Real Salt Lake Head Coach Jeff Cassar
Thoughts on the match:
“It just comes down to I need to do a better job of making sure the guys are prepared and next week we will. It was a warm night here, the guys expended a lot of energy and when you have to make a sub in the back it’s never easy and it’s hard to replace [Chris Schuler]. We needed to make a few subs we were unable to. So it was a tough night. Everything was just a little bit off. That comes down to me. I need to do a better job making sure that we are nice and sharp in all the areas of the field.”
On his team’s result:
“I think each game is a different animal. Tonight we just weren’t extremely sharp, we got frustrated because [Chivas USA] did sit back, they were hard to penetrate. A lot of teams have done that against us. A lot of times if you don’t get another lead goal on them they just sit back and frustrate you and catch you on a counterattack. We didn’t do a great job of that. I need to do a better job as a coach to prepare the team for situations like this.”
On lack of goal scoring opportunities:
“[Chivas USA] did a good job of keeping the game in front of them and we didn’t get in behind them very much which is weird. We had a few chances that were in dangerous areas but we were never able to make [goalkeeper Dan Kennedy] make a save.”
On FW Alvaro Saborio’s chances:
“I don’t think anyone was sharp tonight, so it’s tough for anyone to shine in that game. We needed somebody to step up and they did a good job of frustrating us.”
On RSL’s upcoming game versus San Jose Earthquakes:
“We just need to play good soccer. We had a good performance against Sacramento in the reserve match and there is going to be an opportunity for a lot of players to step up and we are going to need everyone.”
On missing a chance to clinch a playoff spot:
“Every loss is frustrating to me but we have to hold ourselves, myself included, to just a higher standard. The games are going to be tough. There are no teams that are going to roll over for us so it’s very frustrating.”
Real Salt Lake MF Kyle Beckerman
Thoughts on the game:
“It was a little of us not playing to our potential, but tonight I think it was just a case of, we were just a little off in front of goal. There's a lot of stuff that we did good, we just didn’t score.”
On the team’s performance:
“It was like the game was almost too easy in the first half where we were able to just pass and pass like they were almost down a man. When you have teams like that on the ropes, you got to put them down and you got to score and we just weren't able to do that tonight. I feel like it's not the worst thing for us. We can use a little wake-up call and if we can get our worst loss of the year out now, it's probably a good thing. We're usually good at responding after a tough loss and that's where we're going to work our tails off this week at practice and see if we can respond well at home in front of our fans and get back to winning ways.”
On international absences possibly hurting them next game:
“No matter who plays, we got to respond. We have a home game. I'm not totally sure but from what I can remember, it's our first time losing two in a row. I expect that our response is going to be pretty strong no matter who's on the field. We just got to find a way to get a win.”
Real Salt Lake GK Nick Rimando
Thoughts on the match:
“A little slow out there. I think we could have created more chances but unfortunately we couldn’t put anything in the back of the net and we are going home with no points.”
On stopping the PK:
“Just made my decision up well – where to go, what side. I tried to stay as long as I could in the middle and as he opened up was able to get a good push in and make the save.”
On what can be taken from the loss:
“Sometimes it is humbling to take a loss like this. I know the guys are going to have some fire underneath them against San Jose at home, and hopefully we continue that in the next three games.”
Chivas USA
Chivas USA Head Coach Wilmer Cabrera
On tonight’s 1-0 victory over Real Salt Lake:
“I’m very happy for the players and also for the crowd. For us it has been almost two months of difficulties, but now we can put everything behind us. We have now started the month of October with a good win against one of the top teams in the Western Conference and it is important because we needed to show that we haven’t given up anything yet. The season is not over yet and we are not going to give up. That’s important for the mentality of the players and our team.”
On Chivas USA’s strengths during today’s match:
“The whole team improved. We played a good game last weekend against one of the top teams who have an unbelievable run of scoring goals, Seattle [Sounders FC]. We did a good job but we needed to do better defensively, tackling the ball and winning it at the end. Today, I told the guys that if we were able to improve [those aspects], the chances would come. And if we could find the balance between being more solid in the back and creating chances, we were going to be ok. It was tough, it wasn’t easy, and to win 1-0 shows how hard of a game it was. It also proved how all the players worked hard defensively and then offensively when we won the ball, we attacked and made the effort to create options and that was important.”
On the locker room’s reaction after the victory:
“I have to give credit to these players because they have been resilient and haven’t given up. They have been working well and hard, they are communicating and pushing each other to be better, and they believe we can get out of this situation with good results. Today I think it’s exactly what we needed, a joy. They are really happy and they are thinking of the next game with the possibility to turn things around for us. Obviously when you have a good result, it supports what you have been doing [and working on]. Now we have to continue working the same way because we have three games left, and the season won’t be over until October 26.”
On the team’s objectives for the final month of the season:
“We had a very tough schedule in the past month and a half. We knew that if we could put all those new players together in October, we could start finding some good points and finally close out the season in a better way. That’s our goal. It’s not going to be easy. Colorado Rapids are trying to come over here and find a way to get out of their own situation and they have good players. And San Jose [Earthquakes] are also there. We have two more games at home, they are always important, and then we have to go to Real Salt Lake, and so far we have been doing well against them so why not. Let’s continue to believe, and keep on dreaming that we can get out of this position, the last place of the Western Conference, that’s for sure our mentality.”
Chivas USA MF Nigel Reo-Coker
On breaking out of the recent slump:
“It’s a big win for us. We’ve been going through a difficult patch for a while, but we’ve kept on pressing, we’ve kept on going. In football you are going to have periods like this and you’re judged on how you get through them and you learn a lot about yourself as a man and also about yourself as a football player. Today was a very difficult game, but we worked hard and got behind the ball. We made it difficult for them, and I still felt that we had the better chances today.”
On the difference in Sunday’s performance:
“I think it is understanding and having a good mentality. That’s something we haven’t been doing well enough the past couple of games. Today I thought we did it well. We made it difficult for the opposition and then when we won the ball we played on the break, we played the counter attack and created some good chances, and that’s what we’ve been kind of lacking the past couple of games. Real Salt Lake is a very good team, they are one of the best teams in the league, and you can take a lot of confidence from today’s performance into the remaining three games we have left.”
On the mood in the locker room after the win:
“It was just great to get a win, it was just a relief, but we aren’t going to dwell on it. We know we have to continue. It’s the last month of the season. Football is such a fantastic and wonderful game. Why can’t we go on a run? Why can’t we win every remaining game from now to the end of the season? It’s a possibility, its football, that’s what makes it such a beautiful game. But like I said, we have to take the positives from today’s performance. To do that against one of the better teams in the league, to not give up any chances and to have the better chances, you know, if we watch that video back there’s a lot of positives we can take from today’s performance.”
Chivas USA FW Felix Borja
On his game-winning goal:
“I was able to score in Seattle, but it was taken down as an own goal. It was a great responsibility to score and today I’m very happy to have scored and the team earned three points.”
On the team’s performance:
“We knew it was going to be like that. [Real Salt Lake] is a team that has played together for a long time and they have the ball a lot, but we knew that we were going to have spaces and today we created a lot of scoring opportunities. I think the result could have been greater. If you look the game, you can see that we were the ones that had more scoring opportunities.”
On the goal as it developed:
“I kept thinking that in the attack, the teammate always supports. When [Erick Torres] took the shot, I kept thinking that the ball could go in or it could hit the crossbar. The opposing defenders thought that it was going in. I followed the play and had the opportunity when it hit the crossbar. I was there and I was able to knock it in.”
