QUOTE SHEET
Real Salt Lake 0-1 Tigres UANL
Rio Tinto Stadium; Sandy, Utah
Wednesday, July 24, 2019
Real Salt Lake
Head Coach Mike Petke
On his overall thoughts on the game:
“We had some quality opportunities to score tonight. They are a better possession team and in the first half they had a lot of possession. Even though we were chasing their centerbacks a little bit, except for a header or two, we really kept them away from the goal. But they are a quality team and we were chasing shadows at times. We created some quality opportunities and just weren’t precise enough.”
On Kyle Beckerman’s performance:
“Kyle always creates a spark, when he starts or rarely when he doesn’t start. The first eight to ten minutes we played well and then in the second half we were chasing it a little bit. We created opportunities throughout, if we were just a bit more clinical in certain ones. We hit the post, just slightly offside on another one, if we were just a bit more clinical perhaps we tie it or even take a win away from a great team.”
On positives to take to Dallas:
“For me, it’s now about getting some tired legs ready for a Western Conference game on Saturday in Dallas. It’s going to be very similar to this one. They play a very similar style with their possession while overloading centrally. If anything, this is going to be very good preparation for the Dallas game.
On the post-game red card:
“Go back and look at the videotape. I’m pulling five of my players away, I’m talking to my players and he gives me a red card. He must have thought I was talking to him. I don’t know. Afterwards, it was just extra. I was telling him what I felt. The red card though, I was honestly just pulling them away, telling them to get back into the locker room. Perhaps he was still thinking about the four minutes they put up, the cat running onto the field, allowing them to take a shot on goal over ten seconds later and then giving them the ball back. Then, for an additional reason after arguing with our players which took an additional minute, ending the game at exactly four minutes. All I was doing was grabbing my players. What I said afterwards would have gotten me a red card, but I said that after the red card.”
Forward Brooks Lennon
On the game:
“Individually I thought I had a good game up until the red card. In my opinion, it's never a red. It’s my first foul of the game. I didn’t even look at him whatsoever. I didn’t lay an eye on him, turned around, he puts his face down and I accidentally kicked him in the face. Unlucky to get a red card there. I thought for sure it was going to be a yellow. Up until that point, I thought I played well. The team overall, we conceded an unlucky goal again. There was a deflection. We had two chances not go our way. We had Plata’s shot that hit the post that’s inches away from scoring, then we have Damir’s shot that unluckily. Corey’s offside on that one. Unlucky night. I thought they were really good in possession, but we’ve got to put this one past us and look forward to Dallas because Dallas is a huge game.”
On refocusing to Dallas:
“Having a game in a couple days helps when you’re coming off a draw at home against Minnesota that we weren’t happy about and then tonight, we lost at home against a very good side. They came out with their starting group, they played really well, so credit to them. I do think that we had our chances. I thought we were good defensively for the whole 90 minutes, just a couple unlucky things didn’t go our way. That’s life.”
Forward Corey Baird
On going toe-to-toe against a Liga MX team:
“It's clear they're very very talented team, but I think we created a lot of good chances. They had the ball for a lot of the game, but I think we kept a good shape. They scored on a deflection and we had a shot that hit the post and had some other good chances just slightly outside tonight.”
On the Atmosphere:
“The atmosphere was awesome. Both sides brought a lot of energy with their fans. I think that kind of got our fans a little more into it and it was just fun to play in.”
Tigres UANL
Head Coach Ricardo Ferretti (through a translator)
On the match:
“The game was what we expected. We understood that RSL were a team that play with great intensity. RSL has great players and they work very well as a team. Their coach is skillful in his abilities. We knew RSL was going to be a tough match. They played well for the full 90 minutes and created many opportunities with several that could’ve made the difference in the game tonight. As the game progressed, we took over the game. We understood that they have great possession but late in the game, we started to dominate. That’s our point of view. I think what we did tonight we did it well, but people may have another point of view.”
On League’s Cup as a whole:
“It’s very difficult. We hope that this tournament grows. In this moment I think it’s a bit unjust. Where this falls in our schedule is unjust. Also, playing all of the matches in the United States is a little unfair, I think. Hopefully moving forward, we are able to make it a bit more even in this tournament. Next year as the tournament expands, the possibility becomes greater with eight teams from each league.”
