Quote Sheet
FC Dallas 2-2 Real Salt Lake
Toyota Stadium; Frisco, Texas
Saturday, May 22, 2021
Head Coach Freddy Juarez
On late goals:
“I don’t think we gave up hope at any moment. I think we have players that have tremendous mentality this year. I believe the guys come into every game believing they can win, not just wanting to win, but they really believe they can win and that’s football. This team had to come with everything today, and we anticipated that they were going to come with everything. They’re trying to win at home. With their style of play and the numbers they threw at us today, it was a lot to deal with. I actually thought we got better in the second half dealing with those moments, up until the last 10 minutes where they start throwing everything at you, lumping balls in and being very aggressive. I thought we handled the second half well. When they got that late goal, I didn’t think it was something they deserved, because I thought we were controlling the ball very well up until that point. It just shows the character of the guys and that they belong in every game and can win every game. They didn’t give up, created a chance and we got a goal.”
On takeaways from the game:
“Mentality and growth on the road, getting another point and continuing to get points against a team that was a playoff team last year. They’re a very aggressive team. They did get a lot of corners, but since San Jose we’ve been dealing with service and big teams, Nashville being one of them. Then we come here and get a lot of corners against and we dealt very well with them. The first goal just shows urgency, but we lost concentration for a split second and we gave them a chance to get back in the game again. It was a great response in the second half. We had been doing great up until the second goal, but we just forgot to slide over a little bit because we asked Aaron to be very aggressive. He was controlling the movement that I think we were struggling with in the first half and doing a great job, but we had a little lapse there. We still dealt with the other things we talked about. We take away that we’re growing. We’re defending well and coming on the road, we know that it’s not going to be easy. Potentially, we will get scored on while on the road, but we have to keep attacking and believe, and we did that.”
On the game plan:
“I disagree with the whole second half, but I think we suffered in the last 15 minutes. Tactically, we talked about where the space would be, and I believe our team, defensively, is doing a very good job and are committing to the cause of trying to keep teams off the scoreboard and making it tough on opponents. I think we’re better and we’ll continue to grow on the offensive part. In the second half, you started seeing really good attacks on the left side, which was there even more often than in the first. At times, we just didn’t switch the ball quick enough, and I thought we could have caused more problems. Overall, I thought we were better in the second half, than we were in the first.”
On Damir’s impact:
“Just great mentality. He’s a warrior, a machine. He doesn’t back down from any challenge. He’s a presence in the box, and it’s like he has a magnet to the ball. First of all, the service was unbelievable, and he did what he does best. When he gets that open on that good of a ball, you have to put it away, and he did. It brought us back to where we were in the beginning of the game. It was a great goal from Damir, and that’s what he brings to the team. When I talk about ‘We believe we can do well in every game, and win every game’, a lot of it has to do with him.”
On David Ochoa:
“Great game from Ochoa. Excellent performance. More important for me, it looked like his chin was always up. He didn’t look down in moments like he was panicking. For me, the chin up and his posture shows defenders that, ‘I’m here to back you guys up. Back me up.’ mentality. He was good with his feet for the most part. The goals weren’t his fault. It’s never an individual’s fault; it’s a collective. I think it was a solid game from Ochoa, and he continues to show growth. We don’t expect him to be creating those ten saves every game, but we do expect our goalkeepers to keep us in a match. You’re going to get shot at in a game. You’re going to, especially on the road. If he needs to come up big two or three times, we need that, and that’s what we ask of every player. He’s going to go to national team camp, and we’re excited for him. This game is another block in what we’re trying to develop for him, his development, and for his future.”
On the conditions:
“They knew it. They dealt with it in the warmup, and they bring their studs and their regular firm grounds. We talked about it before the game, during the warmup to see which stud was going to be better for you on that surface because it’s going to continue to rain. I did think we battled and were good. We were a little slow on second balls, and a lot of that had to do with the aggressiveness of the other team. They were coming out with a bit more energy. They were home so that should be expected, but then the surface almost speeds up the game a little bit more. It took us awhile for us to find the speed of the game and get to tackles and loose balls a little bit quicker. We lost too many of those in the first half, and adapted better in the second half. It was tough. We knew it was going to be tough, and the rain and the slick surface added to that.”
Midfielder Damir Kreilach
On scoring the tying goal:
“First of all, I want to say, all credit to the team. It was a battle today, and we fought until the end. At the end of the day, I think we deserved a point. Unfortunately, we allowed more chances than we usually do in past games. However, we did score two goals and we had many opportunities today. We had lots of half-chances where if we had played better passes we could have finished. We want to stay positive. We are taking points on the road, and now we are concentrating on our next game against Minnesota at home.”
On difficulties with possession:
“They are a very good team, and they have quality. They wanted to keep the ball, but our shifting was solid. It wasn’t the best defensive game we played, but overall I think it was a positive, because we got the point on the road.”
On growth from last year:
“There is a lot, the improvement is there. The way we play on the road, we know we are a tough team to play against, which we proved in the last two games, against Minnesota and today. We have to keep going and get the points at home. Of course, we’re not satisfied with only 4 points from the last few games at home, but this is where we can take our chance to get wins and points. We play seven of our first 10 matches at home, and we have to be better at home. We have to score more goals and win those games.”
Goalkeeper David Ochoa
On getting eight saves:
“To be honest the last thing we want is for me to be making saves. If I come out of the game with zero saves I’m honestly happy. Sometimes the game of soccer doesn't give you what you want, so I just have to be locked in for the full 90 and be prepared for anything. Have to make that save when the team needs it.”
On performance in tough weather conditions:
“We knew starting the warmup that it was going to be a rainy one, a tough surface for me. We just made sure to get reps, skip balls in front of me and have me deal with them. We did that for the warmups to prepare me for the game. It got a little bit more wet during the game and it made it tough for me, but it’s what I practice every week, so I’m up for the challenge.”
On his approach to penalties:
“Nacho [Goalkeeper Coach Ignacio Hernandez] and all of the goalkeepers get together the day before the game and we look at film on the attackers favorite feet and where they want to put the ball and we go over penalties. I did see a couple of PKs from Jara, but he’s an experienced striker, so I knew it wasn't going to be easy. I just tried to go up to the PK and stay calm, wait for the last second and pick a side. I was unfortunate today, but for the next one I will make sure to give it my all to get the save.”
On earning a point on a road:
“We knew it was going to be a tough game versus Dallas away. Every away game is tough. My thoughts are that we could have played a little better and maybe gotten a win. We were unfortunate on a couple of rebounds, but honestly at the same time we come out positive. A point away is not easy so we come out with our heads high.”
On message to the backline when under pressure:
“My message is the same thing we work on every week, our shape defensively, getting players behind the ball and defending with the whole eleven. Obviously a little more today because of the surface. There were a couple of balls that they struck from distance that were difficult for me because of the surface, it bounces quickly off the grass. My message was just to get tight, get a body on them and don’t allow shots from anywhere. We had a couple of shots get through but other than that I thought we were solid tonight.”
On the wet surface:
“My first kick of the game I slipped. It was kind of a wake up call. I even had studs on, but it was just really wet. I wasn’t the only one who slipped throughout the game though, a couple of other players were slipping, but I just made sure to not have a big run up after that first incident. I tried to stay as close to the ball as I could, make sure my footing was good and just strike the ball cleanly. I didn’t try to go with power too much because it makes it more difficult. I just went with more technique today, other than the first one. I had a couple of slips, but at the same time I’m not perfect so I’ll just learn from them and keep working.”
On the combination of Brody and Herrera:
“I’m sure it was difficult for Freddy [Juarez] to make that decision. Whether it was Donny [Toia] or Brody we knew that they were going to do their job. I thought Brody did a fantastic job tonight. He was killing the ball, he was good defensively. Aaron is a solid defender and I thought both of them stepped up tonight and had a good performance.”
Forward Rubio Rubin
On grinding out the draw:
“I think we had chances to score a couple more, but at the same time it's the beginning of the season. We are still trying to understand each other and make the most out of our games, even if it's getting a point away from home. As much as we want to win, sometimes a point can help us in the long-term. We have a good opportunity against Minnesota this coming weekend and if we get three points we’re going to be back where we need to be. Just goes to show the kind of mentality that we have. We were down 2-1 and we were able to get another one with Dami’s [Damir Kreilach] goal. We just have to build from here and continue to work.”
On the footing on the pitch:
“As a player a lot of us like to wear firm grounds, but it was one of those games where you had to play with soft grounds. Even with soft grounds though we were slipping. There was a little bit of rain on top of the grass so every time we tried to cut or shift quickly another way we were catching the grass and slipping everywhere. Even I had a couple of instances where I slipped on the ball in front of goal and it cost us a big chance possibly, but at the same time it is what it is and we just have to live with it. It’s a part of football.”
On being substituted:
“At the end of the day I just focus on my play. If I have to go 81 minutes and come off to the bench and someone comes in or if I have to come off the bench and play 10 minutes, my job is to make the most of it. At the end of the day I can’t control that and ultimately I trust Douglas [Martinez Jr.] or any player who replaces me to do a good enough job to help the team win, or come out with a draw. Ultimately that is up to the coach. For me, I was just focused on my style of play for 81 minutes today. I trust the coaches and they trust me.”
On mentality in rainy conditions:
“It can be tough sometimes trying to continue to play your game. For example today I had an opportunity where I slipped in front of goal and it cost the team a big chance. You can’t really prepare for it, you just have to swallow it and continue to play, continue to work. Hopefully not allow slip ups that cost a goal. At the end of the day it was a tough game and the field was slick. You just can’t really prepare for it. We drew and we’ll take the point.”
On being content with a point on the road:
“Obviously we wanted to win. I think we had opportunities to score a couple more. Every game you go into you want to win the game, but going away from home and getting a result like that can help us long-term. We have a great opportunity on Saturday against Minnesota. We just have to take that opportunity and come out with the fight that we’ve had most games. If we win we put ourselves in a great position. We are five games in, going to be six games in and if we win we’ll be in a great spot before the international break.”
On what the team did well tonight:
“I think the team really fought throughout the game and was able to show the character that we have. Down 2-1 and being able to score in the 85th minute just shows what kind of fight we have. Obviously we were playing away from home and the conditions were a little tough, but we were able to come out with a point. It will help us not only next week but also in the long-term when it comes to getting these results that are much needed.”
