QUOTE SHEET
Real Monarchs SLC 0-0 Las Vegas Lights FC
Zions Bank Stadium; Herriman, Utah
April 30, 2018
Real Monarchs SLC
Head Coach Mark Briggs
On the first game in the new stadium:
“The atmosphere, the fans, everything was fantastic. The performance was nowhere near good enough.”
On not putting away the chances in the final third:
“It’s the little details. The focus, the concentration that we have to score chances in the first half where we’re two yards out four yards out. If you don’t take your chances you don’t win games. It’s as simple as that.”
On the final touch:
“The final ball wasn’t good enough tonight and hasn’t been good enough in the first five games before that. Our final ball has to be better and we have to be more clinical.”
On having fans closer to the pitch:
“It’s awesome. It’s fantastic. You could feel the atmosphere, you could feel the fans are close. The environment with the drums going and the fans singing, everything apart from the performance was different class tonight.”
Defender Kalen Ryden
On the atmosphere:
“The atmosphere was good. The fans were great tonight. The stadium is great, it’s beautiful and when it’s packed like that and it motivates us a little bit more on the field. It was unfortunate not to give the fans a show tonight, but I’m happy with the turnout and hope to keep that attendance up throughout the season.”
On not getting a goal:
“I just don’t think we were going for it around the goal. Everyone had opportunities; backline guys, on corner kicks, have headers. We had strikers which were going forward but we just couldn’t find the back of the net tonight. It was a bit unfortunate.”
On the stadium:
“It’s brand new so it’s obviously one of the nicer ones. The stands are so close to the field, they are right there just five or 6 yards from the sidelines, and the section right behind the goal. It just feels like everyone is right there on top of you and it’s a really good atmosphere. It’s one of the nicer, more home-y stadiums in the USL.”
Goalkeeper Connor Sparrow
On the stadium’s atmosphere:
“Stadium was great. It was nice breaking it in, the turf still needs to be broken in a bit, but the fans were great. It’s nice when the fans are closer, it makes for a much better atmosphere.”
About getting the shutout:
“Obviously it’s good to keep a zero at the back. We got a little lucky in the end there but at the end of the day we kept that zero. I had a ton of experience with those guys in front of me and not much has changed. Playing style has changed but we always focus on keeping the shut out first so not much has changed there.”
On what the crowd can do to opposing teams:
“Personally, for me, away fans always fuel me. The heckling gets me going a little bit and I’m sure most goalies are the same way. You learn to let it fuel you, and obviously, he kept a clean sheet a man down so obviously he has the same mentality.”
Las Vegas Lights FC
Defender Miguel Garduno
On playing short-handed and surviving a long stretch of 10-on-11:
“For almost 80 minutes we played short one man, and it was very hard. They’re a great team, they have great players. We were very organized, I think that helped us to know we couldn’t make us any mistakes. We were very careful with the fouls, and at the end, we almost scored.”
On the red card by Marcelo Alatorre:
“This is soccer, this is football, things sometimes happen. Even on the red card play, if he didn’t make (the foul), that was gonna be a goal, and it might not be a draw. We got a nice point.”
On the team’s overall effort amidst adversity:
“We are happy with the effort we gave. That’s the way the team has to keep working. We now know we can play against any kind of team. This team is a great team, and we are also a great team. We showed that we know how to defend with 10 players, and we showed that we know how to handle any situation during this season.”
On the motivation to bounce back from Friday’s home loss quickly:
“We had a bad taste from the last game. That game, we just lost it. We did something wrong on the field. We talked two days ago about how we have the mentality that we are a team who will push every time. This team has a big heart. Today we played with heart and that’s why we got this point.”
Midfielder Carlos Alvarez
On banding together and surviving the bulk of the game playing 10-on-11:
“We got a red card really early, but the team really dug down. You saw the tightness, the brotherhood we really have on this team. We were not easy to break, and we got a point that we really had to work for. Getting a point on the road is huge.”
On the quick turnaround from Friday’s home loss:
“Obviously, it’s a short turnaround, but the guys recovered quick. We got some legs and we came over here, played our game and got the point. Every game is different, we focus each game differently. At the end of the day, we need to forget about this game, focus differently and think about the next one.”
On the team clicking more in building its attack:
“The best quality we have is playing. We’re starting to click more and getting to know each other more on the field. Little by little, this team will be up there.”
