MLS Regular Season
Chicago Fire (1-0-1, 4 pts.) 2:0 Real Salt Lake (0-1-1, 1 pt.)
March 11, 2017 – Toyota Park
Attendance: 13,024
Real Salt Lake
Head Coach Jeff Cassar
On the offensive push
“I though the offensive push was there, the intent was there, the final execution wasn’t there. We had a few really good looks, Chicago did a really good job clogging the middle there an making the box tight and so you need a little bit of excellence and we didn’t have it again.”
On giving up two early goals
“Yeah, minus the first 20 minutes of, actually the 5 minute stretch where they scored two goals, other than that the game kind of went the way we thought it was going to go. They have some dangerous players on the counter, you’re going to get sometimes, but I thought our mentality was aggressive it was proactive we just couldn’t get the ball in the back of the net.”
On the first goal
“Well I have to look at it again. At the time it happened, I thought they had played it through. Obviously the coaching there is to finish out the play, you never know what exactly is going to happen. But we’ll have to dissect the play but I would say that the first part of it is unlucky. You know we’re trying to do the right thing, we’re trying to have our six come back to squeeze that player, he does, but he nicks it to a player that was in an offside position that you really can’t anticipate. That player was six to eight yards behind our player and to anticipate that, we’re going to be the ones to play that ball to him, it’s difficult. But I thought our mentality, we stood strong and we showed a lot of character.”
Defender David Horst
On giving up two early goals
“You know our first job is to prevent shots, prevent goals. You know we gave up two unlucky ones but at the end of the day, I do think we need to be better on both goals. Once that happens, it puts the rest of the team in a hole where it enabled Chicago to sit back and absorb our attack, which doesn’t make it easy for the strikers, so for us we can’t put ourselves in that hole.”
On playing with Justin Schmidt
“First game I thought he did an excellent job. You know those aren’t easy guys to go up against. De Leeuw, Nikolić, McCarty, Juninho those are all very experienced guys, and I thought he handled his own and did a really good job out there and that him and I for pretty much our first time playing together, I thought we did a very good job and I think the guys gained a lot of respect for him. It’s not easy to step in as a rookie, especially when you’re called upon last minute like that and he did a good job.”
On Arturo Alvarez’s goal
“Yeah, well first of all we knew coming into the game he’s all left foot and the scouting report was ‘don’t let him cut back.’ And I think we let him cutback like four time on that play. We can’t allow that, but you know, I’ve got to do a better job once he gets to me, I’ve got to do a better job closing him down, not even allowing a shot and not giving him an opportunity for the ball to deflect off me. But we go into next week and we got to pick it up and we got to do better we got to learn from our scouting reports and I think we’ll learn a lot from this game.”
If the linesman raised his flag on the first goal
“Well, the linesman put his flag up, the ref put the whistle to his mouth and did the play on thing. Once the ref puts the whistle to his mouth you think he’s going to blow it and he didn’t and you know like they say, you have to play until the whistle, and we didn’t. So I think it’s a learning thing for both Schmidt and I, and Nick still almost saved it but that is an unlucky one. We do have to play until the final whistle and we didn’t.”
On the weather conditions
"It’s just the elements, I think it helped us in the second half to trap Chicago in their end cause on their goal kicks and clearances, they couldn’t get the ball out and it enabled us to trap them in there. But we had the elements last week so we were kind of ready and knew what to expect, and those are things you have to deal with and play through.”
If it’s a concern to be held scoreless for 180 minutes
“You know the thing for me is, when I was in Houston last year we scored something like 14 goals in the first 3 games and then we ended the year with 30, so it doesn’t matter what you do in those first couple games. You know our guys know how to score, Yura is a proven scorer, these guys are all proven scorers, and when they come they’re going to come in bunches and these guys proven over and over they can do it and they will we have faith in them.”
Goalkeeper Nick Rimando
On the elements
“Yeah, it was cold. For the first half I was in the shade the whole time, the field was really bouncy, the most bouncy I’ve seen it ever playing here. The weather was cold, I don’t know how it was on the field in the first half but second half I thought it was warmer. But yeah I can only talk for myself and how I felt I don’t know how the guys felt.”
On the first goal
“I saw the linesman throw up his flag, I kind of went off that then I saw the main ref just kind of play on, so I kind of just keep my hand up maybe he wasn’t going to follow through with it and just be ready for a shot but a breakaway slipped to the left of me and it was a goal.”
If the linesman’s decision affected the players
“Oh yeah, again that’s the referees decision and can’t do anything about it.”
On the new centerback pairing
“Good, I think they did well with the elements and being paired for the first time in a real meaningful game. Again, sometimes, a lot of times you need to score goals too, you can’t just rely on your defense. For me defense wins championships, defense wins games, you get points with ties but if you don’t get goals then you don’t have a chance in this league.”
Midfielder Albert Rusnak
Thoughts on the game
“We gave up two goals in the first half, literally giving them up you know, it wasn’t a good play or anything, it’s just mistakes cost us the day and when you’re two nil down in 20 minutes, it’s pretty hard to come back. We kept the ball for the rest of the game, were trying to create some chances but they had at least eight bodies behind the ball and it was difficult to break through.”
On how much the team missed Joao Plata
“Of course we missed him, he’s important player you know he can score a goal from anywhere or bring something special like that to win, so yeah, it was a miss. But with him or without him, if we give those goals up its always going to be difficult to come back.”
On how much the weather affected the game
“There is no such thing to be looking at weather or the field or that we were on the road, those are just excuses you know. We were not good enough today especially in the first half and that cost us the game.”
On his volley in the second half
“Yeah, I made a good contact for sure that was going on target you know it was a pretty good pace. But yeah, good blocking you know, I think they blocked today all our shots, all our crosses, everything you know they threw their bodies there. I have to say they defended well.”
Chicago Fire
Head CoachVeljko Paunovic
On winning the home opener
“It was very important, to start the season, especially the home opener, to win the game, it was very important to our confidence very important for everything and it’s a huge reward for a great preseason and tough preseason we had. Right our first goals were the first couple of games, achieve a good start then move forward with the next four games. We believe we have a great opportunity to make the difference and set up the season for us so we are working, keep working hard to achieve our goals. We were successful today and we want to win games, we will continue to work hard and try to achieve our goals, our short term goals, and hopefully if we can play the way we played today, with the character and consistency that we did today, I believe that we will win.”
On Nemanja Nikolic’s impact
“I think it was very important for him and the team to score his first goal on his first opportunity in a game, with the confidence and everything that we are looking at him and to get from him is coming and we believe also that he is doing a huge job and effort to help the team when the team is in a situation where we have to defend, we have to press, and his commitment is great and it is very important to see him have a good game. We also believe that as the season will start moving forward, we believe he will become even sharper and have more opportunities and maybe he can get one more goal.”
On the defensive effort of the team
“I’m proud of the whole team because I think everyone is a huge help. The defense, the defenders obviously, the midfielders, the wingers, everyone. What I want to highlight is the amount of work that everyone on the team is doing constantly, and that’s something I want to thank our guys for and it obviously helps our defense and overall defensive shape and the organization and talking about our defenders, I think they did a huge job up against a very good team. I think they stepped up frequently that made up for the strikers and attacking players and midfielders to run more and have to cover in position and that was an amazing job our defense did. Then engaging with the men in one-on-one situations and these crosses and the corners we had to defend today, our defense was very solid and very good and we can also say that our defenders, in case of Brandon Vincent, were dangerous in attack and he had a very good opportunity to score today it’s always helpful for our team.”
On the confidence of the team
“We keep growing. I think the confidence is important and I think it’s there but I think we still keep growing and I think it’s important in the next coming games to repeat the game performances that we have in the first two games but be even more solid, more dangerous, and efficient in attack and improve and for me, improve the control of the game, which is the possession, which is very important. We have to know how to play these kinds of games and I think we showed today that we have the maturity, we recognize when the game is not one you can win by a beautiful play but it’s a game, but we do have to improve in our possession and our control in the game for the future.”
On the pairing of Dax McCarty and Juninho
“I’m very proud of our guys for a huge amount of effort and work we had in the game and to answer your question, I think their leadership, their commitment and consistency in hard work and winning all these drills and battles we had in the midfield were rewarding, they are contagious, Juninho and Dax, for the rest of the team. And that mentality, its getting all over the team and it’s very important for us and as I said, everyone else understood when we were up 2-0 how we had to play and what we had to do and I love that determination that we had when we were up 2-0, we aren’t going to concede goals and concede chances and the team worked hard, no matter what.”
Midfielder Juninho
On winning the home opener
"It means a lot to all of us. To start a home opening game getting the win for the fans, and for all of us to have that winning taste again, I think that is the most important thing."
On the fast start
"We started very good, with a lot of confidence, and scored two goals right away. I think that was the most important thing in the game. Of course in the second half, they had more possession than us and pressed us. But we were very solid, and I want to congratulate my backline, it was fantastic today. We have to keep it up. We have to adjust, but it's better to adjust to winning than losing."
On the luck of the goals
"To be honest, I think we were in the right spot, and something happened because we were there. We were in the right spot at the right moment. I think the guys did very good."
Forward Nemanja Nikolic
On coming to MLS from Poland
"The difference is that we don't have a break in the summertime, but MLS is a new challenge for me. I wanted to try something new. I decided to come here because of the project, because I spoke with our coach Pauno and with Nelson Rodriguez. They were really motivated and they wanted to achieve something this year, they want to invest in the club. After the conversation with Pauno, I was sure I wanted to come here and help him. I look forward to achieving good results here."
On the match
"First game in Toyota Park, and my first goal and first victory in Chicago is wonderful. I expect more of this. After the 1-1 in the first game, I said that it is very important to win at home. We start the season with four points, it gives us confidence. We need to stay focused, we need to work, we need to have an identity, like we had in the first 20 minutes. The first 20 minutes were very good today; after that, we rushed, we wanted to finish the action very fast. We made a lot of transitions, a lot of running without the ball. But it was very important to keep a zero behind. We need to know how to win the games in these kinds of cases: when you play good and then you slow the intensity. We kept zero, we lost focus, but we had a good ending."
On the conditions
"The conditions were very difficult for me, it's a lot of wind, it's too cold. I need to adapt to this, it's not the same as in Europe. But I want to work hard and achieve things with Chicago, so I hope in a few weeks, we will have better weather and more people are in the stadium. Thanks to the fans also, they were with us all 90 minutes, they helped a lot. With this game, with this attitude, with this personality, we want to put more fans in the stands and to play good in front of them."
