Quote Sheet
Real Salt Lake 2-3 Portland Timbers
Providence Park; Portland, Oregon
Saturday, August 7, 2021
Head Coach Freddy Juarez
On unfortunate results:
“I thought today the guys definitely deserved more, it was unbelievable. The whole week we have been in there scrapping. There have been very good moments and some not so good moments, but I thought we ended the three-game road trip with a lot of energy and commitment. If you look at the stats you could say we dominated the game, but leaving the stats aside the feeling of the game was that it was coming. It was just a couple of plays. The group deserved more from that game. They gave everything they had and created 20 plus shots with 12 or so on target and eight from inside the box. Sometimes the game is cruel and it was today.”
On the left back position:
“I think it was more of a tactical decision. With Noah [Powder] you have that attacking mentality more and you need that in a game like this where you are chasing it. Donny [Toia] had a very solid game, a great response from his Galaxy game, but we chose to go with Noah there in those final minutes because when you are chasing the game, you want to get as many players who can score as possible. He is a guy that can score from outside the box if he has a good look and is given the chance. We just wanted to be a little bit more attacking minded since we were chasing the game, it had nothing to do with Donny’s performance. He was getting up the park and gave us a lot, but it came down to that. Noah had a shot there towards the end that was maybe a hand ball, but that’s what we were looking for.”
On Toni Datković:
“Solid performance. It is not an easy environment to come and get started because of the fans and second, it’s turf. I thought he handled the moment well and showed his quality. That’s why the front office brought him in. He’s going to help us. He’s coming into a team with some good centerbacks, but he will help us with competitiveness in the group and with rotations when needed. We were very pleased with his performance today.”
Midfielder Albert Rusnák
On the match:
“I think it’s normal that they went 2-0 up and dropped off. They aren’t going to throw numbers forward to attack and get three or four, it's all about the three points. We got on top of them, we created very good chances. We were dangerous and we got shots, everything except the result, again.”
On getting over hump:
“Most of the things we are doing are good, so I don't think there is anything that we have to drastically change. If I knew the solution I would tell everyone what we have to do. We have some time now until we play our next game at home so we will watch the film, try to point out how we gave up the goals, try to learn from our mistakes and move forward. We are under pressure now, we have to win these two home games that we have coming up. Nothing other than three points from each game will be good enough. We have to catch up to the teams that are ahead of us in the table. I don’t think there is a need to change a whole lot, but amongst ourselves as players we are going to have to figure it out. We are going to have to give even more than what we gave in LA and here tonight. What we gave wasn’t enough as a team and we are going to have to do more to get the three points.”
On feeling the pressure:
“I think our next home game against Austin is a must-win game. I feel like this year there have been multiple games that we have deserved to either win or come away with a point, but we didn’t get the result. If it happens once you can just move on, but it has happened to us a lot of times, especially at home. We have been winning at half and then in the second half we somehow manage to only walk away with a point or sometimes less. There have been games this year where we have deserved more than what we’ve got. As you play more games, there are less games remaining and closing the gap on the teams ahead of you in playoff position gets harder. That’s when the pressure comes. As players, we have to put pressure on ourselves and realize that although we deserve more than we’ve got, it isn't time to put your head down or complain. We have to go again and there’s a game on Saturday against Austin and it is going to be a must-win game.”
Midfielder Damir Kreilach
On the first 30 minutes of the match:
“It’s so frustrating that the first 30 minutes we didn’t come into the game very well, but still we found a way to score a goal. Albert [Rusnák] scored a great goal to go 2-1 and then after that it was just one team on the field, especially in the second half. The way we fought, the way our mentality was great, the way we created chances was perfect. If you have 23 shots on the goal and you don’t take a point, of course it is frustrating. But we have to keep going and stay positive. We have to take from this game positive things and see where we had mistakes.”
On Jonathan Menéndez:
“We saw his quality today, especially one-v-one on the side. He had a great game and helped us a lot, he created chances, took a couple of shots and for him it was just positive and things are going to happen for him in games in the future.”
