Real Salt Lake
Head Coach Jeff Cassar
Thoughts on the takeaway:
“I like the way we started the game. I thought it was aggressive coming off a few games where we kind of didn’t start the exact way we wanted to. I thought the energy was good, then I thought it kind of dropped off a little bit towards the end of the first half. We have to keep believing in the things that we’re doing. We’re doing a lot of things right, not being rewarded for it. Tonight we got a shutout. I think that was very important for the group. We’ve tried to make it a big talking point in these last few games. Tonight it happened for us. We talked about 3 points. I think we did a lot of the things to get 3 points, and myself, my staff and the players we have full confidence in all of our players to score, but right now I feel like it’s my son’s soccer net that he’s playing on. It’s just small right now. We got to keep putting ourselves into positions to be successful. I think we’re doing that, we’re just not being rewarded for our play.”
Thoughts on missed chances:
“We got to hit the target no matter what. We have to make these goalkeepers work, and if they do their job and they play fantastic games, you clap and say good job, but we can’t let them off the hook for not hitting the net on certain things. Joao has fought extremely hard to get back into the starting lineup. I thought he was dangerous and maybe we just weren’t that super sharpness that we need to put the ball in the back of the net, but that will come. Obviously we have another opportunity Thursday to sharpen up a little bit and then get ready for San Jose.”
Thoughts on New England not sitting back:
“They have a good team. I think they can play with full confidence whether they’re at home or away. You know a lot of their team has been together for a very long time, except for Kamara up top, but most of the team has been together, so they have a very good idea of how they want to play. They were starting to smell something that they could possibly get one on the other end. I thought their backline and defensive midfield did a very good job against us, and when they do that, they can kind of at times cheat a little bit. But I thought our backline held strong and I thought Kyle and Luke worked their tails off defensively for us, but it really wasn’t a surprise.”
Goalkeeper Nick Rimando
On the defensive effort:
“We have done well all year, again we limited them with chances and we created a lot. We had our chances to score and for some reason they are not going in for us lately.”
On earning the shutout:
“Yeah, we try not to think the last four or five games, we have been stressing to keep that shut-out and we will get a result, and for some reason something happened, loss of focus, a letdown, a misplay. We haven't been getting those shut-outs so tonight's shutout feels good to get that for sure and put us back on track, but again leaving two out there definitely hurts.”
On the impact of a shutout:
“Yeah, I think our focus again is always team defense and if we can continue to get zeros on the road, or at home we will continue to get our chances, and those chances will turn into goals. There is no doubt about that, but again it is frustrating, but this shut-out is a step in the right direction.”
On keeping Kei Kamara in check:
“I felt our four center backs are connected throughout the whole game, I thought our defensive play, Kyle was running endlessly and Luke put everything he had out there, and I think it's just frustrating with everybody our team defense.”
Defender Aaron Maund
On getting the shutout tonight:
“It was starting to wear on our minds a little bit and it was good to get that shutout; a performance to build off defensively for sure.”
On handling Kei Kamara:
“We were physical with him and I think that went a long way. A lot of communication, a lot of cover and we got the job done.”
On what was different in this game than previous:
“I think our awareness and being proactive when the ball went wide. That’s when they come alive. So we were trying to beat them to every ball and we were pretty successful tonight.”
On if this game will propel them forward:
“I think that everyone is pretty happy with getting the shutout. Obviously there are parts of our gameplay that we want to improve on but I thought that this was a solid match from the 11 guys defending.”
New England Revolution
Head Coach Jay Heaps
Overall thoughts:
“I thought our group came out, had a solid game plan, and I feel like our guys really bought into it, played well, and had some chances. But they were good too. I think in the end a point is probably fair both ways. Nick Rimando made a great save and Bobby [Shuttleworth] made a great save. Even match all the way around and it’s not an easy place to come into and play.”
On getting a clean sheet tonight:
“Team effort defensively. Not one guy didn’t put it in. I thought we worked really hard; our back four was good. I love the way Scotty [Caldwell], Daigo [Kobayashi], and Lee [Nguyen] defended and then with Je-Vaughn [Watson] in the middle – he was good. Lee really put good work in tonight and put pressure on the midfield.”
On how his team was able to push for a full 90 minutes at altitude:
“I think that that’s what we needed to do. You’ve seen here – you get to the last 15 minutes here and there’s a whole another level that they go to. I think teams do sit in a little bit more, but our decision was to, at 0-0, make attacking subs and try to make it a situation where we took control of the game. I thought from minute 75 to 85 to 89 we were doing that – maybe 86. In the 86th they started to get a little bit. A little bit of bending but no breaking.”
On Bobby Shuttleworth’s performance:
“The early one was the key and then he was positioned really good on everything else. Bobby came off a red card but has been training really well the past couple weeks, had a good performance against New York City FC. We were ready to get him in there and I think he showed tonight why.”
On why he started Je-Vaughn Watson at left back and then brought Chris Tierney on late:
“Late yesterday we were discussing and Chris was feeling a little bit of the after effects from Columbus, so it took him a little while to get there. I think 90 minutes would have been too much for Chris tonight and we wanted to balance, knowing he’d help us but we didn’t want to put too much pressure on him. The physical matchup, I thought, was good. I think Je-Vaughn is a straight-up defender when he needs to be and I thought he did a good job on [Juan] Martinez, because he’s as slippery of a player as I’ve seen. When he gets going he’s slippery, so we wanted to have a guy like Je-Vaughn on him and then as the game went to get Chris in there to see if he could get us some service for us.”
On Kei Kamara’s goal that was called back:
“I didn’t [get a good look at the play]. I just talked to [Kei] a little and he felt that is was unfair. They did tangle, but he felt that it was unfair because he created the movement. He checked to and then checked away, so the contact was kind of initiated by [Justen] Glad. Good finish. The hardest part was that the referee waited so long. That’s what I think I was so devastated for because he didn’t call it right away before the ball served; he called it after he put it in the net. If he got it right, I tip my hat, but those are always tough when you take a goal away from someone.”
On Kei Kamara’s performance tonight:
“It’s always frustrating, because he wants to score goals every time he steps onto the field. He’s had a big week this week going to the ESPY’s and I think he came in with the right mindset and battled. Tonight was going to be a battle. Aaron Maund and Justen Glad are two guys that go in there and throw their weight around. Kei knew it was going to be a battle and he was up for the challenge. Unfortunately, the goal got called back, but he was around the box quite a bit.”
Goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth
Overall thoughts:
“It’s good. I thought that we were really organized tonight. Everyone really put a shift in and worked hard and really limited their chances. We had a couple of chances for ourselves.”
On moving forward:
“We’re going to look over what we did well. We’ll look over the times they broke through and try to improve that in training and be ready for Wednesday.”
On the teams effort against RSL:
“Everyone worked really hard. We played well. Je-Vaughn has played seven different positions for us so you know exactly what you’re going to get out of him every time. Chris slides in and you know you’re use to Chris and then Je-Vaughn moves forward and did well there. I think everything was really organized and we kept our lines and limited their chances.”
On the possibility of stealing all three points:
“I think we could’ve snuck it at the end there. But, for us to come here and get a shutout and create some chances and overall get a point, was big.”
Forward Teal Bunbury
Overall thoughts:
“First and foremost I think it was a huge effort from our guys. From the first minute to the 90th minute, guys put in a lot of work all across the board. I’m very pleased with our performance. I feel like obviously getting a point on the road is crucial against a great Salt Lake team. I still feel like we could have gotten three points. We had some opportunities, they also had some chances. But overall it was a good performance and we have to take good things from this game and prepare for our next one.”
On getting a clean sheet tonight:
“I think it’s huge. When you come and play at Salt Lake you know they have a lot of attacking guys and a lot of their guys can on any given day make some special plays. Credit to our whole backline. Bobby [Shuttleworth] made a big-time save – a couple big-time saves actually. That gave us a clean sheet and then that’s crucial for us going forward. We’ve been having a couple good performances – it’s kind of been a roller-coaster of a season, but the past few games we’ve been doing pretty well and I’m pleased that we were able to keep a clean sheet on the road.”
On what kind of pace they desired for the game:
“We wanted to come at them. We didn’t want to come here and sit back because we knew that if we did that they would be able to exploit us. So we wanted to put them under pressure and when our chances came we wanted to be aggressive and be instinctive and I think we were doing that. It just didn’t fall our way in the back of the net. But overall it was a great performance and a lot of hard work from a lot of guys tonight.”
Looking forward to the US Open Cup Quarterfinal this week:
“We have to be pleased with these results, but we have to continue to look forward and not be satisfied with these results. We know that it’s a tight race in the Eastern Conference and we know that we have a great opportunity in the Open Cup so we have to try to recuperate now, get our rest, and move forward.”
