Quote Sheet
Real Salt Lake 0-0 New England Revolution
Gillette Stadium; Foxborough, Mass.
September 21, 2019
Real Salt Lake
Interim Head Coach Freddy Juarez
On his pride for the team after the match:
“Super proud, super proud. Backline was so good. [Andrew] Putna was great. Marcelo [Silva] was great. The whole backline; the whole team was. We asked them to keep the discipline. There’s always going to be some flurries that come on you late in the game; sometimes during the match. We handled them well. At times, maybe a little lucky. At times, our energy and our commitment kept them from taking clear, open shots. So, we’re happy. That’s what we came for. [We] get a point, try and sneak a win, and the guys stuck to the plan. We got something out of it.”
On character and the tactical awareness of the team:
“Character was first for me and then the tactical awareness to stick to the game plan. At times, we liked to open up in the second half and I thought the group stayed pretty comfortable. Yeah, there were moments where some attacks of theirs came to harm us, which is going to happen on the road, but, for the most part, we did a very good job of controlling when we didn’t have the ball and then created some opportunities for ourselves. So, it was a very good overall match. Everybody that contributed, all eighteen that came. It’s not an easy place to come all the way over, travel, all that type of stuff. Nobody was able to nap to that. I don’t know if you guys heard the band all day going on, that type of stuff happened, and the guys pulled through.”
On how the team reacted to the lineup changes:
“Maturity, experience. Some of the younger guys now have thirty, forty games, fifty games. That speaks volumes. They’ve seen this and then other guys like Tate [Schmitt], I think he only has one other game which was the LAFC game, and he did a good job there, so I didn’t hesitate to put him into this match. Just shows a lot of commitment from day one when we started preseason. We said everyone would be used at some point during the season, and for the most part, I think everyone has. So, [Justin] Portillo got his start today and did very well with it. He did that at Montreal, so we had told him we had confidence in him. Brooks [Lennon]; many people are probably complaining that we put him on the left side. We thought, tactically, we needed to leave Aaron [Herrera] on his best side, not change that up. We also tactically thought he could expose that type of field, not being in his defending habits, and he did. Brooks [Lennon] had a very good game. So, overall, [a] very good game from our guys.”
On having the versatility of Brooks Lennon:
“Brooks [Lennon], at times, he might devalue taking out. I think his response is maybe like ‘you’re putting me on the left side?’ But, I know [Brooks [Lennon]. He’s a warrior, he runs, he tackles, he’s super competitive. So, listen, you’re just going to be on this side. Soccer’s still the same. Maybe you’re forced to not have yourself on your proper foot, but now the game, if you use it properly, you have it on your right foot where you see a lot of the field. He’s an overall very, very good player. As long as you don’t use the excuse, trying to find an excuse, and play the game, it doesn’t change.”
On the upcoming match against LA Galaxy:
“Yeah, it’s going to be a tough trip home. Early one, the guys that came, they put in the work. Hopefully, what we decided to do with leaving some guys back home—and they usually work out there— but they saw this, so it got some juices flowing, ready for the Galaxy game. Hopefully, the fans saw the commitment from the guys and they can show up to the stadium and really push us for that game.”
Midfielder Kelyn Rowe
On coming back to New England:
“It’s an amazing feeling going back to a club that you’ve been with for seven years. They were above and beyond anything I ever expected. They treated me with the utmost respect, not only tonight but the past seven, eight years. I came back to a warm welcome and I can’t thank them enough. Not just before the game and the video, but after the game when they allowed me to watch Matt [Turner]’s NEGU Crew as well as the fans inviting me up and cheering my name. It’s an incredible feeling and you don’t get it everywhere in the world, and I was happy to get it here.”
On interacting with and playing against old teammates:
“Yeah, it’s amazing. We were not only teammates and such, but we are also friends on and off the field. I go to know a lot of these players and their families off the field. So, it’s good to come back and see. I know a couple guys got more kids now and it’s incredible. You kind of see them grow up as people and I know it’s only been a year, but we haven’t seen each other or spoken as long as we would’ve liked, so it’s good to see them and say hello and make sure everything’s good.”
On what it felt like going to the away locker room:
“It’s weird, man. It was definitely weird coming back and going in the opposite locker room. Walking in a different direction to the field and having to see these guys and say hello rather than just a quick hello, because you see them every day. It was an interesting one, but it was one that was kind of cool.”
Defender Brooks Lennon
On his first start at left back with Real Salt Lake:
“Yeah, I guess another position that I can play on the field – right back, left back, right winger, left winger. As I said earlier on this season, I pride myself on being a very versatile guy and Freddy [Juarez] came to me earlier on this week and said that I was going to be playing left back, and don’t use it as an excuse. Get into that role and do your job, and that’s what I think I did tonight. We kept a shutout and that’s all you can ask for being in the backline.”
On getting forward from that left back position:
“I think as an attacking outside back, the team needs me as an outlet going forward. As long as I’m doing my defensive responsibilities correctly, I can go up top and support Corey [Baird] if he’s playing on the left like he did tonight – overlap, cut in, shoot maybe, cross. So yeah, being able to support the attack in any way I can as an outside back just poses another threat that we have going forward.”
On a having a guy like Corey Baird playing in front of you:
“It makes it a lot easier. I thought Corey [Baird] worked really hard tonight. I thought everyone worked their tails off and Freddy [Juarez] said it in the locker room after the game, it took heart to come out of here with a point and going back to Salt Lake, let’s see if we can get three points against Galaxy, but going back to your question, I thought Corey, he always works hard. He wears his heart on his sleeve, which I love. So, I’m happy that I was able to play behind him tonight.”
On how the team has grown since losing to San Jose on the road:
“I think the game against San Jose away, when we conceded so late, that was honestly just unlucky. That game we put in a heartfelt performance, we were all devastated at the end of the game, because every single player that started and the guys that came off the bench that game worked their tails off and did everything they could to get a point. We were unlucky not to get one there, but I think we had that mentality tonight from everybody, even the guys that came off the bench, and that’s what we need going forward. If we’re going to get into the playoffs and when we’re hopefully in the playoffs, those are the type of performances we need from all 11 players. The work rate from the first minute to the 90th minute, no matter what.”
On the quick turnaround to Wednesday against LA Galaxy:
“It’s important. As Freddy [Juarez] says, when you get a result, whether it’s at home or away, you need to enjoy it. Soccer is a sport where there’s a lot of ups and downs so sometimes when you get a result like we did tonight you need to enjoy it for twenty four hours and then you put it behind you and you move forward and we’re not looking forward to Galaxy quite yet. We’re going to enjoy this for a little bit but come Monday we need to regroup, put this one behind us and get focused to get three points against Galaxy.”
Goalkeeper Andrew Putna
On earning a point on the road:
“It was really good. The boys kept to the gameplan tonight and that was the biggest thing. We just knew that if we worked our butts off and stuck to the gameplan it was going to work for us.”
On what it took to earn a draw:
“It was just grit. We knew we had to come out not trying to chase the game, but let it come to us, defend in our block and stay organized. That was the biggest thing. We did it tonight. We kept a zero on the board and we’re super happy about it.”
On going home with a point:
“It feels good, but if we don’t get the result we want on Wednesday, it’s all for nothing. We’ve got three games to go and hopefully we can get the points to get in the playoffs.”
On the last minutes of the game:
“There are going to be nervy points in the game, but we stuck together, the guys defended and kept the zero. That’s all that matters.”
