QUOTE SHEET
REAL SALT LAKE 2-1 SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC 2
LAMAR HUNT U.S. OPEN CUP; FOURTH ROUND
JUNE 16, 2015; RIO TINTO STADIUM
Real Salt Lake
Head Coach Jeff Cassar
On what changed from first to second half:
“We just played with urgency, with passion. We had reactions that just weren’t there first half. Credit to the players for coming out in the second half and somebody stepping up. You get opportunities, and you have to seize them, and the second half was a lot better than the first.”
On who stepped up in his mind:
“I think everybody in the second half, because I don’t think anybody was good in the first. I think collectively the guys stepped up. I thought our substitutions brought energy and quality, which at a certain point we needed. Everybody just picked up their intensity because it was just toot flat in the first half and that’s concerning because that’s what we talked about the whole entire time: was not to start like that. But we won.”
On what he said to the players at halftime:
“I wasn’t happy. I’ll leave it at that. I just wanted a response from the guys. I think everyone in the room knew it wasn’t good enough. I think everyone in the stadium knew it wasn’t good enough. I just let them know that, and I wanted a response.”
On Justen Glad’s status:
“It could be a concussion. I don’t know. He’s had a history of them before, so we need to be careful. He started to get blurry in one eye, so we took him out.”
On if this win builds any momentum for the team:
“I thought we created a lot of chances in the second half. Guys were able to get a lot of fitness. Joao [Plata] lasted a complete 90 minutes, and I believe that’s his first. A lot of positive things like that to take. It was a great response. I think you could see where we could be explosive, where we could be dynamic. Can we do that more? Can the guys play with enough freedom to express themselves in the attack and then the guys behind them making sure they’re in good positions if the play breaks down. Their one goal came off of a letdown, mentally, from our team. Everyone was thinking the whistle was going to blow, and I had mentioned to Darryl, “I’m going to be surprised if Olmes [Garcia] sees this guy running.” Sure enough, he went right in. We have to be sharp for 90 minutes to win games.”
On the difference Javier Morales makes when he comes in:
“I think, obviously, it’s quality. It’s vision. And he’s a winner. You could see he wanted to win that game, not just participate in it, not just have a nice pass or this or that. He wanted to win. What we need is 11 players on the field that want to win and then the substitutions that are willing to do anything that it’s going to take to help us win games. It’s not about being an individual, it’s about being a team, and we’re going to need that going forward.”
Goalkeeper Jeff Anttinella
On second half speech to the guys:
“I think people watching the game saw in the first half wasn’t good enough. We needed a wake-up call and to everyone’s credit, that’s what happened. When you play a bad half and things aren’t looking great at all and you’re losing to this team, it’s kind of like we’ve got to wake up and realize the situation we’re in, and I saw a little bit of red, but just trying to get the guys going and answer the call. Can’t ask for much more than that the way they responded.”
On the pressure of the tournament game:
“For me personally I think it was more of a, let’s get back to the way we know how to play. Any type of win - tournament, regular season game - you want to win it. We’re at home and the fans paid money to be here, so we want to play good soccer for them and we want to play good soccer for ourselves and we got a big week coming up. Anything less than three points in this game would have been a big deal, so the guys answered, the guys responded, we got the two goals and then we protected the lead the second half was night and day from the first half. All the credit goes out to guys on the field for answering the call and they stepped up.”
Midfielder Javier Morales
On the indirect free kick:
“I saw it on TV, but it never happened to me. I told the guys after the game I wish I could have one, and before it never happened, and tonight it happened. I’m happy because I scored.”
Thoughts going through his mind as he was speaking to Plata before the free kick:
“Always when you watch me do those free kicks, you always see that somebody touch it and smash it, and somebody always rebounds or something happens, so what I thought before that happened, I told Plata, I want to look for the space and I try to put there you know. He played it back to me and I did it.”
On coming off the bench:
“I want to play. I was talking with the staff before the game. I’m 35 years old you know and I don’t know how many games I have left, so I want to play in everything. I’m happy to play. Open Cup, regular game, Champions League, everything. Tonight I asked Jeff why he didn’t put me in and he said I have to rest and I understand, but when I was on the bench I wanted to play so badly.”
On his mentality coming into the game:
“I think when you’re out it’s easier to see the game and to see the spaces and I saw in the first half, so I knew where was the space, so I saw that Plata was wide open most of the time, but we didn’t use him too much in the first half. When I came in I tried to with him a lot of time, and I think that works.”
