QUOTE SHEET
Real Salt Lake 1-1 Sporting Kansas City
Childrenās Mercy Park; Kansas City, Kansas
September 30, 2018
Real Salt Lake
Head Coach Mike Petke
On the match:
āThis point was massive, 100% massive for us. Guys put everything, everything in there. The game plan, obviously we knew we were going to be under it a lot. Thatās credit to Kansas City, especially here at this stadium. This environment is unbelievable. Coreyās goal was a perfect transition goal for us. I honestly felt that we had the opportunity ā if we were quicker, which usually we are ā if we were quicker in transition to get at goal a couple more times and you never know what happens. I think shots on goal was 6-3. They obviously had a hell of a lot of shots. But our compactness, our blocking, Nickās saves, they were a little off the mark here and there ā this is a well-earned point and one that we need.ā
On the playoff race:
āWeāre above the playoff line. Weāve been there for four and a half months. Itās in our hands now. If we do what we have to do, then we will be okay. Iām not really score checking at this point.ā
On Albert Rusnak coming off the bench:
āAlbert played a very big role in the game tonight. I make difficult decisions all the time. When you look at the Houston game when Albert came on and won it for us, it was one of those situations tonight and Albert came on and provided us with exactly what we needed him to.ā
On Nick Besler playing against Matt Besler
āIt was a situation we talked about all week as a coaching staff. Do we really put him on his brother? Is that too much to ask? When we approached him about it, his immediate response was, āAbsolutely, letās do this.ā I donāt know if a brother ever marked a brother in an MLS game, youāll have to look into the record books for that. But I thought Nick did excellent tonight.ā
Midfielder Albert Rusnak
On the teamās performance:
āThis is not an easy place to come to and get a point. At this point in the season, every point counts. This could be an important point at the end of the regular season. We know we missed the playoffs last year by one point, so we know how much we value this.ā
On entering in the second half:
āAt that point, we had conceded the goal minutes before I came on. The game had shaped up differently than in the first half. In the first half, we had more of the ball and more attacks. In the second half, we were more under it. The main thing was not to concede a second goal; see if we can try and get a couple of counter attacks there and maybe try and score a winner. The main focus when I was coming on the field was not to lose the game.ā
Defender Nick Besler
On marking his brother:
āItās like marking anybody else. You donāt want them to score, but if my brother were to have scored on me it wouldāve hurt a little more because I would probably have to hear about it for a long time. He almost got me to be honest, he got in front of me on one and luckily, he didnāt score off of it so Iām fortunate for that.ā
On playing in front of a KC crowd:
āIt was pretty special for me. I could look up and see some friends, see some family. This was a stadium that I came to as a young kid, watching my brother play as a fan and now -- however many years later -- to come and play in the stadium against him, itās something you just really canāt even write up. So, it was really special for me. I tried to relish or enjoy the experience as much as I could and at the end of the day, I think we got a great result from a tough environment to play in.ā
On mid-game adjustments:
āI donāt think itās necessarily easier or harder. I think maybe, they just mightāve seen something in how we defended. Maybe they thought we were playing a high line defensively and they could catch us out there. As a defense, you just have to adjust to what theyāre going to do and when they were playing long balls, I think for the most part we handled it pretty well. We didnāt give up a goal in the run of play which is a positive. Weāll lock down some set pieces going forward but I think we handled their direct play pretty well.ā
Forward Corey Baird
On the result of the game:
āThis is a tough place to come play. We know Kansas City is one of the better teams in the League so coming here and getting a point is good. I think we executed our game plan well.ā
On scoring his goal:
āSavarino was driving through the middle of the field and whenever him, Plata, Albert, or Damir make runs, Iām just looking to make runs off them. These guys are phenomenal passers. They can thread that ball and a great ball from Savarino made it easy for me.ā
On hitting the crossbar in the second half:
āAfter I hit it, I thought I had it. Thatās one you really wish you could get back.ā
On late season points:
āComing down to the end, every point matters. But for us, I think we still couldāve gotten three points here. So, the team is a little disappointed but coming out of here with a point is still a good result.ā
On teams coming up behind them:
āIām not really too focused on them. I just know we have got three more games now. If we do what we should be able to do, then weāll make the playoffs.ā
Sporting Kansas City
Head Coach Peter Vermes
On the match:
āI think we were a lot better this week than last week. I thought we had a lot of urgency. I thought that this game was much different. It would be nice to score some of the chances, because we created some really good ones. I canāt criticize the team for the fact that I thought we played very well. We kept our composure even though we went down 1-0. We scored off a set piece. The number of chances we created was fantastic, we just didnāt put those other ones away to finish off the three points. We played well and I thought we had a good mentality. Our emotion in the game was good, too. We could have lost ourselves when we went down 1-0 and maybe conceded another one. We didnāt do that so that part was good.ā
On the team fighting for an equalizer:
āThatās the thing I was happy about. The guys stayed very focused and stuck with the plan. We knew that we were going to get something. The plan worked. The problem was that we didnāt execute it in the goal, right? It doesnāt matter at the end of the day. You still have to score and itās about execution. Outside of that, we had the majority of the ball, we created the chances. We made a bad mistake on the goal ourselves, but other than that they didnāt have all that much. You have to get a lot of credit to Nick Rimando. He played very, very well and made some big saves. I think that was the difference in the game, as well.ā
On the rivalry:
āHonestly, I didnāt even pay attention to it all that much. I think that we just tried to play. That was the biggest thing for us. We tried to play. I thought we played, again, really well. That was really the focus of the group. I thought they did a good job. Their emotions were good, even when we went down 1-0 we responded really well. It shows we have a lot of experience in the team. The guys handled it well.ā
On the playoff push:
āItās really important when you get down to the end of the season that youāre in good form, not bad form. Itās important as we keep vying for a playoff position and trying to accumulate points that we are playing well. Right now, I feel comfortable with the fact that weāre playing well and creating good chances. If we knock out a few of those chances and weāre in a much different place in this game.ā
Forward Johnny Russell
On the match:
āFrustration. This is a stretch of games we need to be winning, especially our home games. We get caught on the break in the first half. I donāt think we played bad in the first half but one mistake and we get caught out. And then from there, itās all an uphill battle. We deserved to get back into the game. We had chances in the first half and second half to take something more from the game. It just wasnāt to be today. Weāve still got important games to come. Weāve got to pick ourselves up and go again.ā
On settling for a point:
āWhen you create the chances that we have, itās not always going to sit right when you donāt take them. Thatās the way it was today. Results went for us this weekend and we havenāt capitalized on that. Thatās the most frustrating part. It was an opportunity really for us to put a bit of space in the standings. We havenāt done that. Itās still in our hands. Weāre still in the position weāre in. We just need to get back to winning ways.ā
On his assist:
āIt was a great header from Ike. I just tried to put in an area and heās great in the air. Itās a vital goal. We had a couple of chances after that. They made a great save from Diego, as well. Itās a difficult one to take but weāve still got important games to come. We need to bounce back.ā