pleased with and it was nice to get the goal at the end to make up for the penalty miss. But the team was sensational today and there’s a lot of positives to take from this one.”
On the performance of Emmanuel Boateng:
“Two days before the game, he’s probably going to be on the bench as a backup player but the manager gave him a shout yesterday because of Sebastian’s groin. He’s been professional all week and his reaction to the manager giving him the call was tremendous. He’s got energy, he’s got pace, and he’s got quality in the wide areas as you see from his assist. And he got off the mark today with a cheeky little finish. Certainly up for man of the match, the little fella’.”
On Rimando stopping 10 of the last 18 PK’s he’s faced:
“I know, I should have given it to someone else. He’s a phenomenal player and because he’s a Liverpool fan I missed it.”
Midfielder Emmanuel Boateng
On how he prepared for his start on Saturday night:
“On Friday after the warmups. Bruce said Sebastian had some problems and couldn’t play so he told me to get ready. So I just tried to step in and help the team anyway I could, so it’s been a fun night.”
On the challenges he’s faced since joining the club all the way up until tonight:
“I think I’m learning a lot. We’ve got some great veterans on the team who are helping me out every game and in practice and everything. So I’m just learning from them and the coaches too and improving every day. So that’s definitely that’s been a big impact so far. Everyone’s been helping me out.”
On the assist he tallied on Mike Magee’s goal:
“It’s the same thing I’ve been saying. I saw the defender standing in between two of us and saw Mike Magee and just tried to pick out Mikey.”
