QUOTE SHEET
REAL SALT LAKE 2-1 COLORADO RAPIDS
RIO TINTO STADIUM; AUGUST 26, 2016
Real Salt Lake
Head Coach Jeff Cassar
On Yura Movsisyan’s performance:
“The first [goal] was just a fantastic run putting himself in a good position. We talked a little bit about changing the point of attack and being dynamic and on that play Juan [Martinez] was and we had a switch in the point of attack and Demar [Phillips] got in and then the second goal by Yura was Yura being Yura. It was a combination play out wide penetrated to the middle and from there that’s just a world-class strike. He’s worked extremely hard to get back to full fitness and you’re seeing him really strong, really fit and really helping us out.”
On being in a run for the Supporters Shield:
“What we’re trying to do is just show the players where we’re at and then from there that’s it. We have everything to play for right now, which is a wonderful thing. We have to stay humble. We still have to look to improve in areas. I don’t think the first half was our best soccer, so can we start the game better? Can we do whatever we have to do, whatever the game is calling for? But what I do like is the character we showed. We were able to fight back and still go in at half 1-1 even though it wasn’t a good half of soccer, and then regroup and come out and start the way we did, I couldn’t ask for more from the group.”
“I think we’re in that conversation, but it’s what we do every day preparing. It’s taking it game-by-game, and we could be in that conversation. But I definitely don’t want to add that pressure to the team, I just want to add the pressure to improve and hold ourselves to a high standard.”
On Kyle Beckerman and Nick Rimando breaking records:
“It’s a special night on a lot of fronts. Kyle reaching the most minutes played – both him and Nick are achieving individual goals that just show what kind of pros they are, what kind of character they have and how much they’ve meant not just to RSL but this league in general. And it just shows that they’re doing a lot of the right things off the field to be able to achieve those. You think of people like Brett Favre and having that type of longevity, that type of production, speaks volumes to the people they are. I couldn’t be happier that they did it tonight, I couldn’t be happier that we were able to celebrate bringing the Rocky Mountain Cup home in front of our fans. This is something definitely to build on but also we still want to try to keep improving.”
On the team’s increased intensity:
“I think the players and everyone, the staff, recognized that it’s getting close to that time. I’d like to think that we’d been playing like that for awhile, but at this time we recognized that we had an opportunity to win a trophy in front of our fans and this is about the third time I’ve done this, but I go back to something that Juan Martinez said, is that we have to play each of these games like they’re finals. And when you do that, you see that type of passion, that type of commitment from our team. With that being said, I still think the first half needed to be better, but the response and the character of our team is really starting to shine. It’s not a time to rest on that, it’s a time to look to keep improving. But if we have that kind of heart, that kind of character, we’re going to go really far.”
Forward Yura Movsisyan
On missing out on getting a hat trick:
“Well it wasn’t so much about the hat trick, it was more about giving us a little bit of room to breathe. Yeah a hat trick would have been great, but at the end of the day it’s about making it easy for the rest of the team. I felt like yeah you scored two goals, but at the end of the day you have to answer questions about your PK miss. At the end of the day Tim is a big keeper. I think he stood on his feet long enough for me to try and go all the way to the corner, and just went to the other corner.”
On scoring two goals and getting 3 points:
“As you guys could see from our reactions it meant a lot. We’ve had a lot of ups and downs this season, but we’ve been a team that no team is going to come in this building and try and push us around or beat us, even the first place team or second place team, whichever they were. This is a lot of fun. It’s our house, we get the cup and now look forward to hopefully going further toward the Supporter’s Shield.”
On the team having what it takes to get the Supporters’ Shield:
“I think it’s the collective work that we put on the field. We don’t have stars. We don’t need stars. The team is the star just like it says in our locker room. Everybody works for each other, and of course we have a chance to go for the Supporters’ Shield. Just like Jeff said a few days ago, we’re not just trying so we can go to the playoffs. We’re going to make a run for it. We have a good team with quality players. We got a great setup here with a coach who works extremely hard as well as the other coaches, and the players will follow. I think that of course we have a team that can go for a Supporter’s Shield.”
On the testy rivalry bringing back memories:
“Colorado has always been a team just like us, honestly never had a real star. They’ve always had a fighting spirit and they’ve always fought their games and you can’t take credit away from them, but at the same time you have to give us a lot of credit. We’ve worked extremely hard to get here, to get this result. It was tough going to Colorado and losing, especially with having all of those chances to score and that was always in the back of our heads. We made sure that we put away our chances today.”
On his two goals:
“Well first goal was just all Demar, Burrito and the team. We’re a team that likes to press the ball up high and go. It was just a fantastic ball for me. All I had to do was just put it in there. I didn’t really have to do much, because I was already in that position. Second ball again we won the ball. Plata played a real great ball. I had a real good chance to, I believe played to Beckerman if I’m not mistaken, and I’ve always had a thing for shots from outside the box from left to right. I’ve always felt comfortable, so it’s just one of those things that you just have to go for it.”
Defender Chris Wingert
On a win giving the team momentum and confidence:
“A little bit of both. Yeah it does. It gives us confidence when we get a win last week, we get a win this week against two really tough teams. There’s always more of them, right? We’re going to play LA, you know what I mean? We’re going to keep getting tested. That’s good, that’s what we want. We want to be in the big games that matter.”
On a tough rivalry reminding him of past rival matches against Colorado:
“I think different groups, for a long time there were so many guys who were involved from both sides of it. And now it’s pretty much guys who’ve been here awhile along with Pablo, so I don’t think I missed anybody, but absolutely. Credit to them, they’ve been unbelievably tough to break down throughout the year. I think they’ve also taken on Pablo’s personality and I give them a lot of credit for that, because he’s one of the best leaders I’ve ever been around and I think the team has taken on his personality and his work ethic and they’ve shown it. I think they’ve only given up 20 goals all year which is incredible. He has all their guys working so hard. And so there’s another night like that and I actually want to give our guys some credit. We created a lot of chances, and Tim was unbelievable, but I’m just happy to get the win.”
On Kyle and Nick breaking records on the same night and being a part of that:
“It’s great to be a part of it for me. Nick is the greatest goalie in the league. I think he’s basically established that and Kyle is one of the great players in the history of the league. I don’t know, I guess it’s up to him, but for me I don’t see him anywhere near stopping. He could easily play another I don’t know how many years. He’s this franchise. Both guys really are the face of the franchise and have meant everything to this club. I think (Dave) Checketts always said that. That was really the turning point, and so they deserve every record that they get. It’s so cool to a small part of that.”
Midfielder Kyle Beckerman
On breaking a new record:
“I’m just really happy for the win. It was a huge win for us. We had a big opportunity there for us to go and achieve the goal and get the three points, and get the Rocky Mountain Cup. It was a big move in the right direction for us heading to the playoffs.”
On going for the Supporter’s Shield and thinking about it or trying not to:
“I think it’s nice looking at the standings and getting closer and making up some ground on teams that were quite a bit ahead of us earlier, so that’s good, but we’ve just got to keep our head down and trying to improve to the next game and it will be a nice opportunity for us to maybe depending on what happens this weekend to move up again, so we just have to keep our head down and try not to look too much into it. Just trying to control what we can and that is win the games that are in front of us and then we’ll see come for, when there are 3, 4, 5 games left, then we will see if we’re in the top for Supporters’ Shield.”
On a testy match, does it remind him of past matches:
“It was just a real important game for us. Last week we felt like we had a huge opportunity to close the ground on Colorado with them tying and have a six pointer with Dallas and we were able to do that, so that put us in a great situation for this week to then tie with Colorado as well, so I think our main focus was we got an opportunity, let’s take advantage of it and we were able to do that.”
On breaking a record with Nick on the same night:
"It’s pretty cool. If we’re doing that, and especially Nick, then we’re winning games, so that’s all that matters.”
Colorado Rapids
Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni
On giving up two goals:
“Obviously scoring a goal that early flips a game on its head. I think we stretched a lot of moments in the first half, a lot of space to play through. It's just defensively very naive and that is the area of the field that we have been tied up all year. I think if we don't have the part right, we are going to struggle and tonight was very obvious that that was the case. I think individually we weren't good enough, collectively we weren't good enough, the energy wasn't there. And so we had great goal by Gashi, a world-class performance by Tim Howard, and if you don't have more players that are competing at that level, then you don't stand a chance. Tonight we were second to every ball, second-best everywhere. So credit to Salt Lake, they played well, they were committed, they created some good opportunities, they were more fluid, more confident. And so we will go back and look at the game, and prepare for next week.
On the frustration of losing the lead:
“It's real frustraing, obviously. But you know, there was emotions and decisions that are made on the field and that is why the game is the way it is. You can't call a time out and reset. You have to roll with it. All of that aside I think we didn't pick up any balls in the midfield, we had a hard time controlling the flow of the game with possession, and kind of defensive shape. And so I think the result reflects that.”
On Gashi’s play this season:
“I think he is a caliber of player that can make a difference on any team. I think he has for us, on both sides of the ball. In the last, probably, three or four games, as you said he is really coming to good form and I think he has been integral in what we have done. Unfortunately, today we just didn't have enough, along with we didn't have enough players playing on that level today.”
On feeling like an old Rocky Mountain Cup game:
“I think so, I think it has a bunch of different angles. I think it has playoff implications, shield implications, and the cup as well. I think this game was, for us, really important. Coming into it with the right mindset, right attitude, because of everything that was on the line. And, again, credit to the guys for staying in there. Without Timmy this game would have been really turned on its head, fantastic performance from his part to keep us in the game. I thought we had a couple of chances there at the end to nick it, which would have been a whole different event, but tonight we were second best.”
Forward Caleb Calvert
On making his MLS debut tonight:
“It felt great. You know it’s a dream come true. I’ve been working towards this for a while and was grateful that I was given the opportunity tonight.”
On the reaction from the bench from the two RSL goals:
“Disappointing obviously, but also motivation to get back in the game. We always have confidence in our team that we are going to get back in the game. At the end we’re a bit disappointed to not get a point out of this.”
On the offensive chances not coming tonight:
“I don’t know about you, I saw some good opportunities that we didn’t take and I think that that is something we can improve on.”
On how they improve more on finishing in the future:
“Being consistent in the box, that’s all it is.”
